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I am not at all talking about stopping all space exploration, banning rocket science or similar nonsense. Only specifically about manned mission to mars and hug

I am not at all talking about stopping all space exploration, banning rocket science or similar nonsense. Only specifically about manned mission to mars and huge amount of cash that will cost it. Be it a noble cause, there are more noble and pressing ones that will have much more positive impact on our society. And just because something ain't easy it shouldn't be aspired to be done? Or do you really feel internally perfectly OK throwing away stale food knowing there are kids starving out there? (seen those first hand, not in africa but in india, and to say it's a touching and saddening experience is a gross understatement).

gambiting 12y ago
Sure, and that's probably why spending on Nasa is a fraction of spending on Education or Healthcare. The only thing you could change right now is stop that spending altogether. As a society we are already spending much more on helping others than we are spending on space exploration - and the idea that we literally shouldn't do X unless Y happens first strikes me as quite radical - if you are qualified engineer you are free to commit your resources to whatever cause you like. If you want to make water purifiers for poor people in Africa - cool. But if you want to build rockets with your knowledge - also cool. What we can do is provide incentives for people to do the first thing not the other, but I wouldn't take anyone's freedom of choice. >>Or do you really feel internally perfectly OK throwing away stale food knowing there are kids starving out there? The answer is yes - because I avoid buying too much food and if there is any left that I am not going to use, then it's the only reasonable option(well, I would use it for compost if I had a garden, but I don't). North Koreans are not going to get any more food on the table even if I stop eating altogether. And as a society we are already spending billions sending food aid there - but there is only so much you can do without getting rid of the regime there. Your argument is the same as someone saying to a child "finish your soup, there are kids in India starving" - but apart from making the child feel bad, it's not achieving anything.

gambiting 12y ago

Sure, and that's probably why spending on Nasa is a fraction of spending on Education or Healthcare. The only thing you could change right now is stop that spending altogether. As a society we are already spending much more on helping others than we are spending on space exploration - and the idea that we literally shouldn't do X unless Y happens first strikes me as quite radical - if you are qualified engineer you are free to commit your resources to whatever cause you like. If you want to make water purifiers for poor people in Africa - cool. But if you want to build rockets with your knowledge - also cool. What we can do is provide incentives for people to do the first thing not the other, but I wouldn't take anyone's freedom of choice. >>Or do you really feel internally perfectly OK throwing away stale food knowing there are kids starving out there? The answer is yes - because I avoid buying too much food and if there is any left that I am not going to use, then it's the only reasonable option(well, I would use it for compost if I had a garden, but I don't). North Koreans are not going to get any more food on the table even if I stop eating altogether. And as a society we are already spending billions sending food aid there - but there is only so much you can do without getting rid of the regime there. Your argument is the same as someone saying to a child "finish your soup, there are kids in India starving" - but apart from making the child feel bad, it's not achieving anything.