  Are the sciences not advancing at an ever increasing speed? We contrast this
popular perspective with the view that science funding may actually see
diminishing returns, at least regarding established fields. In order to
stimulate a larger discussion, we investigate two exemplary cases, the linear
increase in human life expectancy over the last 170 years and the advances in
the reliability of numerical short and medium term weather predictions during
the last 50 years. We argue that the outcome of science and technology (S&T)
funding in terms of measurable results is a highly sub-linear function of the
amount of resources committed. Supporting a range of small to medium size
research projects, instead of a few large ones, will be, as a corollary, a more
efficient use of resources for science funding agencies.
