11 ms·

>He was a member of the German rocket development team at Peenemünde Just the guy to be answering ethical questions...

aroberge 14y ago
Anyone who discounts a thoughtful response based on some other criteria than that found in that response is not someone qualified to comment about ethics.
- ninguem2 14y ago
  The important things are not what he discusses but what he doesn't discuss. For instance, why the space program is supported instead of other initiatives in science and technology or the connection between the space program with defense and propaganda. On the other side of the coin, he doesn't address the use of foreign aid as a tool of international relations and how it destroys local markets for food production. How corruption and lack of infrastructure often thwart well-meaning programs. He was a smart guy who could spin a good yarn and seemed to care. I sincerely doubt that he did and don't value his opinion.
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    You were doing pretty well there, then dove back into the ad hominem. Who he is as a person is entirely irrelevant, if you want to criticise the letter then criticise the letter, not the man.
    - ninguem2 14y ago
      I am talking about my emotions, yes. All I can say, if you don't like it, is that I am sorry. But I don't believe one can have an entirely objective discussion on this topic which will arrive at an incontrovertible answer. Most tech inclined people (e.g. HN readership) are positively biased towards the space program. I am not, despite the fact that I fit the profile. I think it's science done for the wrong reasons. In addition, I don't like this guy and I expect to disagree with him and I can't change that.
      - jlgreco 14y ago
        The issue is not that you don't agree with other people here. The issue is that you were disagreeing incorrectly.
- Philadelphia 14y ago
  I think the fact that someone was an actual Nazi is enough to raise doubt about any moral arguments he makes.
  - matt4711 14y ago
    did you even read the other comments? "He was also drafted into the Wehrmacht to fight on the Eastern front" doesn't seem like he had a lot of choice there...
PakG1 14y ago
That's classic ad hominem logic.
Spooky23 14y ago
He was also drafted into the Wehrmacht to fight on the Eastern front, was wounded in the Battle of Moscow, and was the only member of his platoon to survive Stalingrad. The world isn't some Hollywood movie where the good guys and bad guys are clearly delineated.
JamesLeonis 14y ago
Einstein was German as well. Do we discount him as well? Most of our early rocket scientists were ex-German scientists taken from Nazi Germany.

Anyone who discounts a thoughtful response based on some other criteria than that found in that response is not someone qualified to comment about ethics.

ninguem2 14y ago
The important things are not what he discusses but what he doesn't discuss. For instance, why the space program is supported instead of other initiatives in science and technology or the connection between the space program with defense and propaganda. On the other side of the coin, he doesn't address the use of foreign aid as a tool of international relations and how it destroys local markets for food production. How corruption and lack of infrastructure often thwart well-meaning programs. He was a smart guy who could spin a good yarn and seemed to care. I sincerely doubt that he did and don't value his opinion.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  You were doing pretty well there, then dove back into the ad hominem. Who he is as a person is entirely irrelevant, if you want to criticise the letter then criticise the letter, not the man.
  - ninguem2 14y ago
    I am talking about my emotions, yes. All I can say, if you don't like it, is that I am sorry. But I don't believe one can have an entirely objective discussion on this topic which will arrive at an incontrovertible answer. Most tech inclined people (e.g. HN readership) are positively biased towards the space program. I am not, despite the fact that I fit the profile. I think it's science done for the wrong reasons. In addition, I don't like this guy and I expect to disagree with him and I can't change that.
    - jlgreco 14y ago
      The issue is not that you don't agree with other people here. The issue is that you were disagreeing incorrectly.
Philadelphia 14y ago
I think the fact that someone was an actual Nazi is enough to raise doubt about any moral arguments he makes.
- matt4711 14y ago
  did you even read the other comments? "He was also drafted into the Wehrmacht to fight on the Eastern front" doesn't seem like he had a lot of choice there...

PakG1 14y ago

That's classic ad hominem logic.

Spooky23 14y ago

He was also drafted into the Wehrmacht to fight on the Eastern front, was wounded in the Battle of Moscow, and was the only member of his platoon to survive Stalingrad. The world isn't some Hollywood movie where the good guys and bad guys are clearly delineated.

JamesLeonis 14y ago

Einstein was German as well. Do we discount him as well? Most of our early rocket scientists were ex-German scientists taken from Nazi Germany.