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A colleague of mine asked me why India was now spending billions as well on space probes when they have so many starving. There are many others as well, who ar

A colleague of mine asked me why India was now spending billions as well on space probes when they have so many starving. There are many others as well, who are starving in other ways. Once the immediate need of food and water are met, what do people strive for then? Safety, a place to live? We watch thousands drown in boats trying to cross the ocean to richer lands, even though there was food back home. If food were the only thing a person wanted in life, we'd have focused on and solved it centuries ago, if it had ever become a problem to begin with. There must be goals, dreams, things to yearn for once those basic needs are met. The thousands of children the nun cared for will not be content to simply be fed for the rest of their lives. Their lives must mean something, there must be things to strive for. It's not a question of whether or not we should explore space, it will happen regardless. Societies fed, nurtured, and taught their children, and those children will put their gifts to reach every higher. The child eating porridge out of a dusty bowl today may be building bridges tomorrow, or curing disease, or viewing the distant stars. Space exploration is towards the apex of our technological achievement, and so it must seem far removed to those addressing more earthly concerns. But it's built on the those foundations. We'll explore space so long as there are mouths to feed and minds to grow.

n0us 11y ago
Another way to think about it is that India is investing in an industry that creates profitable inter-industry linkages. By creating a space program you are creating high paying jobs for educated workers who educate their children and eventually move to other high skilled positions taking their human capital with them. The space program also creates a circus of supporting businesses and industries, which are also "high value added" endeavors. So while being able to produce a spacecraft might not have a direct impact on the well being of the millions of Indians, you now have workers with in demand skills who can use those skills in other jobs, you have the ability to produce high precision machinery that can be used in other high value added applications. (See the 19th century cheese industry in Denmark if you are interested in a historical example.) You are brining money into the economy, which in turn goes back into things like schools and business investments. Look up Rasumssen and Hirschman for academic literature on this subject.
spiritomb 11y ago
Space exploration is towards the apex of our technological achievement really? says who? humans have evolved to be on Earth for 100,000 years .. we're not going to colonize Mars or interstellar space. perhaps cyborgs, robots, single-cell life .. but not humans. once you accept that, it opens an enormous set of questions. like .. is a world full of post-humans something we should be striving for? (seeing ppl's faces glued to smartphones is only the beginning, and that is sad enough). i'm sorry, but you're talking out of your ass .. and imho, you have watched too much star trek and have become enamored with sci-fi garbage.

n0us 11y ago

Another way to think about it is that India is investing in an industry that creates profitable inter-industry linkages. By creating a space program you are creating high paying jobs for educated workers who educate their children and eventually move to other high skilled positions taking their human capital with them. The space program also creates a circus of supporting businesses and industries, which are also "high value added" endeavors. So while being able to produce a spacecraft might not have a direct impact on the well being of the millions of Indians, you now have workers with in demand skills who can use those skills in other jobs, you have the ability to produce high precision machinery that can be used in other high value added applications. (See the 19th century cheese industry in Denmark if you are interested in a historical example.) You are brining money into the economy, which in turn goes back into things like schools and business investments. Look up Rasumssen and Hirschman for academic literature on this subject.

spiritomb 11y ago

Space exploration is towards the apex of our technological achievement really? says who? humans have evolved to be on Earth for 100,000 years .. we're not going to colonize Mars or interstellar space. perhaps cyborgs, robots, single-cell life .. but not humans. once you accept that, it opens an enormous set of questions. like .. is a world full of post-humans something we should be striving for? (seeing ppl's faces glued to smartphones is only the beginning, and that is sad enough). i'm sorry, but you're talking out of your ass .. and imho, you have watched too much star trek and have become enamored with sci-fi garbage.