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How many schools could be built on a US DoD's Iraq war budget (just an example)? And how many lives would be spared if in fact that money went into building of

by nzp 13y ago

How many schools could be built on a US DoD's Iraq war budget (just an example)? And how many lives would be spared if in fact that money went into building of schools? I think there are issues in our world today infinitely better suited for complaining about wasting resources than some country's space program.

LaGrange 13y ago
I’m not discussing that — things one could be done on the US DoD budgets are pretty much unimaginable. The only thing I wanted to provide is that there are, actually, useful, measurably beneficial things one could do for „just” 72 megadollars — like a „boring” school, or a clinic. Or a stretch of a road and a clean well, maybe even a small stretch of railway. In many places those would be huge. This doesn’t mean a space program is the best place to take money away from — not even in India, and definitely not in the United States. I just mean it’s not money one can wave away as small change.
- nzp 13y ago
  Yes, but then we are arguing about truisms, so what's the point the naysayers want to make? I don't mean you specifically, but on several threads on this page there are people arguing that: "oh, this is so much money wasted, other things could be done with it, but oh, I'm not saying we should take away from the space program, but, oh, this is so much money wasted..." ad nauseam. I mean what exactly is the point in pointing out that yes, obviously, other good things can be done with 72 million, and then disclaiming that it's an argument against India launching a Mars probe? Why point out such a trivial truth unless arguing against India doing this? If it's just about 72 million not being small change in general, why aren't people making such trivially true statements in discussions about other things? Again, I am not singling you out, I get what you're saying, but I just have to ask: why aren't we having people pointing out how many schools can be built out of a budget for, for example as kamaal wrote, an Olympic opening ceremony? I don't think it's even some kind of closet racism, as some have argued, in general (though in this case there is also that, in this story's coverage by the Western media), because people go nuts over the US space program also. Even outside the US. :) It's a clear pattern of pushing the waste argument over just about any kind of space exploration anyone does, and it's not done just by "unwashed masses" but also by very educated people (e.g. here, I had a colleague, a theoretical physicist of all people, telling me how space programs are such a waste when there are people starving etc...). What the hell?
  - LaGrange 13y ago
    Actually, we do have quite a lot of people pointing out both that and the war effort, both counted in "schools" and "manned Mars missions". Not in this discussion, but that's probably related to the fact that India neither started a homophobic olympics nor invaded Iraq. Mind you, I do think that a lot of complaints about this specific mission are of a racist nature - but that's because I suspect that many of the detractors wouldn't critique US space programs the same way.

by nzp 13y ago

LaGrange 13y ago

I’m not discussing that — things one could be done on the US DoD budgets are pretty much unimaginable. The only thing I wanted to provide is that there are, actually, useful, measurably beneficial things one could do for „just” 72 megadollars — like a „boring” school, or a clinic. Or a stretch of a road and a clean well, maybe even a small stretch of railway. In many places those would be huge. This doesn’t mean a space program is the best place to take money away from — not even in India, and definitely not in the United States. I just mean it’s not money one can wave away as small change.

nzp 13y ago
Yes, but then we are arguing about truisms, so what's the point the naysayers want to make? I don't mean you specifically, but on several threads on this page there are people arguing that: "oh, this is so much money wasted, other things could be done with it, but oh, I'm not saying we should take away from the space program, but, oh, this is so much money wasted..." ad nauseam. I mean what exactly is the point in pointing out that yes, obviously, other good things can be done with 72 million, and then disclaiming that it's an argument against India launching a Mars probe? Why point out such a trivial truth unless arguing against India doing this? If it's just about 72 million not being small change in general, why aren't people making such trivially true statements in discussions about other things? Again, I am not singling you out, I get what you're saying, but I just have to ask: why aren't we having people pointing out how many schools can be built out of a budget for, for example as kamaal wrote, an Olympic opening ceremony? I don't think it's even some kind of closet racism, as some have argued, in general (though in this case there is also that, in this story's coverage by the Western media), because people go nuts over the US space program also. Even outside the US. :) It's a clear pattern of pushing the waste argument over just about any kind of space exploration anyone does, and it's not done just by "unwashed masses" but also by very educated people (e.g. here, I had a colleague, a theoretical physicist of all people, telling me how space programs are such a waste when there are people starving etc...). What the hell?
- LaGrange 13y ago
  Actually, we do have quite a lot of people pointing out both that and the war effort, both counted in "schools" and "manned Mars missions". Not in this discussion, but that's probably related to the fact that India neither started a homophobic olympics nor invaded Iraq. Mind you, I do think that a lot of complaints about this specific mission are of a racist nature - but that's because I suspect that many of the detractors wouldn't critique US space programs the same way.