I think what a lot of people forget about the Lord of the Rings is that they go far beyond a simple story without reading into them at all. When Tolkien wrote them he set out to create a mythology for the modern world, a fantastical story we could all relate to, and all think wistfully of.
Every great culture has their mythos, the Greeks had theirs, the Ancient Egyptians theirs, etc etc, but the modern world had changed, and needed something new to call its own. Tolkien created that.
LOTR plays on archetypes common to all mythology, ones that pull at the heart strings of human kind, and we were given, through the books, something new, yet familiar enough to be within easy grasp of our minds eye. We need classic good vs. evil, but we also need the harsh lessons that go along with the journey to find destiny.
Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of Robert Jorden, etc as well but their works don't come close to comparing to LOTR, because they weren't written for the same purposes. Tolkien published his books because HE wanted to, not for fans, not for money, simply to tell his story. Something most modern authors (like the aforementioned RJ) don't. This true love of story telling sets him apart, and infuses the work with some of its quality.
As far as economics go, basic publishing costs are $25 startup for binding, plus about $2-4 per copy. Thus printing a large number of books reduces the cost quite a bit.
I love to see articles like this hit the news. To many people are familiar with Terminator style AI, and Star Wars style AI, which is quite a long way off. While the prospects are interesting, this self same prospect places a stigma on AI from a lot of other scientists. I hope more articles like these surface over the coming years to answer the question millions of scientists are asking "What does AI really do for us?"
Unfortunatly NASA's funding is a bit low, a fact I am all too familiar with considering my fiance works for a NASA contractor (NASA has had to reneg on 3 contracts in her department in just the past 2 months). Comercializing potentially useful software and hardware is a large part of what allows NASA to continue it's work and research.
Another part of the quarentine that is especially important for NASA, is that news like that has a headline that grabs peoples attention. Currently, the public interest (and therefor also the government funding) of NASA is at a low point. Researchers there do not have the funding for the missions which they could be executing. Any news which could possibly buzz it's way to the headlines is worth putting out. Public awareness of NASA policies, especially the potentially exciting ones, can also raise public interest.
As to why the public should care about NASA, a large portion of every day technology used today (many with medical applications) from the microwave to velcro were invented for use by NASA. People today need to remember the benifits of the space program. I give NASA a big hand for their attempts to interest the media and public in their work!
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Every great culture has their mythos, the Greeks had theirs, the Ancient Egyptians theirs, etc etc, but the modern world had changed, and needed something new to call its own. Tolkien created that.
LOTR plays on archetypes common to all mythology, ones that pull at the heart strings of human kind, and we were given, through the books, something new, yet familiar enough to be within easy grasp of our minds eye. We need classic good vs. evil, but we also need the harsh lessons that go along with the journey to find destiny.
Don't get me wrong, I am a fan of Robert Jorden, etc as well but their works don't come close to comparing to LOTR, because they weren't written for the same purposes. Tolkien published his books because HE wanted to, not for fans, not for money, simply to tell his story. Something most modern authors (like the aforementioned RJ) don't. This true love of story telling sets him apart, and infuses the work with some of its quality.
Plus he was a darn good writer!
As far as economics go, basic publishing costs are $25 startup for binding, plus about $2-4 per copy. Thus printing a large number of books reduces the cost quite a bit.
I love to see articles like this hit the news. To many people are familiar with Terminator style AI, and Star Wars style AI, which is quite a long way off. While the prospects are interesting, this self same prospect places a stigma on AI from a lot of other scientists. I hope more articles like these surface over the coming years to answer the question millions of scientists are asking "What does AI really do for us?"
Unfortunatly NASA's funding is a bit low, a fact I am all too familiar with considering my fiance works for a NASA contractor (NASA has had to reneg on 3 contracts in her department in just the past 2 months). Comercializing potentially useful software and hardware is a large part of what allows NASA to continue it's work and research.
As to why the public should care about NASA, a large portion of every day technology used today (many with medical applications) from the microwave to velcro were invented for use by NASA. People today need to remember the benifits of the space program. I give NASA a big hand for their attempts to interest the media and public in their work!