You&#x27;ve got an equivocation [1], three red herrings [2], and one begged question [3].<p>Equivocation:<p>You used &quot;we&quot; to mean government (&quot;trillions on wars&quot;), then private citizens (&quot;hundreds of billions on sports...&quot;), then back to government (&quot;a few billion on producing knowledge&quot;).  &quot;Our&quot; war spending is certainly not related to &quot;our&quot; watching ESPN.<p>Red herrings:<p>War spending, lining corporate pockets, and private entertainment are unrelated to whether -- and to what extent -- fundamental physics should be government-funded.  In fact, one may be a peace-loving socialist and still not believe that this research is the best investment for a nation&#x27;s finite resources.<p>Begging the question:<p>You&#x27;ve assumed that research into string theory, multiverse theory, etc. produce knowledge, which is the very question being debated here.  Knowledge is generally regarded as justified true belief [4] (albeit with qualifiers [5]).  At issue here is whether one&#x27;s scientific beliefs are adequately justified without empirical support -- i.e., whether we&#x27;re producing any knowledge at all regarding this issue.<p>As a disclaimer, I was a researcher at a government lab for 5 years.  In many cases, I believe scientific research is worth funding.  That said, we should take care to present sound arguments regardless of the topic.<p>1. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Equivocation" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Equivocation</a>
2. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Red_herring" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Red_herring</a>
3. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Begging_the_question" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Begging_the_question</a>
4. <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Belief#Justified_true_belief" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Belief#Justified_true_belief</a>
5. <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;plato.stanford.edu&#x2F;entries&#x2F;knowledge-analysis&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;plato.stanford.edu&#x2F;entries&#x2F;knowledge-analysis&#x2F;</a>