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"The probability of success is difficult to estimate. But if we never search, the chance of success is zero."
-Giuseppe Cocconi
-Giuseppe Cocconi
NASA's 2015 budget was $17.5 billion. That's enough money to buy 29 trillion pounds of bananas. And that's not even at Costco prices.
I don't know why I made a comparison to bananas, but that's a lot of money.
That much money can be used to feed America's hungry (with or without bananas). It can house millions of people. It can be invested in schools. It can almost buy me that new iPhone X.
So we're at an ethical conundrum. On one hand, space is cool, and getting a man on the moon was an ontological accomplishment. On the other, there are 45 million Americans living below the poverty line. But on the other hand, who can put a value on the classic Neil Armstrong line, "To Infinity, and Beyond!"
Or was that someone else?
Here is why space exploration is important (in addition to the medical and technological advances NASA has pioneered). It's the same reason that art is important. Or kindness. Or philosophy.
We are creatures of metaphor, stuck in a practical world. The ideas - the symbols - of curiosity, exploration, and wonderment are what make life fun and diverse. Knowing that there are things left unknown is a unique feature in our wonderful world, and I would defend that principle, the very one supported by a proposition like space exploration, to the end.
That said, I acknowledge that I can afford the privilege of a few metaphors. I live in a happy home and have lots of bananas to eat.
I don't know why I made a comparison to bananas, but that's a lot of money.
That much money can be used to feed America's hungry (with or without bananas). It can house millions of people. It can be invested in schools. It can almost buy me that new iPhone X.
So we're at an ethical conundrum. On one hand, space is cool, and getting a man on the moon was an ontological accomplishment. On the other, there are 45 million Americans living below the poverty line. But on the other hand, who can put a value on the classic Neil Armstrong line, "To Infinity, and Beyond!"
Or was that someone else?
Here is why space exploration is important (in addition to the medical and technological advances NASA has pioneered). It's the same reason that art is important. Or kindness. Or philosophy.
We are creatures of metaphor, stuck in a practical world. The ideas - the symbols - of curiosity, exploration, and wonderment are what make life fun and diverse. Knowing that there are things left unknown is a unique feature in our wonderful world, and I would defend that principle, the very one supported by a proposition like space exploration, to the end.
That said, I acknowledge that I can afford the privilege of a few metaphors. I live in a happy home and have lots of bananas to eat.
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