Why Explore Space? A 1970 Letter to a Nun in Africa.

Post by jlgreco » Sun, Aug 12, 2012, 7:23 PM UTC

ninguem2 wrote: post #70

jlgreco wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You were doing pretty well there, then dove back into the ad hominem. Who he is as a person is entirely irrelevant, if you want to criticise the letter then criticise the letter , not the man.

I am talking about my emotions, yes. All I can say, if you don't like it, is that I am sorry. But I don't believe one can have an entirely objective discussion on this topic which will arrive at an incontrovertible answer. Most tech inclined people (e.g. HN readership) are positively biased towards the space program. I am not, despite the fact that I fit the profile. I think it's science done for the wrong reasons. I…

Post by will_work4tears » Sun, Aug 12, 2012, 7:35 PM UTC

TheComedian wrote: post #37

nathan_f77 wrote: post #26

This letter is timeless, and provides such brilliant perspective. It's a fantastic answer to questions I've also been thinking about. As an aside, I wonder if something so convincing could be written about military spending.

I think you can certainly make an argument for military spending in terms of the side benefits associated with developing any complex technology, but I don't think the societal cost of increased militarization justifies military spending.

Post by btilly » Sun, Aug 12, 2012, 7:43 PM UTC

fragsworth wrote: post #68

This guy has incredible tact, and knows his audience well. > Ever since this picture was first published, voices have become louder and louder warning of the grave problems that confront man in our times: pollution, hunger, poverty, urban living, food production, water control, overpopulation. He even took care not to mention climate change, which I assume was in case the reader has a strong bias against it.

Post by Jtsummers » Sun, Aug 12, 2012, 7:59 PM UTC

JohnsonB wrote: post #64

drucken wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How on Earth is that condescending? How is a nun in middle of Africa meant to have even a basic understanding of how a specific government's budgeting and economic system works? I am willing to bet the vast majority of Americans themselves (to this day) have no idea of even the basics so simply explained by Dr Stuhlinger, yet it was a critical part of the bigger picture.

>How is a nun in middle of Africa meant to have even a basic understanding of how a specific government's budgeting and economic system works? She can't have read a few books on economics? His explanation was pretty basic and nothing that couldn't be found in econ 101 textbooks. He essentially just assume she was uneducated.

Post by jonhohle » Sun, Aug 12, 2012, 8:25 PM UTC

Dylan16807 wrote: post #55

nandemo wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

NASA is part of the military-industrial complex. See the first link joering2 posted. If you look at the top 10 defense contractors you'll find that several of them are also Nasa contractors. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NASA_contractors

That's my point, I want as much of the "let's fund the military-industrial complex" money as possible to go to NASA. Right now they're struggling on funding.