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Neil Armstrong has died at 82 Today

heraldsun.com.au

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Re: Neil Armstrong has died at 82 Today

#81

Post by MichaelApproved »

daeken wrote: post #45
namidark wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly, I think a consumer of cat pictures with the way our education (people not focusing on math and science) is going

People born with the drive to do amazing things will do them regardless of the education they (do not) receive.

But they need the support system of a country with educated people.

OP is saying the school system is shit. You're saying a gifted person can do well regardless of the school system they're in. I'm saying the gifted need well educated people to help them realize their vision.

Everyone losses, even the self educated, with a poor school system.

Re: Neil Armstrong has died at 82 Today

#82

Post by gdubs »

astrojams wrote: post #70
THE_PUN_STOPS wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Woah, as a 17 year old, that blows my mind. I cannot wait to see what humanity accomplishes in my lifetime. Personally, I'm hoping to see the first man's footsteps on mars.

I'd prefer a cleaner healthier planet than foodsteps on Mars. We need to learn to take care of this planet before we start messing around with other planets.

Astronomers -- the very people pushing for the exploration of space -- are the ones who recognized climate change; largely through the study of Venus and the greenhouse effect on that planet.

Re: Neil Armstrong has died at 82 Today

#83

Post by gizmo686 »

daeken wrote: post #45
namidark wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sadly, I think a consumer of cat pictures with the way our education (people not focusing on math and science) is going

People born with the drive to do amazing things will do them regardless of the education they (do not) receive.

If that were true, then why do poor people have a disproportional high chance of having their children grow up poor?

Re: Neil Armstrong has died at 82 Today

#84

Post by davedx »

hansef wrote: post #77
astrojams wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd prefer a cleaner healthier planet than foodsteps on Mars. We need to learn to take care of this planet before we start messing around with other planets.

When I hear the "shouldn't we solve poverty and climate change here first?" argument about space exploration, I feel it's useful to remember that almost all improvement in the human condition throughout history is directly attributable to advances in human technology grounded in investment in exploration and basic research. Spending on science, technology development and exploration are the real "trickle down economi…

You articulate this better than I ever could. Well said.

Re: Neil Armstrong has died at 82 Today

#85

Post by Nitramp »

caf wrote: post #73
jballanc wrote: post #31

Neil Armstrong would have been 17 years old when Orville Wright died in 1948. In the lifespan of those two men, humanity went from horse-and-buggy to standing on the moon. One wonders what the 17 year olds of today might accomplish...

The steam locomotive, rather than the horse and buggy, was probably the apex of transport technology when Orville was born.

... or maybe the big ocean liners.

Re: Neil Armstrong has died at 82 Today

#86

Post by zerostar07 »

harscoat wrote: post #27
mmcnickle wrote: post #22

"I think we're going to the moon because it's in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It's by the nature of his deep inner soul... we're required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream." --- Neil Armstrong. An inspiring man. RIP.

love this quote... "Just as salmon swim upstream"... we gotta go to Mars

Not challenging enough

Re: Neil Armstrong has died at 82 Today

#88

Post by thom »

nkoren wrote: post #41
burke wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

xkcd ran the numbers: http://xkcd.com/893/

Ah, yes, the mouseover text on that is brilliant, and apt: "The universe is probably littered with the one-planet graves of cultures which made the sensible economic decision that there's no good reason to go into space--each discovered, studied, and remembered by the ones who made the irrational decision." Personally, I'm optimistic that there'll be boots on the moon sometime around 2020 (although I suspect they won…

I too am optimistic. All day I've seen people claiming America's moon landings for all humankind, and then blithely ignoring planned Indian, Japanese and Chinese lunar programmes. It would be a shame to think that people were only excited at the thought of white people going back to the moon.

Re: Neil Armstrong has died at 82 Today

#89

Post by herval »

bermanoid wrote: post #78
herval wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not implying people from the past where any more productive or interested in challenge than today's (they were not). The main difference, though, is that a larger number of people leave in stable/confortable enough lives today than in the past - thus the number of people doing nothing but indulging themselves is proportionally larger...

You say that as if it's a bad thing. To me, "the number of people doing nothing but indulging themselves is proportionally larger" sounds like a good thing, a clear indicator that we've come a long way - we're so well off now that you don't actually have to do anything useful in order to survive. That's awesome , to the extent that it's true. Our goal should be a day when nobody has to work, and everything that we wa…

That's a very dreadful prospect of a future... And yes, I think it's a pretty bad thing.

On a related note, the book "Childhood's End" covers this topic quite well from my point of view. In the end, no one had to move a finger for anything. And it was damn boring and counter-evolutionary...

Re: Neil Armstrong has died at 82 Today

#90

Post by 3143 »

gizmo686 wrote: post #83
daeken wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People born with the drive to do amazing things will do them regardless of the education they (do not) receive.

If that were true, then why do poor people have a disproportional high chance of having their children grow up poor?

Because the vast majority do not have that drive, and simply fall into the same pattern as their parents.
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