6 ms·
The purpose of NASA is to dish out pork to congressional districts.
by wefarrell 8y ago
The purpose of NASA is to dish out pork to congressional districts.
- losteric 8y agoThat, and decades of world-leading scientific research.
- Rooster61 8y agoUnderfunded, bureaucratically neutered, glacially slow world-leading scientific research.
- oh_sigh 8y agoI have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very science that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it! I would rather you just said "thank you" and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a gyroscope and stand an experiment. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!
- Rooster61 8y agoI may or may not have laughed out loud in my cube. Well played, sir
- orf 8y agoDo you like your microwave?
- Rooster61 8y agoUhh, sure? Not sure how this is relevant.
- orf 8y agoThat came out of some NASA research. A lot of stuff did, some mistakenly attributed, some invented before but improved a lot by NASA https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spinoff_technologies https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_spinoff_technologies
- Rooster61 8y agoI don't think the microwave applies here. Folks were nuking food with radio waves as far back as the 30's, long before NASA was even close to being around.
- philipkglass 8y agoThat page does not contain any mention of the microwave oven. The use of microwaves for heating food was patented in 1945 and first commercialized in 1947, well before NASA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Spencer#Career https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_Spencer#Career https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven#Commercial_availability https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven#Commercial_avai...
- pfdietz 8y agoNext you're going to tell us NASA invented sliced bread, the wheel, and fire.
- snackbugs 8y agoNo, I don't.
- mturmon 8y agoThis seems to be a dig, but it has no content. I mean, sure, if the funding was greater, the speed of research would quicken in many cases. But you can't criticize from both directions. Do you want cheaper, or faster? Also, "bureaucratically neutered" is an odd phrase. It's the government, so of course there is oversight and politics at an agency level. But OTOH, the agency's record at not interfering with discrete science findings is actually very good. What point are you trying to make? [Disclosure, I have published research while funded by NASA.]
- Rooster61 8y ago> But you can't criticize from both directions. I can't say I understand how that's criticizing from both directions. The research is underfunded, and as you noted more funds generally increases the speed of the research. There are layers of bureaucracy, which naturally slows down the rate of research due to waiting on various aspects of the research to get reviewed and deemed useful to the agency. How is that attacking it from two sides? And your take on what I mean by "bureaucratically neutered" is fairly accurate, but I stand by it. I am referring to having non technical bureaucrats in the agency calling shots about research they may not understand based on non-related pressures (pork funds drying up due to political shifts, undesirable media exposure for research with uncomfortable results, sudden change in leadership that may not think the research is necessary after all, etc). All this said, I have indeed never been involved with the agency so you might have a better perspective on the matter than I.
- mturmon 8y agoIn my experience your comment has very little grounding. I have an extensive science publication record from research supported by NASA. Aerospace and aerospace technology (as opposed to science) is more sensitive to top-level agency strategy changes.
- Rooster61 8y agoA fair distinction I failed to make, and a point well taken. To also be fair though, I think generally when the layperson (me included) considers NASA and things under its purview, it's easy to blindly scope it within the context of aerospace, especially beside the context of this particular article. Also, I'd think at JPL you guys would have a bit easier time getting funding/latitude to do the research you do vs a lower profile lab, given JPL's track record.
- wolf550e 8y agohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaNKtIY6JpQ&t=289 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EaNKtIY6JpQ&t=289 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJCenuebAa8&t=1089 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJCenuebAa8&t=1089
- garmaine 8y agoThe amount spent on world-leading scientific research pales in comparison to the pork.
- walrus01 8y ago> The purpose of defense contracting is to dish out pork to congressional districts. Edited to reflect my opinion of reality... If you look at how the individual subsystems and subcontractors for the F-35 program were spread around various states and congressional districts, creating jobs in various places, they intentionally designed it to be unkillable.