Quote:
|
It's not my responsibility to back up your argument.
|
For the third time, I'm not going to argue with you.
Besides, arguing would imply that you're bringing something substantive to the table and you're not. You're only bringing ignorance and asking to be educated.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slon
Fine. I would consider it worthwhile if all of the resources and time that went into the project were quadrupled and given back to the taxpayers. So, if they used 4 tons of titanium, they better give back 16 to the taxpayers.
|
See, now we're getting somewhere.
Bear in mind that the space program is a publicly funded
research and development program, not a transportation program. Reaching the Moon is only part of the goal. Developing the technology to enable an attempt to reach the Moon is equally important and by federal law the technology developed in the process is to be shared with private industry for the betterment of the American standard of living. Investigating space presents challenges and those challenges are met by very bright people working together in such a way that only government could organize them and at such expense that only government could afford to foot the bill.
So lets say you gave me 4 tons of titanium and I told you that I wouldn't be able to repay you in titanium but I would provide you with the following:
-Cordless powertools
-Advanced water purification systems
-Home insulation
-CAT scans
-Laser angioplasty
-MRIs
-CCDs
-Artificial limbs
-Photovoltaic cells
-All-weather tires
-Satellite communications and television
-Microwave ovens
-Fiber optics
-Cell phones
-GPS navigation
-Smoke detectors
Is it worth it to you to live a longer, safer, more comfortable life?
You'd have none of those things if it weren't for the space program.
We had to start somewhere, and that somewhere was going to the Moon.
And all that says nothing about the discoveries that science has made about our World and our Universe.
Maybe that stuff doesn't matter to you. You may not care that we're able to measure the size, mass, rotational velocity, or chemical composition of stars that are 14 million lightyears away. You may not care that we're able to send probes to other planets. And you may not care about supernovae, or quasars, or or black dwarf stars.
Me, on the other hand, I love knowing what's out there. To me that makes it all worth while and worth every penny.
But as they say, a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. The same is true for an eventual journey of billions of trillions of miles through the Cosmos.
And with that, it's been nice having this conversation with you.
If you still don't think our space program is "worth it" then I'm not going to change your mind.
I'll just enjoy the fact that it exists and that there's not a damn thing you can do about that.
Have a great night.