Topic: [Video] How much would you pay for the Universe?
benfairfax Member
Posts: 199 From: NSW Australia Registered: Jan 2011
posted 03-16-2012 08:15 AM
Something everyone should watch. So true.
How much would you pay for the Universe? #Penny4NASA
The intention of this project is to stress the importance of advancing the space frontier and is focused on igniting scientific curiosity in the general public.
Neil deGrasse Tyson - We Stopped Dreaming (Episode 1)
xlsteve Member
Posts: 391 From: Holbrook MA, USA Registered: Jul 2008
posted 03-16-2012 08:17 AM
Wow. Very eloquently said. Thanks for posting this.
Philip Member
Posts: 5952 From: Brussels, Belgium Registered: Jan 2001
posted 03-16-2012 08:29 AM
Thanks for pointing this out... a must see video!
bruce Member
Posts: 916 From: Fort Mill, SC, USA Registered: Aug 2000
posted 03-16-2012 08:47 AM
Hear, hear!
cspg Member
Posts: 6210 From: Geneva, Switzerland Registered: May 2006
posted 03-16-2012 10:30 AM
"Tomorrow's gone."
Hey, I am THE cynic-pessimistic-disenchanted representative over here! or
Yet everything he says is unfortunately so true.
I'll add one note: mathematicians don't go working for NASA or aerospace companies. They work for banks, developing financial products which lead to the bailout Mr deGrasse Tyson mentions.
Gilbert Member
Posts: 1328 From: Carrollton, GA USA Registered: Jan 2003
posted 03-16-2012 12:10 PM
Great video.
Jay Chladek Member
Posts: 2272 From: Bellevue, NE, USA Registered: Aug 2007
posted 03-16-2012 12:25 PM
quote:Originally posted by cspg: I'll add one note: mathematicians don't go working for NASA or aerospace companies.
No, those aren't mathematicians, those are accountants. Okay, maybe there are some theoretical accountants who crunch the numbers with some formulas, but it is a little different. Having somebody who is willing to crunch the numbers to get an object from the surface of the Earth to 17,500 mph first, than on to something traveling billions of miles away... THAT is mathematics!
My message to the rest of you is don't just sit on the sidelines and say "he's right, we suck." Don't be pessimistic about what we don't have and say how the past was better than the present. If that is all you care about, all these trinkets and writings from people who have been there as you look back on past glory, fine. It can still be so much more than that if you put voices to use.
Instead I say be positive about what we COULD have. Encourage others to dream big. Plant that seed. Write your elected representatives and tell them your feelings. I was surprised at the reception I got two years ago when I actually wrote (not emailed) members of congress about the budget matters. Sure, Constellation got cut, but at least funding was allocated to keep Orion and elements of Ares alive.
This was just me, one guy, a relative nobody to the likes of Cernan, Armstrong, Lovell, but somebody who was saying almost exactly the same things they were when they testified before the House and Senate. And I don't even live in a state that has a NASA center. Imagine what hundreds of people could do? Imagine what thousands could do? Or would we rather just sit back and collect our treasure without spending blood?
GoesTo11 Member
Posts: 1309 From: Denver, CO Registered: Jun 2004
posted 03-18-2012 03:35 PM
Great video...but sorry, kids. We don't dream the big stuff anymore.
It's moments like watching that video that I wonder whether my space obsession is an expression of hope for the future, or just a sad exercise in pointless nostalgia. I think I know the answer, but can't quite face it.
Jay Chladek Member
Posts: 2272 From: Bellevue, NE, USA Registered: Aug 2007
posted 03-18-2012 04:40 PM
Yes, but my point is the reason we don't dream anymore is because we tell ourselves that we don't dream anymore. Sure, it is difficult and we tend to take the easy way out and just say "its too hard to even try". Wow, are we really that tapped out in the dream department?
cspg Member
Posts: 6210 From: Geneva, Switzerland Registered: May 2006
posted 03-19-2012 07:55 AM
quote:Originally posted by Jay Chladek: No, those aren't mathematicians, those are accountants.
I was referring to graduates in mathematics who are more likely to find jobs in the financial sector than in aerospace or other technical fields (more opportunities and better pay). At least that's what I've head in the news.
cspg Member
Posts: 6210 From: Geneva, Switzerland Registered: May 2006
posted 03-19-2012 07:58 AM
quote:Originally posted by GoesTo11: We don't dream the big stuff anymore.
Maybe they dream of something else?
quote:It's moments like watching that video that I wonder whether my space obsession is an expression of hope for the future, or just a sad exercise in pointless nostalgia.
Or simply we could be living a very different present had not "everything" been thrown in the dumpster.
posted 03-16-2012 08:15 AM
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