  It would seem that the present dry economic times impose a very precise focus
for science in general and physics in particular: research, possibly of applied
type. However in doing so two basic pillars of a healthy future for science are
being undermined: fundamental research and public engagement. The first is what
makes applications possible in the first place, many times with a path from
inception to implementation that is as long and indirect as poorly advertised.
The second pillar, public engagement, is mostly regarded as a commodity: if
there is good level of funding scientists can consider spending money for
public relations otherwise this is the first thing scientists cut because it is
the least necessary. On the contrary, public engagement in science is very much
needed, at the very least because the public is either an enemy or an ally, as
testified respectively by the climate change denial and the 2009 Shuttle
mission that people wanted in order to service the Hubble Space Telescope for
the last time. In this article I will make the case for why popularizing
science should be a funding priority, instead of a commodity, for both
nation-wide organizations and local research institutions. I will take examples
from my personal background with the hope that they will serve to enlighten a
more general picture and to frame the discussion around concrete issues and
practical avenues to be pursued immediately.
