🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <D7vE4C.BMC@cs.dal.ca>, ken@ug.cs.dal.ca (ken M Bendelier) wrote:

>Overall, a very narrow view of the future. We will, eventually, run out of
>resources here. Hell, we might even make the place uninhabitable. But, by
>and large, the best reason for continuing with space orientated research is
>that we are naturally born explorers. We will get to space some day, and the
>things you mentioned(aside from the debt and the Jets) are an individuals
>responsibility, already heavily subsidized by the taxpayer. And, guess what, 
>some of those people may want to use the education that they are provided,
>and that you would provide them, to explore the area that you would preclude
>them from.
>
>Ken

Agreed. But here's something else to think about.

The problem with the humanity in general right now is that its existence
has no underlying purpose. We have been unable to achieve prosperity for
everyone
simply because it's human to create a power structure for anything that
affects a large enough group of people (case in point: this group and His
Royally Screwed Up Majesty King Stu :-)), and those who have power are
easily
corrupted by it into leaving most of what they have to distribute for
themselves. The state of our science and technology might be impressive
as  compared to what it had been several hundred years ago, but the
majority of
people on this planet don't contribute anything to it or get any feedback from
it. Culturally, no one is trying to achieve anything but differentiation from
the artifacts of the past, which inevitably leads them to copy the worst from
the same artifacts (lots of examples in literature, music, cinematography)
Etc., etc., etc.

Space exploration might provide some common purpose for the humanity. Then
again, history is supposed to repeat itself, and so it might not.

-- 
-> "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