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It also misses things like: What's the cost of a million schoolchildren watching a space shuttle explode?

gnaritas 15y ago
Children should be exposed to the world, not sheltered from it. A parent's job is to prepare the child for the world, not hide the world from them with some naive and damaging attempt to keep them innocent. Sheltered children wind up unprepared for reality when it hits them smack in the face when they get on their own.
hyperbovine 15y ago
No, that's exactly what it's not missing. Our fear of catastrophe is costing us hundreds of billions of dollars. Probably no single event in the history of space exploration contributed more to that fear than Challenger (and to a lesser extent, Columbia).
bwarp 15y ago
In my case it was a desire to be an engineer!
jeremya 15y ago
The cost of a million school children watching a space shuttle explode is the cost of the million conversations with parents and other adults that occur afterwards. These should be conversations that help develop each child's understanding of the world and the risks, challenges, and rewards of great human endeavors.
losvedir 15y ago
I've thought about this for a few minutes and I really don't know. What are you getting at? I'm not even sure if the dollar value of the cost is negative or positive. It was a tragedy, sure, but what's the lesson the kids take? Not to go into the sciences? Or to think about heroes who take on great risks to earn the knowledge that they're now learning in school? I honestly don't know how to incorporate that aspect into the dollar cost/benefit the article proposes.
maratd 15y ago
I reject the notion that we should coddle our children. The teacher is there for a reason. To provide context to what the child is being exposed to. And that can make all the difference. Yes, you can die. Yes, it is dangerous. Yes, these brave men risked their lives and they lost. And if they had to do it all over again, they would risk their lives again. Because if it wasn't for men like them, we would still be sitting in a cave poking a fire with a stick.
- ThaddeusQuay2 15y ago
  "Because if it wasn't for men like them, we would still be sitting in a cave poking a fire with a stick." Because of them, we now have large sticks which take us to space by poking the Earth with fire. :) I agree with your entire comment. Think about the explorers of old, crossing oceans and continents, in hazardous conditions, with little technology to aid them, and with even less knowledge of where their journeys would lead. We stand on the brave shoulders of the countless who have come before, and it would be an insult to their accomplishments if we, as humans, suddenly abandoned, in the name of ultimate safety, the wonder of exploration, and the courage required to see it through.
- timwiseman 15y ago
  I couldn't agree with this more. Life is filled with risks, pretending otherwise is not good for anyone. But pushing the frontiers, exploring the boundaries comes with much greater risks. Yet those risks can come with great rewards when they pay off and it is only by accepting those higher risks that society can advance and improve.
  - ew6082 15y ago
    Yeah, I still remember watching it happen in class. Those men and women were all heroes, and inspired many of us to go into STEM careers.
- jaredhansen 15y ago
  >brave men risked their lives >men like them It wasn't just men: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Resnik http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Resnik http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christa_McAuliffe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christa_McAuliffe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalpana_Chawla http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalpana_Chawla http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Clark http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Clark Language has power, and using "men" in this context makes invisible the contributions and bravery of these women and others like them. Sorry to seem PC, but it's important to get this stuff right if we want our kids to grow up in a better world.
pnathan 15y ago
Invaluable. That's a wonderful opportunity for the million schoolchildren to develop a more nuanced and deeper understanding of the real world and the existence of failure.
jrockway 15y ago
Less than the cost of them watching their parents die of obesity and heart disease. But we don't get all panicy about that...
sliverstorm 15y ago
I can't speak for everyone, but I feel like something like that would have guaranteed I become either an astronaut or aerospace engineer.
waterlesscloud 15y ago
What you really mean is what's the cost of a million schoolchildren watching a nation give up after a space shuttle explodes. The damage is in the response, not the event.

Children should be exposed to the world, not sheltered from it. A parent's job is to prepare the child for the world, not hide the world from them with some naive and damaging attempt to keep them innocent. Sheltered children wind up unprepared for reality when it hits them smack in the face when they get on their own.

hyperbovine 15y ago

No, that's exactly what it's not missing. Our fear of catastrophe is costing us hundreds of billions of dollars. Probably no single event in the history of space exploration contributed more to that fear than Challenger (and to a lesser extent, Columbia).

bwarp 15y ago

In my case it was a desire to be an engineer!

jeremya 15y ago

The cost of a million school children watching a space shuttle explode is the cost of the million conversations with parents and other adults that occur afterwards. These should be conversations that help develop each child's understanding of the world and the risks, challenges, and rewards of great human endeavors.

losvedir 15y ago

I've thought about this for a few minutes and I really don't know. What are you getting at? I'm not even sure if the dollar value of the cost is negative or positive. It was a tragedy, sure, but what's the lesson the kids take? Not to go into the sciences? Or to think about heroes who take on great risks to earn the knowledge that they're now learning in school? I honestly don't know how to incorporate that aspect into the dollar cost/benefit the article proposes.

maratd 15y ago

I reject the notion that we should coddle our children. The teacher is there for a reason. To provide context to what the child is being exposed to. And that can make all the difference. Yes, you can die. Yes, it is dangerous. Yes, these brave men risked their lives and they lost. And if they had to do it all over again, they would risk their lives again. Because if it wasn't for men like them, we would still be sitting in a cave poking a fire with a stick.

ThaddeusQuay2 15y ago
"Because if it wasn't for men like them, we would still be sitting in a cave poking a fire with a stick." Because of them, we now have large sticks which take us to space by poking the Earth with fire. :) I agree with your entire comment. Think about the explorers of old, crossing oceans and continents, in hazardous conditions, with little technology to aid them, and with even less knowledge of where their journeys would lead. We stand on the brave shoulders of the countless who have come before, and it would be an insult to their accomplishments if we, as humans, suddenly abandoned, in the name of ultimate safety, the wonder of exploration, and the courage required to see it through.
timwiseman 15y ago
I couldn't agree with this more. Life is filled with risks, pretending otherwise is not good for anyone. But pushing the frontiers, exploring the boundaries comes with much greater risks. Yet those risks can come with great rewards when they pay off and it is only by accepting those higher risks that society can advance and improve.
- ew6082 15y ago
  Yeah, I still remember watching it happen in class. Those men and women were all heroes, and inspired many of us to go into STEM careers.
jaredhansen 15y ago
>brave men risked their lives >men like them It wasn't just men: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Resnik http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judith_Resnik http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christa_McAuliffe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christa_McAuliffe http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalpana_Chawla http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalpana_Chawla http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Clark http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Clark Language has power, and using "men" in this context makes invisible the contributions and bravery of these women and others like them. Sorry to seem PC, but it's important to get this stuff right if we want our kids to grow up in a better world.

pnathan 15y ago

Invaluable. That's a wonderful opportunity for the million schoolchildren to develop a more nuanced and deeper understanding of the real world and the existence of failure.

jrockway 15y ago

Less than the cost of them watching their parents die of obesity and heart disease. But we don't get all panicy about that...

sliverstorm 15y ago

I can't speak for everyone, but I feel like something like that would have guaranteed I become either an astronaut or aerospace engineer.

waterlesscloud 15y ago

What you really mean is what's the cost of a million schoolchildren watching a nation give up after a space shuttle explodes. The damage is in the response, not the event.