Mars: One Way

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

The space station is about what happens to people in space, cooperation between governments and people of different backgrounds.
It's a social experiment that could help humans more than any science experiment ever could.

Put a bunch of Chilean miners is a hole for months with a Peruvian. A testy experiment that accomplishes the same thing.

Or Biosphere 2. Same thing.

What could have taught the world far more? The lesson learned from Desert Storm where literally the entire world united for a common goal. Or the Balkan where Europe learned how much must still be learned. Or Sudan. Or the many Central African states. That is governments and people learning from social experiments - that also are not learned on the ISS.

What really was the ISS? A project to test peaceful cooperation between former cold war adversaries. That purpose was long since become obsolete. Meanwhile the ISS such the living blood out of mankind's most important activity - fundamental science.

[xoxoxoBruce]

That's why you can understand what going on, tw. Thinking fundamental science is mankind's most important activity is misguided. Mankind's most important activity is getting along with each other.

[glatt]

It may not be the best for science, but the ISS is pretty cool. Imagine if that was you posing there. It's the perfect profile picture for the Cellar or Facebook.

[xoxoxoBruce]

But glatt, that's obviously a posed picture. They put the Earth outside that window just to tug on earthlings heartstrings. They probably do the same thing with other planets to garner support there too.

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Mankind's most important activity is getting along with each other.

Which was made irrelevant when we use ships, jet airplanes, passports, telephones, eliminate tariffs, create the UN, remove silly immigration quotas, international law, ... Oh. All that was made possible by so many breakthroughs in fundamental science and the resulting products.

Also cool is the Tower of Babel. So we should build one?

The point is that best science is performed by machines. Not by sending men into environments that man performs so poorly in.

Telescopes work best without men nearby. Deep sea research and even oil exploration only by machines and robots. Advance semiconductor, nuclear, and quantum physics - remove the humans. Since the 1960s, science has advanced because even space exploration is now possible and done better by machines. Machines will only get even more productive, intelligent, and flexible when men stay where men are most productive. Where men can do what men do best to advance fundamental science.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Ships, jet airplanes, passports, telephones, didn't solve the problem, they created it. When we were isolated, there was no friction except immediate neighbors, but now we can annoy people 12,000 miles away in a heartbeat.

I do believe if you had the power, you'd eliminate people entirely.

[tw]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Ships, jet airplanes, passports, telephones, didn't solve the problem, they created it.

Death and destruction is most often traceable to no communication. Best way to avoid hate and harm is meeting people by plane, boat, phone, and those so many other listed achievements. Trade is by far one of the best ways to avert problems. Possible and made necessary because of fundamental science advancements. The greatest centers of peace, prosperity, and the advancement of mankind occurred where communication was easiest and encouraged, because science prospered.

Science is the foundation from which virtually every good thing happens. Only possible when humans are educated, productive, and pushing out the envelope. But instead we should have covens of witches and warlocks since, as you recommended, man's most important activity is, instead, getting along and staying ignorant.

Therefore we need more Christine O'Donnels to advance mankind. Who has no idea what science is. Whose solutions can be found in more religion. It is easier to get along when prettier witches have tea parties. Screw science. Or not.