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OzOz · 11-08-2005, 03:36 AM

Serpent,

Not sure about your link between not needing more satellites, and the damage that the mass media is doing to us.

Also, note that "egg-heads" will not necessarily be interested in throwing themselves into any given person's pet cause. Different people have different things that drive them, and forcing them into something that they're simply not interested in is not going to be good for society - instead of getting the benefit that you might have got out of them, you'll get very half-hearted boredom, and that's not good.

Also, the "mess" we're in is not the fault of the "egg-heads". It would be very rare that a scientist would be faced with a moral decision to not proceed with research because of how it will affect the world. I would argue that "messes" derive more from the political and corporate worlds. Even in weaponry, you'll probably find that scientists working in that area do it out of a mixture of interest and a genuine belief in national defence.

For my part, given a choice between a job in the Moon program and an environmental job, I'd take the Moon job without a second's thought. That's what drives me. Personally I find environmental stuff a bit dull - and I'm turned off by the exaggeration and dishonesty that I believe to be coming from all too many of the more aggressive environmentalists, and the constant chanting that it's the most incredibly important thing of all. It gets old really quickly.

I agree that we can and should take better care of this planet and of each other - but I don't believe that this is a reason to slow down in space. Personally I'm very glad that the US is going back to the Moon. The US is rich enough to do that and fight poverty. Both are just a matter of political will. I don't believe that poverty will ever be eradicated, but it must be fought. However, the probable fact that it will always be here is why I can never support the argument that we shouldn't do X until we've eliminated poverty.

Anyway, I'm starting to ramble. More another time maybe.

11-08-2005, 03:36 AM	#51 (permalink)
OzOz Psycho Location: Right here, right now.	Serpent, Not sure about your link between not needing more satellites, and the damage that the mass media is doing to us. Also, note that "egg-heads" will not necessarily be interested in throwing themselves into any given person's pet cause. Different people have different things that drive them, and forcing them into something that they're simply not interested in is not going to be good for society - instead of getting the benefit that you might have got out of them, you'll get very half-hearted boredom, and that's not good. Also, the "mess" we're in is not the fault of the "egg-heads". It would be very rare that a scientist would be faced with a moral decision to not proceed with research because of how it will affect the world. I would argue that "messes" derive more from the political and corporate worlds. Even in weaponry, you'll probably find that scientists working in that area do it out of a mixture of interest and a genuine belief in national defence. For my part, given a choice between a job in the Moon program and an environmental job, I'd take the Moon job without a second's thought. That's what drives me. Personally I find environmental stuff a bit dull - and I'm turned off by the exaggeration and dishonesty that I believe to be coming from all too many of the more aggressive environmentalists, and the constant chanting that it's the most incredibly important thing of all. It gets old really quickly. I agree that we can and should take better care of this planet and of each other - but I don't believe that this is a reason to slow down in space. Personally I'm very glad that the US is going back to the Moon. The US is rich enough to do that and fight poverty. Both are just a matter of political will. I don't believe that poverty will ever be eradicated, but it must be fought. However, the probable fact that it will always be here is why I can never support the argument that we shouldn't do X until we've eliminated poverty. Anyway, I'm starting to ramble. More another time maybe. __________________ Maybe you should put some shorts on or something, if you wanna keep fighting evil today.