I actually think thats a pretty apt comparison.

Given the hindsight, I think every person who bought stocks in the 90’s wishes they bought Amazon instead.

Just like the people on this post wish that more resources went into fusion research.

Hindsight is important. We need to be able to admit that things need to change and wish that we found the right path first. We also need to acknowledge the path in the first place. We needed fossil fuels to get where we are, but if more money went into green energy research earlier we would be years ahead of where we are now and maybe a lot of the problems we are facing today wouldn’t be as big to overcome.

IMO: R&D is not a waste of time or money when the pay out is a solution to the energy crisis.

You might have used perpetual motion to avoid the interjection but its not a fair comparison. The math says perpetual motion will always remain energy neutral. On the flip side, the math says fusion yields an energy positive.

Im just pointing out the difference between spending money on something we know can’t work vs something that we know can work given enough time and resources.