The space station, estimated by some to cost $94 billion before it's finished, is ``the money pit of all government money pits,'' retired NASA engineer Don Nelson says in his new book, ``NASA New Millennium Problems and Solutions.''
``It is not being driven by a need for advancements in space or science,'' Nelson writes. ``Its momentum is based on the gluttonous appetite of a government jobs program.''
It's refreshing to hear someone saying this in the popular media. The space station has become more about politics (both national international) and public relations than it is about science. It's sucking money away from more economical but less glamorous scientific
projects, and our knowledge of the universe is going to suffer for it.
I note that this translator technology is being tested for military use, and that the exoskeleton research is being funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). While I'm sure that all of these technologies will have civilian applications, I can't help but wonder how much better off we would be if we took the money we use for researching military technology and devoted it to peaceful purposes. Maybe I'm a little bit of an idealist, but it saddens to me to think of how many of the best and brightest minds in science and engineering are devoted to studying better ways for us to kill one another. There must be a more fruitful way to make use of all that knowledge, dedication, and intellectual prowess.
Living here in California where people are constantly complaining about rising electric rates and rolling blackouts that disrupt your soap opera viewing, articles like this really help put things in perspective. Imagine a country where renting a 40-watt photovoltaic panel can be a life changing experience. Totally alien to our own way of life.
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Re:houston we have a problem...
on
Movies in Space?
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· Score: 2
Yes, but Ron Howard was merely looking for a degree of realism by doing that in Apollo 13. This, on the other hand, is ideal for someone who want tons of international publicity merely for filming something in orbit -- something that might otherwise not be worth watching.
Consuming mainstream media makes you part of the mainstream, it makes you feel like you belong to something large and popular. This is why people are happy to spend $9 to see "Pearl Harbor". It is $9 spent on being part of the community and feeling like you belong.
I never felt so alienated from my fellow man as when I made the mistake of seeing this movie. I just can't relate at all to anyone who could actually sit through this three hour celebation of stupidity, let alone enjoy it. It is even sadder to think that movies like these must be a major source of historical information for many people, given the ignorance of the average American and the awful state of our educational system. Yet another reason to worry about Big Media.
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It's refreshing to hear someone saying this in the popular media. The space station has become more about politics (both national international) and public relations than it is about science. It's sucking money away from more economical but less glamorous scientific projects, and our knowledge of the universe is going to suffer for it.
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I note that this translator technology is being tested for military use, and that the exoskeleton research is being funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency). While I'm sure that all of these technologies will have civilian applications, I can't help but wonder how much better off we would be if we took the money we use for researching military technology and devoted it to peaceful purposes. Maybe I'm a little bit of an idealist, but it saddens to me to think of how many of the best and brightest minds in science and engineering are devoted to studying better ways for us to kill one another. There must be a more fruitful way to make use of all that knowledge, dedication, and intellectual prowess.
--
Living here in California where people are constantly complaining about rising electric rates and rolling blackouts that disrupt your soap opera viewing, articles like this really help put things in perspective. Imagine a country where renting a 40-watt photovoltaic panel can be a life changing experience. Totally alien to our own way of life.
--
Yes, but Ron Howard was merely looking for a degree of realism by doing that in Apollo 13. This, on the other hand, is ideal for someone who want tons of international publicity merely for filming something in orbit -- something that might otherwise not be worth watching.
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I never felt so alienated from my fellow man as when I made the mistake of seeing this movie. I just can't relate at all to anyone who could actually sit through this three hour celebation of stupidity, let alone enjoy it. It is even sadder to think that movies like these must be a major source of historical information for many people, given the ignorance of the average American and the awful state of our educational system. Yet another reason to worry about Big Media.
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