JohnGalway 1,043 Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 It's the unknown unknowns that are exciting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RpSv3HjpEw I get that i really do. But when the world is on its knees financially and the money could go to other things then theres a problem for me. If we had an unlimited supply of money then yes of course search away till there hearts content. I'm sure it provides thousands of jobs as well....... Tell me when hasn't the world been on it's knees? 60's? 70's? 's? 90's? 00's? The absoulte worst thing to do in a recession is cut spending on science & education, where does new ideas and new industry come from then? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lab 10,979 Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 It's the unknown unknowns that are exciting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RpSv3HjpEw I get that i really do. But when the world is on its knees financially and the money could go to other things then theres a problem for me. If we had an unlimited supply of money then yes of course search away till there hearts content. I'm sure it provides thousands of jobs as well....... Tell me when hasn't the world been on it's knees? 60's? 70's? 's? 90's? 00's? The absoulte worst thing to do in a recession is cut spending on science & education, where does new ideas and new industry come from then? Dragons Den!!............. I wouldn't cut spending on Education nor Science. Would i cut it on sending something into space to fanny about Mars then 'yes'......... Be interesting to see what comes out of this current mission........ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Born Hunter 17,646 Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 I get that i really do. But when the world is on its knees financially and the money could go to other things then theres a problem for me. If we had an unlimited supply of money then yes of course search away till there hearts content. I'm sure it provides thousands of jobs as well....... There are always causes that are more worthy in terms of short term benefits. Why should Billions go into scientific research when all that money could go towards buying struggling pensioners a hot meal everyday or better equiping hospitals? It's a hard decision to justify but the difference is clear when you look at the long term benfits of such research as well. In the future pensioners will be better off and hospitals more effective because of such aparantly useless science and not inspite of. There's never a 'good' time to fund research with the view you take lab, but there is a bigger picture as I'm trying to explain. Not sure how well. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lab 10,979 Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 I get that i really do. But when the world is on its knees financially and the money could go to other things then theres a problem for me. If we had an unlimited supply of money then yes of course search away till there hearts content. I'm sure it provides thousands of jobs as well....... There are always causes that are more worthy in terms of short term benefits. Why should Billions go into scientific research when all that money could go towards buying struggling pensioners a hot meal everyday or better equiping hospitals? It's a hard decision to justify but the difference is clear when you look at the long term benfits of such research as well. In the future pensioners will be better off and hospitals more effective because of such aparantly useless science and not inspite of. There's never a 'good' time to fund research with the view you take lab, but there is a bigger picture as I'm trying to explain. Not sure how well. I'm sure the Pro's outway the Cons mate, maybe i just dont see it and i'm looking at the here and now instead of the long term. Selfish reasons maybe, maybe living for the day sort of thing. But we could go onto another topic like sending all our money to foreign countries in charity and be the same. I believe it can be used to fix our country first and then start dishing it out when we are stable........... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
wulf 32 Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 There's lots of things that have been invented because of space exploration to make everyday lives easier - carbon fibre, different composites of metals / alloys to use in consumer goods, friction materials to use in various applications (car brakes for one), teflon, types of fabric, ways of preserving food etc... The money spent on these types of projects filters out in to the economies of the countries which run the programs. Somebody somewhere has had to build the robot, manufacture the matrerials, make the circuits which have gone in to it, wiring components, putting them together, the list goes on...there will be many thousands of people involved in building this probe from scratch and getting it on to the planet and a lot of people having to now make sense of the data it is sending back to earth. All of these people will be earning a wage and if any of them have a wife like mine they will almost certainly be spending it rather quickly too! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Malt 379 Posted August 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 Lab, human civilisations have been rising and falling for thousands of years but the lessons learned tend to stick with us. Things the Romans and ancient Greeks came up with are very much in effect and relevant today even though the people who came up with them are long since gone. Who's to say that the current financial problems aren't the beginning of the end for our way of life? It certainly mirrors the beginning of the end of the Roman empire from the things I've read. Rise or fall, the achievements of today will live on. If this wasn't the way if things, we'd all probably still be living in the trees being chased by lions in some god forsaken corner of Africa... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PlasticJock 539 Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 Lab, human civilisations have been rising and falling for thousands of years but the lessons learned tend to stick with us. Things the Romans and ancient Greeks came up with are very much in effect and relevant today even though the people who came up with them are long since gone. Who's to say that the current financial problems aren't the beginning of the end for our way of life? It certainly mirrors the beginning of the end of the Roman empire from the things I've read. Rise or fall, the achievements of today will live on. If this wasn't the way if things, we'd all probably still be living in the trees being chased by lions in some god forsaken corner of Africa... +1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scothunter 12,609 Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 Microwave was a bi product of space. I'm not knocking sauce exploration, my point and I think labs aswell is why spend vast amounts of cash at this "present" time. Im sure those funds could be put to better use in getting things in order here. Like I already said , the planets dying and we do need to explore space to see if we could live there, but it's not gonna happen tomorrow were talking millions of years away. Not talking about cancer cures or that, but lets put some of those trillions in I dunno maybe a solution in stopping folks f*****g housed flooded Everytime it rains. I'm sure all those collective brains could find a viable answer. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PlasticJock 539 Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 Completely agree scot, it's the same problem with foreign aid - lets get our own house in order first. I find it fascinating and there's definitely potential for life out there, we haven't got the technology to prove it yet so let's worry about food, water and shelter for human beings first. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Malt 379 Posted August 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 You've always got to look forward though, if you spend all the time looking at your feet and where you're currently standing, you're going to end up on your arse at some point! Ps what's sauce exploration, I thought you were a HP man through and through Scot? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lab 10,979 Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 Scot and PJ.............your catching my drift i see... Time to start protecting what we have and not what we might have....... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Born Hunter 17,646 Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 (edited) It's a fecking good job some of you don't make the decisions because we would have feck all to protect nor the knowledge how to attain it. I bet you all have sat navs, mobile phones etc etc. The people that make such things didn't just have a premonition one night. Such things are just a few examples of tech developed from years of seemingly useless scientific research. Einstein's theory of special relativity any use to any of you lot? Genuine question. Edited August 6, 2012 by Born Hunter Quote Link to post Share on other sites
scothunter 12,609 Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 Oh if I could make the decisions lol @ malt f*****g iPhones mate, they need to sirt that out , rather than f*****g about in the unknown Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Malt 379 Posted August 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 Scot and PJ.............your catching my drift i see... Time to start protecting what we have and not what we might have....... Sorry Lab, but you'll never be able to do that no matter how much cash you throw at it.. The only time that'll ever happen is when people finally give up the pursuit of wealth on a global scale. I can't see it happening any time soon if at all. Greed is very much a part of the human psyche, probably ingrained over a few hundred thousand years of evolution as a method of ensuring survival by ensuring that you and yours never went without food. It could easily have been shifted to wealth with the start of agriculture and the shift away from a hunter gathering way of life when people had a bit more time on their hands. Besides, the Yanks paid for this mission so why are you harping on like they spent your money on it anyway? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
patterdalejoel 669 Posted August 6, 2012 Report Share Posted August 6, 2012 when we still have people starving to death on this planet i think it is disgusting that all that money is spent on that IMO. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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