RE: We Stopped Dreaming (Neil deGrasse Tyson)
August 9, 2013 at 8:52 am
(This post was last modified: August 9, 2013 at 8:54 am by ManMachine.)
(August 9, 2013 at 8:01 am)orogenicman Wrote:(August 8, 2013 at 7:01 pm)ManMachine Wrote:
Except that NASA is no longer simply about "national egos". NASA partners with many international agencies from Europe, Russia, Japan, and elsewhere. The ISS would not have happened were it not for those partnerships. Neither would Cassini, Hubble, Curiosity, even the Shuttle, and many other space projects. And we aren't going to get to Mars and elsewhere by ourselves. Those are the facts on the ground. Moreover, NASA isn't just abut outer space anymore. Its outreach to schools all over the world inspires children to get into stem science fields. And there is nothing disingenuous about that.
I didn't say there was, I said egotistical nonsense undermines disinterested scientific endeavour. It's a point about the limiting effects of anthropocentrism in science.
MM
(August 9, 2013 at 8:50 am)Esquilax Wrote:(August 9, 2013 at 8:42 am)ManMachine Wrote: Are you suggesting selective anecdotal commentating is 'scientific fact'?
MM
Are you suggesting that a primarily subjective emotion like pride can ever properly be measured outside of subjective accounts? What we call, in the science biz, self reporting?
No, I'm saying it has no part in disinterested scientific endeavour, how are you not getting this?
MM
"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions" - Leonardo da Vinci
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
