Comments on: But what’s it for?

By: Black Shards, In Your Eyes, Blinding » A Small Example of What Science is For

Thu, 29 May 2008 12:33:52 +0000

[...] on to Claudia’s piece about the importance of scientific R&D, this article, while admittedly monkey business, [...]

By: Nihat

Nihat — Thu, 29 May 2008 05:54:21 +0000

Re: Sure, the airline industry is far from perfect.

Are you kidding? It was on the news today: they are not going to serve peanuts or pretzels anymore. I say, that’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back after $15 charge for the first luggage checked in (last week’s news) and paying fares determined by the pound (prediction for the near future).

By: nicrivera

nicrivera — Thu, 29 May 2008 04:19:33 +0000

Not to take this topic off on an tangent, but I wonder if the issue is whether people “attacking” the space program are truly arguing that there is no benefit to exploring space or whether they are merely arguing that it should not be a priority of the federal government. Absent from this discussion is whether the government should be devoting the billions of dollars it spends on the space program to other priorities as well as whether this is yet another area which would be better suited were it to be run by private enterprise rather than a government bureaucracy.

Many of us take air travel for granted nowadays, but there was once a time when people though that such feat–the organized transport of people via aircraft–could never be accomplished were it not controlled by the government. Yet airlines are run as private enterprises now, and no one even gives it a second thought. Sure, the airline industry is far from perfect. But would any of you here really want the federal government to own and run the airline industry?

Government subsidization of industries removes the incentive for innovation. I believe that the technology and innovation for space exploration would occur at a much faster rate if it were left in the hands of private industry enterprise, much the way that computer innovation and technology has exploded during the last quarter century.

While I believe that space exploration is a laudable goal, it doesn’t strike me as being a necessary function of government. The billions of dollars we spend on NASA would be better spent–I think–dealing with some of our economic issues at home.

By: Patrick Murphy

Patrick Murphy — Thu, 29 May 2008 01:54:06 +0000

Huh, why would anyone want someone to study something that "someone" isn’t interested in? If a person is interested in space why have them study cancer cures, sounds like a waste of research dollars there! Why fund them though (the next obvious question for sure) since it is purely an interest on the part of an individual? Well, no ones’ crystal ball is clearer than anyone elses, but the science and technology to get things done in one arena are often applicable to another and who knows what questions will be answered or asked and what discoveries will be made? Besides, news like the Mars landing is a lot more interesting (and a needed break) from all the campaign news!

By: mars pheonix

mars pheonix — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:35:56 +0000

[...] [...]

By: Tully

Tully — Tue, 27 May 2008 12:27:52 +0000

We sure do. We learn that "global warming" has been occuring on other planets in the solar system, despite a lack of human presence on them. Seems that big ball of fire in the sky plays a role as well.

Who woulda thunk it?

By: robocaller

robocaller — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:25:52 +0000

Claudia,

we learn a lot about climatology and geology from studying mars also.

i never took arguments against the space program seriously, private companies spend more on their R&D budget.

people on the libertarian side of this should also ask if we would have the Internet without the department of defense