Webster, go back to your cave
Yeahhh, what's with all this science crap? I'm sure you'd figure that gazing at the stars with a telescope is a big waste of time too. Except, doing so allowed modern navigation by using the moons of Jupiter as a universal clock which also allowed for accurate map making.
Einstein's thought experiments wouldn't have happened if he didn't have a couple centuries worth of cosmological observations to draw on which provided basic understanding of electromagnetism and a basic idea of nuclear forces tthough observations of stars and the universe at large. And an understanding of gravity. Without that, no theory of relativity, no modern electronics, and no computer for you to be reading this on. Without his insights we wouldn't have modern chemistry or modern medicines. Or the biological understanding to provide the possibility of curing or understanding the diseases you list above or of overcoming world hunger. All of which you take for granted as being possible in the first place.
And what about that waste of time going to the moon? Where did you think the MRI and CAT scan equipment used to treat so many of maladies you complain about came from? They were developed because NASA needed to map the moon prior to making a lunar landing. There was no need for them before that. Or some of the miniaturization of computer components that allowed for modern PCs that were needed for the Apollo program? That might have made an impact on your life, ya think? Companies like Nike or Adidas wouldn't be around generating the millions of dollars or euro's or whatever they generate if not for NASA; athletic footware arose from the research done to produce moon boots for lunar space suits. None of that might have occurred to their founders without it.
Just because you can't see a direct connection between basic science and later technologies that make your life more comfortable doesn't mean they doesn't exist. There are often many degrees of separation from one field of science to another.
Perhaps if you were bothered to make the connections between what you think of as stupid expenditures and the modern world you live it you'd realize that things aren't as obvious as you think. Perhaps you should educate yourself a little about a subject before spouting off on it.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
