alt Hacker News> You don't study mathematics or computer science and information theory to produce commodities. You study them to transform your mind.
As a taxpayer I do not fund CS and math research because it "transforms minds." I fund it because it produces commodities. If you want to transform your mind, whether through math or meditation retreats, you are free to do so, but don't expect research funding to do it.
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As another taxpayer I find I don't have much say as to which sort of math the money goes to and I'm sure a lot ends up in stuff that doesn't produce commodities.
Transformed minds are what produce 'commodities', or more so an envionment conducive to a comfortable world; the mentality that does not even stretch to the ramifications of a civilization shaped by enhanced humans is a dangerous thing, producing policy guided by misaligned and incomplete rationale. Perhaps most problematic, potentially causing a reduction in those who can even consider and interact with such systems at all.
If you only fund “commercially viable” mathematics, then you are going to miss out on the majority of the most commercially important mathematics.
At least historically, we haven’t really been able to tell what will be transformative in terms of real world applications ahead of time.