From space
- Thread starter Jizm
- Start date
You do realize how many millions go into every little thing, right? Like after spending millions of dollars developing a pen that works in space, NASA asked russia how they did it.
"We use a pencil."
BNF
Ex-SuperMod
Well, at least give them Tang and Velcro, Roughneck...
....
It's a difficult arguement to make the case for R+D trickle down. Formula One has been trying to show that as well, and in most cases (F1) it doesn't hold up.
Space exploration is about looking beyond our borders and gives perspective. For those reasons alone, it is well worth the money and time.
....It's a difficult arguement to make the case for R+D trickle down. Formula One has been trying to show that as well, and in most cases (F1) it doesn't hold up.
Space exploration is about looking beyond our borders and gives perspective. For those reasons alone, it is well worth the money and time.
member006
Closed Account
You are the only person that I have ever found that agrees with me on this one. We would probably already have a cure for cancer and other diseases as well as no global warming if we had of skipped being "curious" about what shouldn't have concerned us. The billions of dollars that have been wasted is a crying shame. The damage that has been done irreversible. The "brilliant" minds that have been wasted that would have served us better in medical research and better ways of feeding and housing Americans a blemish on our country that no cream can dry up.
LL:glugglug:
I will say "Merry Christmas" to everyone though.
A waste of funds huh? So you are saying the the satellites that brings all the sports you watch and love were just a waste of funds and you could live without them! Huh? HUH? LOL
Aces&Jacks
Retired Mod
Personally, I find this argument not that convincing.. Trillions are spent on medical research each year. The space program is just one of hundreds of things the government spends tons of dollars on. You could name a few that probably are even less deserving of support, but cancelling them would still have little effect on medical research. And as we've all seen during natural disasters, the government, as well as your fellow citizens, can come up with billions to help feed, clothe and shelter people in just a matter of weeks. So there is plenty of money to go around if we really wanted to help feed the poor.
Just because rocket scientists are "Brilliant minds" in the space industry, doesn't mean that they would be, or even want to be, "brilliant minds" in the medical field.
Also, it's not like other countries have found a cure for cancer. Medical break-throughs have come from all over the world not just the U.S. Yet, (insert country here) has not found a cure for cancer. Do they blame our space program for not giving them the money that could otherwise go to their medical research?
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member006
Closed Account
I do fully understand your way of viewing it also. I do think the brilliant mind issue a bit gray though. If they know rocket science, medical research is cake, that one person to "see" what others don't is all we need.
Also, my view on "no other country" has cured it point is that I admittadly don't think of what the rest are showing me. Just what I see my own contributing and feel on those thoughts.
Doc also had a great point about "satellite" and such. The microwave, Teflon are several of many, many things that could be pointed out. I however feel that if we had never had it, it wouldn't be missed. What we don't know of won't hurt us. Everyone survived many years with "regular" TV and would have continued to. Not that 187 channels isn't great, but is it worth global warming? Microwaves are great, but hell if we had never had one we wouldn't know any different. I love my Teflon pans, but still also love and cook with my moms seasoned iron skillets. They don't stick either.
All IMHO only. LL:glugglug:
Legzman
what the fuck you lookin at?
Here's an excellent argument for space research!
For all who think space exploration is a waste of time and money:
http://neat.jpl.nasa.gov/neofaq.html
If you don't want to read the whole thing, scroll down and read numbers 4 and 5!
For all who think space exploration is a waste of time and money:
http://neat.jpl.nasa.gov/neofaq.html
If you don't want to read the whole thing, scroll down and read numbers 4 and 5!
Space exploration is vitally important for the human race. It will give us better knowledge of our solar system. It will also give us the chance to colonize another world and fuck that one up too. Look out Mars we're on our way!!!!
Iamforever
Banned
A waste of funds huh? So you are saying the the satellites that brings all the sports you watch and love were just a waste of funds and you could live without them! Huh? HUH? LOL
fine!! there is one good reason to have SATELLITES. not exploration to jupiter or mercury. i dont care if there is life on mars. if there is let them come here where at least we have our pitiful weapons. :thumbsup:
It seemed in that article that most scenarios we would be able to use existing technologies except in the cases where the time to impact was very short. In any case I have read where they think in the next couple of decades we will have mapped out most if not all of the larger near-Earth asteroids that could do significant worldwide or regional damage. If after that there is a future impact event then we can start preparations for it. Dumping a huge amount of money when we probably already have the technology to divert an asteroid and will know the position of most of the larger ones in the near future on the enormously low probability that one will strike the Earth in the very near future doesn't make a lot of sense. Sure it's always possible one might hit the Earth next year, but on a practical level you can't base your response to things like that, especially when the knowledge we have now will probably have a good chance of fixing most of the problems.
Om3ga said:
I think that is a little unfair. I would say it's more a factor of having different priorities than just having an aversion to technology. To me, for a lot of the manned missions the cost to benefit aspect isn't worth it with other more important things that need taken care of. It would be like having an bad illness and suffering from starvation, but instead of buying medicine or food with some money you received you go out and buy a brand new Playstation 3 because you think it's fun.
Plus this is a little off topic but looking back at our recent history it seems in some ways the Luddites might have had a point after all. I can think of a lot of jobs that were, in fact, lost because of automation and increased technology. Why in theory that should lead to the benefit of mankind because we have to do less for more, and it might have did that for a while, in the last half century or so it usually just ends up as an means to divert a disproportionate amount of wealth to a smaller portion of people and lower wages on people that used to make a good living. Maybe they had more forethought than people realized.
Aces&Jacks said:
I have never seen that work effectivly. The most I have ever seen is half-assed solutions that don't amount to nearly enough time, resources, and money and don't really ever solve any problems. In the few instances where it does help, people forget about it after a short time even if the problem persists. If we really could help feed the poor and give them good lives if we wanted, I don't know what that would say about us,...that we really don't want to do that.
Plus I don't buy the argument that it's just a small portion of the amount that is spent and doesn't matter. To that I say so...? If that's the case then you take the money that is there from that and spend it on more important things even if it helps only a little on a scale relatively to something else. I know a lot of people that the "only billions of dollars" form it would help tremendously.
