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"I think we're going to the moon because it's in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It's by the nature of his deep inner soul... we're required t
by mmcnickle 14y ago
"I think we're going to the moon because it's in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It's by the nature of his deep inner soul... we're required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream."
--- Neil Armstrong.
An inspiring man. RIP.
- herval 14y agoIt turns out humanity's real soul (at least most of it) is always looking for gimmicks to waste their time - be it compulsive little "games", the gadget of the week, etc, etc. I wish we had more Armstrongs. Truly inspiring man indeed...
- daeken 14y agoPeople have always had their ways to escape; prayer, sewing, radio, books, TV. That doesn't mean we're in any less capable position to do amazing things. Do I think we take our information-rich world for granted? Yes. Does that make us lazy or in any way bad? No.
- herval 14y agoI'm not implying people from the past where any more productive or interested in challenge than today's (they were not). The main difference, though, is that a larger number of people leave in stable/confortable enough lives today than in the past - thus the number of people doing nothing but indulging themselves is proportionally larger...
- bermanoid 14y agoYou say that as if it's a bad thing. To me, "the number of people doing nothing but indulging themselves is proportionally larger" sounds like a good thing, a clear indicator that we've come a long way - we're so well off now that you don't actually have to do anything useful in order to survive. That's awesome, to the extent that it's true. Our goal should be a day when nobody has to work, and everything that we want done happens anyways. We're still pretty far from that, but I think motion in that direction is a positive indicator, not a negative one.
- herval 14y agoThat's a very dreadful prospect of a future... And yes, I think it's a pretty bad thing. On a related note, the book "Childhood's End" covers this topic quite well from my point of view. In the end, no one had to move a finger for anything. And it was damn boring and counter-evolutionary...
- harscoat 14y agolove this quote... "Just as salmon swim upstream"... we gotta go to Mars
- zerostar07 14y agoNot challenging enough
- grueful 14y agoA good man, and a good engineer. That, more than one small step, made him a hero worthy of being remembered for the phrase "for all mankind." He made me want to be a better man myself, and to build things of more lasting importance.
- mrkmcknz 14y ago"Science has not yet mastered prophecy. We predict too much for the next year and yet far too little for the next 10." My favorite Neil Armstrong quote. Has some relevance to how we think as entrepreneurs.
- skybrian 14y agoHuh, I've heard that attributed to Bill Gates, but Neil Armstrong said it in 1969. I wonder if he got it from someone else?