1644: Bla Bla Bla Awesome

[myq]

Originally Posted by JSZilla

Hello, "Fuck!". Welcome to your new friend "Yes!". Fuck! Yes! I love these two guests! AND TOGETHER WITH THEIR POWERS COMBINED they create Captain Awesomeness!! I cannot wait to listen to this.

Hello, "Thank!". Meet your new friend, "You!".
Thank! You! (Does that work as well as "Fuck! Yes!"? I! Hope! So!)
Sincere appreciation of your advance enthusiasm! I cannot wait until you have stopped waiting to listen to this. Enjoy! It!

[Keith]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

space is cool. Keith you're 100% wrong on this one.

How can I be wrong? I asked, "Is space dumb?"

Are you on your period?

[sklXbns]

When people say space exploration is a waste of money, I really think those people imagine $2.5 billion being sent to Mars. I doubt the nay-sayers realize all of the people who are employed at NASA figures into that $2.5 billion.

[myq]

Originally Posted by sklXbns

When people say space exploration is a waste of money, I really think those people imagine $2.5 billion being sent to Mars. I doubt the nay-sayers realize all of the people who are employed at NASA figures into that $2.5 billion.

But couldn't some of the nay-sayers be thinking that that $2.5 billion dollars could employ those same smart NASA people into thinking of ways to create or transport cheap food, water, and vaccines all around THIS planet? (There would probably be simpler solutions, and less thrust. #IDoNotKnowAboutSpaceThings.)

I am somewhat serious though! People who want to explore space, tell me why money is better spent on that, rather than using science here to figure out cool things. Maybe someone curing AIDS will accidentally invent the best spaceship ever as a by-product (bi-product?). Somewhat serious! (That last part was the somewhat part.)


PS if you take away NASA from "nay-sayers," you end up with why-why-ers.
Does that mean anything? If not? Why? Why?

[BrianAlt]

Originally Posted by myq

But couldn't some of the nay-sayers be thinking that that $2.5 billion dollars could employ those same smart NASA people into thinking of ways to create or transport cheap food, water, and vaccines all around THIS planet? (There would probably be simpler solutions, and less thrust. #IDoNotKnowAboutSpaceThings.)

I think you're a smart person, Myq. Why aren't you working on achieving those goals instead of doing stand-up comedy?

There are people doing those things. Could there be more? Probably, but the problems of solving others woes are much deeper than that. Do we just drop ship food into Somalia? Yes, we've done that. But it just gets scooped up by those in power and not to those that need it. There's politics in everything and this is no different.

But I really do believe that the space program helps to spur general American ingenuity just by sparking the imagination of those interested in reaching for the stars. That does have some value. This is one reason why I think that while US test scores may be lower, ingenuity is right there with the best.

[picard102]

Originally Posted by myq

But couldn't some of the nay-sayers be thinking that that $2.5 billion dollars could employ those same smart NASA people into thinking of ways to create or transport cheap food, water, and vaccines all around THIS planet?

There is no shortage of ways to make cheep food, vaccines, and transport them around the world. There is no will to do it however.

[myq]

Originally Posted by BrianAlt

I think you're a smart person, Myq. Why aren't you working on achieving those goals instead of doing stand-up comedy?

Thanks Brian. And I am working on achieving those goals, by donating a portion of all the money I make to people who ARE focused on those kinds of things, like eliminating malaria, for example.

There are different kinds of intelligences. I don't work at NASA. I don't know if I could. I was great at math through high school into college, and was going to major in it, until I reached a class or two that was more difficult than I'd ever experienced (some kind of algebraic structures, rings, something like that). The kind of scientific mind it takes to invent rocket ships doesn't seem so far off from the kind of mind it takes to invent better transportation systems or devices on earth, or cheaper foods/seeds/whatever. There are people who are experts at science. And I'm not saying they can't study whatever they want, and aim their sites wherever they want, including space. I'm just saying it seems incongruous.

And sure, I question whether I could or "should" have gone to med school, maybe, or gone into some kind of public policy or whatever else might be able to make the world better for the people on it. Maybe I still can, if I decide that's the best thing for myself and the world. But right now, doing what I'm doing, I can read about things, learn about stuff, and share what I think is important with the world. And my opinions aren't all necessarily right, but I do literally think that space doesn't matter as much as solving human suffering here, which is why I direct my words and moneys towards that end.

As far as "American ingenuity" and "sparking the imagination of those interested in reaching for the stars," having value, sure... But imagination only goes so far. A lot of Americans imagine being rich, and that's why they vote against their current financial interest, in favor of the future self they imagine as a millionaire, not aware that the best way of GETTING there is voting in the other direction. I know this is getting a little far afield, but I think that "reaching for the stars" sounds nice metaphorically, but "reaching for equality on Earth" sounds better actually. To me.

[myq]

Originally Posted by BrianAlt

There are people doing those things. Could there be more? Probably, but the problems of solving others woes are much deeper than that. Do we just drop ship food into Somalia? Yes, we've done that. But it just gets scooped up by those in power and not to those that need it. There's politics in everything and this is no different.

I realize I didn't necessarily address this part, which is a reasonable point.

I don't know all the answers. And I know my saying "we can put a man on the moon but we can't put food in a Somalian" doesn't solve the problem (and I know there were no warlords keeping us from the moon, I think).

And maybe NASA scientists aren't the people to solve the problems. Maybe the money NASA gets should be given to political scientists. Another area of not my expertise. Can we drop smart rockets on the warlords and then give food to the good Somalians who we didn't kill?

There are smart people who can solve these problems! Give the money to them! Otherwise they will escape in the only rockets to leave this planet, when it becomes uninhabitable. Make things equal!

[BrianAlt]

Originally Posted by myq

A lot of Americans imagine being rich, and that's why they vote against their current financial interest, in favor of the future self they imagine as a millionaire, not aware that the best way of GETTING there is voting in the other direction.

Just as I believe you're a smart person, I believe that those people are not. It is unfortunate that not enough people actually act in their best interest or in interest of mankind. (I don't expect people to act in the BEST interest of mankind, just in interest of mankind in general.)

I think you'd agree that there's a difference in imagining that one day you could be a scientist versus imagining you will one day be "rich". Especially when people really have no idea what being rich really means.

My point really is, I feel that scientists working on the space program actually help scientists working on solving world hunger and vice versa. Anthropology helps us in all scientific fields as does Sociology. It would be really great if we would explore the ocean the way we want to explore the solar system. All of these scientific fields help each other. They all grow our understanding of ourselves, where we were, where we are going and where we can be. I don't want money going to NASA removed to give to some other program. I think we can scale back the 700 billion dollars given to the defense budget. That would make a much bigger difference than removing the 18 billion going to NASA.

Edit: Just saw your second post and I think the paragraph directly above addresses what you were saying. In fact it seems we're not far from the same page.

[myq]

Originally Posted by BrianAlt

My point really is, I feel that scientists working on the space program actually help scientists working on solving world hunger and vice versa.

I think we can scale back the 700 billion dollars given to the defense budget. That would make a much bigger difference than removing the 18 billion going to NASA.

I agree whole-heartedly with your final statement. (Friends!)
And the first one sounds nice. (Still friends.)
I would love to see evidence of it. Are there any scientists working on proving that one science helps other sciences?

I'm not trying to de-fund NASA (in case it was working). Just saying that "reaching for the stars" doesn't really interest me, and that future scientists could be inspired by "reaching for the end of world hunger" as well.