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1st Heinlein Prize Awarded
baxissimo writes "The first ever Heinlein prize for Advances in Space Commercialization is going to be awarded to Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, for various activities including his efforts as Founder and Chairman of the Ansari X Prize. The prize is a cool 1/2 million USD plus a few other nifty trinkets -- a gold Heinlein Medallion, the Lady Vivamus Sword (as described in Heinlein's book Glory Road) and a Laureate's Diploma. The award ceremony will be held in Houston, July 7, 2006. This prize has been around a good while (since Heinlein's death in 1988?) with no awardees. Hopefully this will make the existence of the prize a little more widely known, and help spur further developments like the X Prize."
Is this like selling air?
Man is a slave because freedom is difficult, whereas slavery is easy.
This is a must see ... the Lady Vivamus Sword
You'd think with a Heinlein prize, the award would be a giant gold breast. ;)
But on a serious note, I'm glad this prize is out there. Aside from the usual flamewar about private industry versus government-driven research, it seems to me the more people/companies/organizations/entities that are trying to get into space, the faster our species as a whole will get off this rock and start exploring the universe.
Gifts for Geeks - Stuff that really matters!
I just hope after this Dr. Peter H. Diamandis remembers TINSTAAFL! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TINSTAAFL
Always be polite.
...this is a prize for offering a prize?
Doesn't it make you feel good to know that our freedoms are protected by politicans, lawyers and journalists.
He can yell "front!" at any time and have beautiful women available to do his bidding 24 hours a day. He even gets a fair witness included at no extra charge.
Where does the school board find them and why do they keep sending them to ME?
I actually saw the web-site before it went down. IMHO, It was a pretty poor design and we are all better off without it.
There's an Air and Space Museum!
My 0.02 cents
Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C Clarke, Larry Niven, to name a few.
Heinlein also had some interesting commentary on some "not PC" topics as well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stranger_in_a_Strange _Land
Do you grok?
www.effectiveelectrons.com "chips that work" Analog, RF, Mixed Signal
The problem with extreme left-wing socialistic science fiction is that there's no boobs or underage sex. It's soooo boring. :P
Apart from some of the technical stuff he mentions, check this out (From the wikipedia page): In Solution Unsatisfactory, written in 1940, Heinlein set out the following predictions: in 1941 the US government would start a large-scale secret project, which would make nuclear weapons available for use by the end of 1944 (radioactive dust rather than a bomb - but with much the same strategic implications); the weapon would be used to destroy an Axis city in 1945; this would bring WWII to an end, but start a nuclear arms race between the US and the Soviet Union. (In Heinlein's story, it leads to a new war which the US wins, gaining domination over the whole world but becoming a military dictatorship in the process).
An award for someone who gave out an award? Why don't we recognise actual innovators?
an ill wind that blows no good
Too centered on US authors, may be?
(Btw, I consider Heinlein one of the best SF storytellers of the last century. I'm just wondering at this prize, because Glory Road ain't one of his good books. He's written great stuff, but this run-of-the-mill fantasy doesn't come close.)
Joachim
People don't write Manifestos any more -- what's going on in this world? [Frank Zappa]
The article doesn't mention it, but I assume this date was chosen because it is Heinlein's Birthday.
I know this because it is also mine, and I always thought that was cool.
-Tommy
"I got a half gallon of Jack, and 2 dozen Ant Traps. I'm about to get wild." -me
> his extreme right-wing, dog-eat-dog capitalistic propanganda
Oh, you mean libertarian?
No folly is more costly than the folly of intolerant idealism. - Winston Churchill
My username > * > Your username!
;)
Whos Pwned Now
(woo, end of day immaturity)
That poor server has been slashdotted, of course... but you can still see thumbnails at Google Images. http://images.google.com/images?q=lady+vivamus&sa= N&tab=wi
"If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
>she'd be something of a wrist-breaker.
I'm not sure how it would work on a saber, but you see that angled grip on hammers and other tools these days. That grip would put the line of the blade in direct line with the line of your forearm. Less arm fatigue when hacking at the annoying peasantry from horseback.
Some mornings it's hardly worth chewing through the restraints to get out of bed.
When thinking about net neutrality I am often reminded on one of his quotes.
"There has grown up in the minds of certain groups in this
country the notion that because a man or a corporation has made a
profit out of the public for a number of years, the government
and the courts are charged with the duty of guaranteeing such
profit in the future, even in the face of changing circumstances
and contrary public interest."
-- Robert Heinlein, "Life-Line" (1939)
Right. Because Heinlein certainly never portrayed the downsides of capitalism. Nor did he ever show a centrally controlled or socialist economy in a positive light. Oh, wait...
Er, not quite so much. That may be one of the more common positions that seem to be advocated by his books, but it is not by far the only one. For instance, "starship troopers" is more about the nature of war and civic duty than about commerce. Also springing to mind are "Stranger in a strange land", which some have suggested was part of the origin of the whole "free love" movement. "The Moon is a harsh mistress" doesn't so much go for capitalistic propaganda as the assertion that paying for what you get is unavoidable, even in a society that tries to obscure it. "Beyond This Horizon" goes farther, with money being considered just a representation of a share in the production of the society.
All in all, my impression is that the primary purpose in the whole set is to get people thinking. Some of the books make Heinlein seem to come from one side; other books make it look like his actual opinion is completely on the other side. The predominant impression I got from them was one of "relationships are important" and "human beings should think". I mean, one of the main themes in "starship troppers" was the idea of formulating a system of morals based on clear and precise reasoning from a set of axioms.