Re: OT: Mars Is Alright Tonight!

On May 27, 8:39 pm, Dale Houstman <d...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Lookingglass wrote:
"Bip Bop" <bip_...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote

On May 27, 5:59 am, "Sean Carroll" <seanc...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Bip Bop" <bip_...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote

Space exploration has produced the technology that has given us so
much of what is no considered essential to our modern life.

Especially that freeze-dried ice cream!!

I was thinking more along the lines of the integrated circuit.
**************************************************

...or Teflon.

...or a myriad of communications equipment, insulation materials, etc.

But - really - I grow weary of having to defend the space program (at
its finest) by making it out to be a source of "utilitarian" devices and
other luxury items for the easily bored and the hopelessly jaded. Fact
is, I think the space program (including such fantastically rich
programs as the Hubble Telescope and similar things) is perfctly in tune
with the natural curiosity and information-seeking character of the
human race, and the human imagination (never mind the kitchen) is
enriched by each new discovery. In fact, there were plenty of people who
derided the cost of an earlier period of exploration, and there will be
plenty when science sets out on its next little caravan. We complain
that the money could be better spent on medical treatment and candy for
the orphans, but the fact is, if we weren't spending it exploring the
nature of Mars, we'd be waging another futile war, and building missiles
that only kill "small brown people". I'd rather blast it into space any day.

dmh

You have said what I being taken by surprise at the criticism could
come up with! Thanks, Dale! You said it very well indeed!
.

Relevant Pages

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