First, I'm stunned to see that as the reaction from a component of the press I thought would be better informed. But I think there may be a cautionary tale here for NASA. For years now NASA has seen fit to promote planetary science by touting possibility of discovering life elsewhere. In my humble opinion, the only life ever to be found in the solar system will be that carried from earth. That doesn't mean we shouldn't be looking for life. But I believe it does mean that a more balanced and honest approach is needed toward the public (and the press which is the conduit). If every NASA mission has to be sold as a search for life, much interesting science will be skewed (there is an awful lot of interesting science to be done having little to do with an ET life hypothesis). At some point the popular press will become jaded. If (when) that occurs, NASA will learn what tight budgets really mean. The question of why tax monies should be used to fund this scientific endeavor is a valid one. The scientist in me thrills to see the latest space spectaculars (just yesterday I watched yet another movie revolving around Apollo 11–"The Dish," which is an excellent movie, though the language a bit rough for children). The libertarian inside me shouts that money should not be extracted forcibly from the public for such purposes. NASA needs to make its case in an honest fashion, not larding in search for ET. Space travel as Noah's Ark tied to scare-mongering scenarios is, I believe, an even more dangerous fund-raising trick. Jim ---- Jim Cobb james@cobb.name On Jan 19, 2005, at 11:51 PM, Greg Taylor wrote:
They can just go to H*** for all I care! Was it worth the money? As far as I'm concerned it was! 10 times over! (but we want eye candy... WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!) Buncha chumps anyway! Please note: I am unbelievably grumpy today. I am so, SO tired of scientific neanderthals. >:( GRRRRRRRRRRR!
--- Patrick Wiggins <paw@trilobyte.net> wrote:
Comments?
http://www.spacedaily.com/news/oped-05i.html
Patrick
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