🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <3o0ku1$5i9@canopus.cc.umanitoba.ca>, umcroall@cc.umanitoba.ca
(Stuart Croall) wrote:

>>The presence of man in space is not just about getting "the job" done,
>>it's also about getting the job done *right*. An ATM card is great for
>>all my banking...until it accidentally gets erased or damaged. And a
>>completely unmanned gas station would be useless for those without
>>credit cards--and probably pretty dangerous as would would leave
>>thousands of liters of *gasoline* available with no safety monitor.
>
>And my human teller is great, until he/she come to work hung over, or 
>signs my money into the wrong account or some other silly, stupid human 
>error.  Personally, I don't think we'd be too hard up without ANY space 
>exploration, even though people claim it has brought us so many fabulous 
>advancements and such...perhaps that's all just hot air and propaganda...
>
>I thin you're kind of missrepresenting my position by comparing it to all 
>these automated conveniences on earth...nobody give a big shit (really, 
>beyond the top levels of gov't and the nutty companies who sponsor these 
>things) when a space probe hickups or fucks up.  I personally don't think 
>we should bother automating to many things on earth, when we have so many 
>healthy people who would happily do these jobs

Sounds reasonable... but how do you force businesses *not* to automate
their services? Unilateral decrees might work well in this newsgroup ;-),
but it's a little tougher to enforce them in the real world.

>might actually be more 
>effeicient in the end, then having to drag around all these unemployed 
>people all the time.

But remember, the unemployed are supported by taxes, and big businesses
don't give a damn as to where their tax money goes, mostly because they
don't pay any! So it's definitely more efficient for the taxpayers, but
the contrary for the businessmen. And, of course, the latter have more power
over government decisions.

-- 
-> "I am a seeker of truth, though I do not know what truth is."
-> "I suspect there are many truths, and therefore do not trust
-> "anyone who claims his is the only one." 
->  Louis L'Amour
->
-> "I come from downtown,"
-> "Born ready for you,"
-> "Armed with will and determination,"
-> "And grace, too"
->  The Tragically Hip
-> 
-> Dmitry Nekrasovski    
->
-> sdecont2@bnr.ca