LHC experiments see first evidence of a rare Higgs boson decay
Why should I, as a taxpayer, want to my government to subsidize  this research?  I haven’t seen anything useful come out of high energy particle physics in decades.This is an honest question, not a troll.I see lots of spin-off technologies coming out of other “big science”. Consider space programs.  We see materials technology coming out of space programs. I can even see the PR value in the space program as it appeals to our imagination and sense of exploration.  I can even buy into the “time to make sure all our eggs aren’t in one basket” theory of Musk et al for colonization of other planets. And I love that companies are commercializing it rather than leaving it just to governments.But as a layperson, high energy particle physics seems like (figuratively and literally) pouring money down large holes to satisfy the curiosity of a few researchers.  While it’s mildly interesting it’s practically inscrutable and very hard to connect to anything that normal people care about.