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space travel vs. creator
April 18, 2012 at 4:02 pm
neil de grasse tyson thinks the government recently has lost so much trust in the space program. i agree. sure, nasa is insanely underfunded, but why? sort of makes me wonder if they're equating space exploration (not so much low-orbit human space flight, which is getting 100b over the next 10 years thru the current administration), with scientists being able to eventually (dis)prove the reality of a creator. does anybody else see any viability in this?
perhaps i'm being incredibly naive and that's what it's ALL about. for a country that desires to be on top of everything, the germans, russians and chinese will have so far outbounded the states that we may not catch them. and that's not to say that we must catch them, but it's pretty forward-thinking to be first to the next frontier. no?
they can land a rover on mars, yet they still have to stick a human finger up my ass to do a prostate exam?! - ricky gervais
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RE: space travel vs. creator
April 18, 2012 at 4:14 pm
I dont think that that is the issue. I think its more that politicians want immediate results and don't take to much thought over the long term as they only spend a few years in the job. The next government will take the flak for their short sighted ideas.
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RE: space travel vs. creator
April 18, 2012 at 4:16 pm
I think the problem they have is that NASA is spending money that isn't being used to blow someone up or stop abortions.
Even if the open windows of science at first make us shiver after the cozy indoor warmth of traditional humanizing myths, in the end the fresh air brings vigor, and the great spaces have a splendor of their own - Bertrand Russell
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RE: space travel vs. creator
April 18, 2012 at 4:26 pm
(This post was last modified: April 18, 2012 at 4:27 pm by jackman.)
(April 18, 2012 at 4:14 pm)Insanity x Wrote: I dont think that that is the issue. I think its more that politicians want immediate results and don't take to much thought over the long term as they only spend a few years in the job. The next government will take the flak for their short sighted ideas.
that's true not only of the government but the way most people are now. i think an unstable economy incites that kind of thinking. "better get mine while i can, who knows about tomorrow" kinda thinking.
(April 18, 2012 at 4:16 pm)Faith No More Wrote: I think the problem they have is that NASA is spending money that isn't being used to blow someone up or stop abortions.
lol, so true. damn warmongers.
they can land a rover on mars, yet they still have to stick a human finger up my ass to do a prostate exam?! - ricky gervais
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RE: space travel vs. creator
April 18, 2012 at 4:35 pm
(April 18, 2012 at 4:26 pm)jackman Wrote: that's true not only of the government but the way most people are now. i think an unstable economy incites that kind of thinking. "better get mine while i can, who knows about tomorrow" kinda thinking.
Exactly. People get desperate and who can blame them I guess.
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RE: space travel vs. creator
April 18, 2012 at 4:42 pm
(April 18, 2012 at 4:26 pm)jackman Wrote: that's true not only of the government but the way most people are now. i think an unstable economy incites that kind of thinking. "better get mine while i can, who knows about tomorrow" kinda thinking
That kind of thinking thrives in the "I deserves mine because I can fuck everyone else to get it" overall environment
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RE: space travel vs. creator
April 18, 2012 at 4:46 pm
(This post was last modified: April 18, 2012 at 4:49 pm by jackman.)
(April 18, 2012 at 4:42 pm)Chuck Wrote: (April 18, 2012 at 4:26 pm)jackman Wrote: that's true not only of the government but the way most people are now. i think an unstable economy incites that kind of thinking. "better get mine while i can, who knows about tomorrow" kinda thinking
That kind of thinking thrives in the "I deserves mine because I can fuck everyone else to get it" overall environment
that is the language that politicians speak. power is money.
to me, if we find other forms of life, perhaps even more advanced than ourselves, wouldn't that be the most solid evidence to the contrary for the christian's interpretation of "man being made in the image of god" a unique creation, that he loved so much, he even entered this life as jesus christ.
tho the states were founded on separation of church and state (i KNOW someone will call me on that), that's not how it runs in reality. i'm still leaning hard in the direction of them not wanting to upset the population at large with any facts that will upset their life's work.
they can land a rover on mars, yet they still have to stick a human finger up my ass to do a prostate exam?! - ricky gervais
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RE: space travel vs. creator
April 18, 2012 at 5:28 pm
The real issue is that we are stuck in a cold war nationalistic "my country is better than yours" mentality. The only way to efficiently explore outer space is through international cooperation.We need to emphasize international cooperation with the Europeans, the Russians, the Japanese, the Indians, and yes, even the Chinese. The fact is that space exploration is very expensive. By cooperating internationally, we share the costs, gain access to the best minds and technologies, and share the benefits. The astronauts understand that when you see the Earth from space you see few, if any, boundaries. And they are learning from their experience on the ISS that international cooperation in space is really the only viable way to do it. It makes sense.
'The difference between a Miracle and a Fact is exactly the difference between a mermaid and seal. It could not be expressed better.'
-- Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens
"I think that in the discussion of natural problems we ought to begin not with the scriptures, but with experiments, demonstrations, and observations".
- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
"In short, Meyer has shown that his first disastrous book was not a fluke: he is capable of going into any field in which he has no training or research experience and botching it just as badly as he did molecular biology. As I've written before, if you are a complete amateur and don't understand a subject, don't demonstrate the Dunning-Kruger effect by writing a book about it and proving your ignorance to everyone else! "
- Dr. Donald Prothero
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RE: space travel vs. creator
April 18, 2012 at 5:42 pm
Personally, I think it is kind of a waste of time to explore our solar system. At least until we can travel it easily and mine various planets and moons. Most of the available monies should, in my opinion, be spent on research into propulsion systems. Until we can visit other solar systems, we are just running around in our own backyard like children, turning over logs to find salamanders.
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RE: space travel vs. creator
April 18, 2012 at 6:03 pm
(This post was last modified: April 18, 2012 at 6:07 pm by orogenicman.)
(April 18, 2012 at 5:42 pm)Paul the Human Wrote: Personally, I think it is kind of a waste of time to explore our solar system. At least until we can travel it easily and mine various planets and moons. Most of the available monies should, in my opinion, be spent on research into propulsion systems. Until we can visit other solar systems, we are just running around in our own backyard like children, turning over logs to find salamanders.
We have to start somewhere. There are plenty of mysteries in our own backyard to unravel.
'The difference between a Miracle and a Fact is exactly the difference between a mermaid and seal. It could not be expressed better.'
-- Samuel "Mark Twain" Clemens
"I think that in the discussion of natural problems we ought to begin not with the scriptures, but with experiments, demonstrations, and observations".
- Galileo Galilei (1564-1642)
"In short, Meyer has shown that his first disastrous book was not a fluke: he is capable of going into any field in which he has no training or research experience and botching it just as badly as he did molecular biology. As I've written before, if you are a complete amateur and don't understand a subject, don't demonstrate the Dunning-Kruger effect by writing a book about it and proving your ignorance to everyone else! "
- Dr. Donald Prothero
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