Science & Tech Quote by David Baltimore

Money is the least romantic force in science, which is exactly why David Baltimore’s line lands. It’s casual, almost throwaway, but it carries the knowing tone of someone who has spent decades watching discovery get framed as a pure battle of ideas when it is also a battle of budgets. “Actually” does a lot of work here: it anticipates the familiar complaint that science is perpetually underfunded and quietly corrects it. Baltimore isn’t celebrating generosity so much as flagging a structural reality: science has become a serious line item, not a hobby for eccentric geniuses.

The subtext is double-edged. On one hand, “a fair amount” signals momentum: modern states, philanthropies, and industries now treat research as infrastructure, tied to national security, public health, and economic growth. On the other, the phrase “being put behind” implies patronage with expectations. Funding doesn’t just enable experiments; it steers them. When money flows, it tends to prefer the legible, the scalable, the hype-friendly. Entire fields learn to narrate themselves in grant language: deliverables, impact, translational promise.

Context matters because Baltimore isn’t an armchair commentator. As a Nobel-winning biologist and longtime institutional leader, he’s seen how big science gets built: through agencies, university overhead, biotech partnerships, and political bargaining. The line reads like a warning disguised as reassurance. Yes, resources are there. The question is who controls them, what kind of science they reward, and what gets crowded out when curiosity has to audition for investment.