Well put. Guys, get off your high horse. Youve got to realize that, perhaps, just maybe, if developers put an absoludicrous amount of work into a game and/or a service to play that game, they might not want somebody rewriting said service so that people can play pirated copies. They didnt release any of their stuff under GPL, so why get uppity??? It's their own damn product and they need to remain sovent.
Im not so sure about "several years coasting in interplanetary space" - take a looksie at some of the nuclear/ion/solar sail/plasma etc. research going on right now. I think the estimate is several months now with some of the technology NASA is developing, and with the right excersise our astronauts would be healthy as horses. The reduced travel time would cut down on exposure I'd assume. Also, why has no one thought about lead shielded modules? Or have they?
Easily acessible water ice is critical to making manned missions much easier. It's terrific for producing potable water (im assuming they'll filter it!), and can be broken down (via electrolysis?) into component Hydrogen (rocket fuel) and Oxygen (useful stuff). Zubrin's gonna have a field day with this, he's outlined an excellent;y thought out mission plan that hinges on ice below the surface. Now if we can just get those fresnel lenses or mirrors in orbit a la KS Robinson.......
While I take back the "utilitarian schmuck" comment, I still think you're being rather short-sighted, and it seems as if you're personally affronted by this kinds of research. Personally, as a researcher (biophysics/quantum chemistry), I believe that this "fringe" stuff can be both a worthwhile and exciting endevours, as well as something that can yield real results. Solid-state physics research is amazingly important, but it gets lots of money through big companies like IBM. Why not let the academic institutions and governments research this "wacky" stuff? I firmly believe that both of these proposals are quite doable, its just a matter of engineering prowess and of tech. maturation.
Peace out.
THERE WE GO!!! Another anti-science, utilitarian schmuck. With more and more people like you around sniping about spending money on knowledge for knowledge's sake, I cant say western civilization's future looks very bright.
"Hence, the tech was available."
BZZZZZZZ!!! Wrong!!! Von Braun et al. CREATED the tech. Just as the basic components to make rockets existed in the '30s, the basic components of both solar sails and space elevators clearly exist in labs right now. It's the job of theory to create the basis for the technologies (in this case, most likely automated nanotech) to allow the engineers to weave together those components into something amazing.
You've yet to provide a vailid argument as to why you "dont see this happening with solar sails or space elevator" and really seem to be knocking on the dreamers working on them. Why?
"Imagination is more important than knowledge"
-Einstein
So, in essence, you're saying that if a theory cannot be tested by current technology, it deserves to be completely rejected. Wow thats stupid. Sorry, but you're dead wrong. Glad you have no say in the scientific community. Technology has a sneaky way of catching up with theory (can you say...oh, ATOM BOMB!). Another case in point (and my favorite underdog/wacky research tech, one that i'm researching at Yale's NMR lab and writing a paper on): quantum computation. When Feynmann proposed using molecules and intramolecualr quantum forces as the basis for a scalable computer, people laughed. Now IBM has created a seven-qubit bulk ensemble device that can scale up to factor ridiculously large numbers using Shor's Algorithm, and quantum crytography will very soon be a reality.
People like you fail to see how these wacky theories can ever be profitable. You think like a businessman, not a scientist. Solar sails and space elavators are wonderful ideas (championed by the great A.C. Clarke!!!) whose time will come. The technological basis for both is already in place, its really a matter of funding and of large-scale replication. Ever heard of bucky tubes, or of the fairly successful NASA experiments with solar sails????
Sheesh indeed.
Gimme a break! Sheesh. I'm sure there were plenty of "realist" idiots like you trying to discourage true geniuses like Von Braun or Willy Ley to give up on researching manned spaceflight back in the early 20th. Thank goodness they were smart enough not to listen.
The stars are our destiny, it just remains to be seen how and when we get there.
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Well put. Guys, get off your high horse. Youve got to realize that, perhaps, just maybe, if developers put an absoludicrous amount of work into a game and/or a service to play that game, they might not want somebody rewriting said service so that people can play pirated copies. They didnt release any of their stuff under GPL, so why get uppity??? It's their own damn product and they need to remain sovent.
Im not so sure about "several years coasting in interplanetary space" - take a looksie at some of the nuclear/ion/solar sail/plasma etc. research going on right now. I think the estimate is several months now with some of the technology NASA is developing, and with the right excersise our astronauts would be healthy as horses. The reduced travel time would cut down on exposure I'd assume. Also, why has no one thought about lead shielded modules? Or have they?
Easily acessible water ice is critical to making manned missions much easier. It's terrific for producing potable water (im assuming they'll filter it!), and can be broken down (via electrolysis?) into component Hydrogen (rocket fuel) and Oxygen (useful stuff). Zubrin's gonna have a field day with this, he's outlined an excellent;y thought out mission plan that hinges on ice below the surface. Now if we can just get those fresnel lenses or mirrors in orbit a la KS Robinson.......
amen to that
While I take back the "utilitarian schmuck" comment, I still think you're being rather short-sighted, and it seems as if you're personally affronted by this kinds of research. Personally, as a researcher (biophysics/quantum chemistry), I believe that this "fringe" stuff can be both a worthwhile and exciting endevours, as well as something that can yield real results. Solid-state physics research is amazingly important, but it gets lots of money through big companies like IBM. Why not let the academic institutions and governments research this "wacky" stuff? I firmly believe that both of these proposals are quite doable, its just a matter of engineering prowess and of tech. maturation. Peace out.
awww...sounds like someone's smarting from budget reallocation to sexier physics research.....
THERE WE GO!!! Another anti-science, utilitarian schmuck. With more and more people like you around sniping about spending money on knowledge for knowledge's sake, I cant say western civilization's future looks very bright.
"Hence, the tech was available." BZZZZZZZ!!! Wrong!!! Von Braun et al. CREATED the tech. Just as the basic components to make rockets existed in the '30s, the basic components of both solar sails and space elevators clearly exist in labs right now. It's the job of theory to create the basis for the technologies (in this case, most likely automated nanotech) to allow the engineers to weave together those components into something amazing. You've yet to provide a vailid argument as to why you "dont see this happening with solar sails or space elevator" and really seem to be knocking on the dreamers working on them. Why? "Imagination is more important than knowledge" -Einstein
So, in essence, you're saying that if a theory cannot be tested by current technology, it deserves to be completely rejected. Wow thats stupid. Sorry, but you're dead wrong. Glad you have no say in the scientific community. Technology has a sneaky way of catching up with theory (can you say...oh, ATOM BOMB!). Another case in point (and my favorite underdog/wacky research tech, one that i'm researching at Yale's NMR lab and writing a paper on): quantum computation. When Feynmann proposed using molecules and intramolecualr quantum forces as the basis for a scalable computer, people laughed. Now IBM has created a seven-qubit bulk ensemble device that can scale up to factor ridiculously large numbers using Shor's Algorithm, and quantum crytography will very soon be a reality. People like you fail to see how these wacky theories can ever be profitable. You think like a businessman, not a scientist. Solar sails and space elavators are wonderful ideas (championed by the great A.C. Clarke!!!) whose time will come. The technological basis for both is already in place, its really a matter of funding and of large-scale replication. Ever heard of bucky tubes, or of the fairly successful NASA experiments with solar sails???? Sheesh indeed.
Gimme a break! Sheesh. I'm sure there were plenty of "realist" idiots like you trying to discourage true geniuses like Von Braun or Willy Ley to give up on researching manned spaceflight back in the early 20th. Thank goodness they were smart enough not to listen. The stars are our destiny, it just remains to be seen how and when we get there.