3 ms·

NASA advisor quits after the agency keeps telescope named after James Webb

8 points by bryan0 5y ago

SQueeeeeL 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._Webb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._Webb Hmm, this controversy doesn't seem present at all in his wikipedia page. I wonder if there's a secret "Wikipedia Edit War" going on for control of this page
- cafard 5y ago
  It was there when I hit the back button to return and add this comment. The edit history might be quite interesting.
- egberts1 5y ago
  yeah, as indicated at the bottom of Wikipedia Talk history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:James_E._Webb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:James_E._Webb
- dandelany 5y ago
  Relevant Medium article linked from the Talk page: https://hmoluseyi.medium.com/was-nasas-historic-leader-james-webb-a-bigot-131c821d5f12 https://hmoluseyi.medium.com/was-nasas-historic-leader-james...
lmilcin 5y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_who_owned_slaves https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_Unit... Don't even start on other historical figures. I think we need to be able to live with some facts because if we start erasing every person that has ever said anything racist or sexist then we would pretty much have to contend with the fact that in the past almost everybody was guilty (or we don't have enough knowledge). Sensibilities were different in the past. Do not treat historical facts as if it happened today. It doesn't mean it was right. But denying everything isn't very useful framework through which to look at the past. Pretty much ALL of military was both sexist and anti-gay through entire history. So I guess remove all military names from everything? If you go far enough back in time pretty much EVERY parent or teacher beat their kids. I am talking about abuse but about using physical pain as a teaching aid. This would be unthinkable today. Does this mean all these people were evil or is it that they grew up in a culture that made it ok to beat the kid a little bit if it was in the name of teaching him/her a lesson? And even made it a virtue... ("spare the rod, spoil the child") Think about it, maybe future generations will look at eating animals the same way we today think about slavery?
sharken 5y ago
Perhaps this marks the beginning of some healthy discussions on how much is required to make these changes. Will be interesting to see what kind of images the telescope can produce, i.e. shifting the focus to the science aspect.
jazzyjackson 5y ago
I suppose it wouldn’t be too much trouble to transpose some letters to turn “JWST” to the “SJWT” Do people forget what NASA was for in the 1950s? we were in a cold war with a nuclear power, and NASA was working on ICBMs It doesn’t really matter what James Webb’s personal opinion of homosexuality was - anything that you have to keep secret is a vulnerability to blackmail. When Jack Tramiel of Commodore was asked how he manages to do business in Germany, the country that held him in Auschwitz during the war, he replies, “I live in the future”, I wish more people would take that tack.
- jfengel 5y ago
  * “I live in the future”, I wish more people would take that tack.* So... you're saying we shouldn't be naming a satellite after a guy who's been dead for 20 years? Because that's where the history part comes in. We could have given it a forward-looking name like we used for the Mars probes. Instead, we named it after a dead guy... which means talking about the dead guy.
killingtime74 5y ago
Simple, just don’t name it after anyone. Call it deep space telescope or something descriptive (maybe get a programmer to name it)
- bellyfullofbac 5y ago
  Telescope McTelescopeface. The Name McNameface thing was stupid hur-durr humour, IMNSHO. But trying to witch-hunt someone because they worked somewhere when something happened, fucking hell. I'm quite a left person (give everyone social welfare, redistribute wealth!), but the SJWs really are alienating people...
theragra 5y ago
Fifty years from now, this advisor will be cancelled for eating meat or whatever

8 points by bryan0 5y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._Webb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_E._Webb Hmm, this controversy doesn't seem present at all in his wikipedia page. I wonder if there's a secret "Wikipedia Edit War" going on for control of this page

cafard 5y ago
It was there when I hit the back button to return and add this comment. The edit history might be quite interesting.
egberts1 5y ago
yeah, as indicated at the bottom of Wikipedia Talk history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:James_E._Webb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:James_E._Webb
dandelany 5y ago
Relevant Medium article linked from the Talk page: https://hmoluseyi.medium.com/was-nasas-historic-leader-james-webb-a-bigot-131c821d5f12 https://hmoluseyi.medium.com/was-nasas-historic-leader-james...

lmilcin 5y ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_United_States_who_owned_slaves https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_presidents_of_the_Unit... Don't even start on other historical figures. I think we need to be able to live with some facts because if we start erasing every person that has ever said anything racist or sexist then we would pretty much have to contend with the fact that in the past almost everybody was guilty (or we don't have enough knowledge). Sensibilities were different in the past. Do not treat historical facts as if it happened today. It doesn't mean it was right. But denying everything isn't very useful framework through which to look at the past. Pretty much ALL of military was both sexist and anti-gay through entire history. So I guess remove all military names from everything? If you go far enough back in time pretty much EVERY parent or teacher beat their kids. I am talking about abuse but about using physical pain as a teaching aid. This would be unthinkable today. Does this mean all these people were evil or is it that they grew up in a culture that made it ok to beat the kid a little bit if it was in the name of teaching him/her a lesson? And even made it a virtue... ("spare the rod, spoil the child") Think about it, maybe future generations will look at eating animals the same way we today think about slavery?

sharken 5y ago

Perhaps this marks the beginning of some healthy discussions on how much is required to make these changes. Will be interesting to see what kind of images the telescope can produce, i.e. shifting the focus to the science aspect.

jazzyjackson 5y ago

I suppose it wouldn’t be too much trouble to transpose some letters to turn “JWST” to the “SJWT” Do people forget what NASA was for in the 1950s? we were in a cold war with a nuclear power, and NASA was working on ICBMs It doesn’t really matter what James Webb’s personal opinion of homosexuality was - anything that you have to keep secret is a vulnerability to blackmail. When Jack Tramiel of Commodore was asked how he manages to do business in Germany, the country that held him in Auschwitz during the war, he replies, “I live in the future”, I wish more people would take that tack.

jfengel 5y ago
* “I live in the future”, I wish more people would take that tack.* So... you're saying we shouldn't be naming a satellite after a guy who's been dead for 20 years? Because that's where the history part comes in. We could have given it a forward-looking name like we used for the Mars probes. Instead, we named it after a dead guy... which means talking about the dead guy.

killingtime74 5y ago

Simple, just don’t name it after anyone. Call it deep space telescope or something descriptive (maybe get a programmer to name it)

bellyfullofbac 5y ago
Telescope McTelescopeface. The Name McNameface thing was stupid hur-durr humour, IMNSHO. But trying to witch-hunt someone because they worked somewhere when something happened, fucking hell. I'm quite a left person (give everyone social welfare, redistribute wealth!), but the SJWs really are alienating people...

theragra 5y ago

Fifty years from now, this advisor will be cancelled for eating meat or whatever