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I am not sure where we disagree. I am talking about the (false) perception that the U.S. is the #1 among world nations. Maybe it is caused by comparatively high

• justin66 5y ago
  > the (false) perception that the U.S. is the #1 among world nations The #1 what? I wouldn't blame you for using some unkind phrases here, and I suspect you want to! But it's certainly not false that the U.S. does much more space exploration than any other nation, spends a lot more on it, achieves more in space, etc. None of that invalidates the work of other nations, and spaceflight and the production of scientific data seems like a very healthy form of competition (and cooperation!) between nations. If the U.S. isn't #1, I am curious how you are keeping score. Herschel didn't just get less English-language press than American made space telescopes. It was less prominent in the public consciousness than short, much less expensive Japanese missions like Hayabusa and Hayabusa2. I doubt any of this is about American exceptionalism.
• spookthesunset 5y ago
  > OTOH, I think Webb is amazing, and fairly, perhaps without the marketing it wouldn't even exist because of all the American deficit hawks. It's just like everything else in life. You can build the best product in the world but it won't make a damn bit of impact on people's lives unless you let them know it exists. Marketing your product is just as important to its success as the product itself.