Re: Some comments...

in article hhk3f.16594$U51.901@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, blart at
walkergwm@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote on 10/12/05 8:13 PM:

> You forget that the most money is spent on stuff that has no good reason for
> existence:- fashion, casinos, holidays, movies, booze, games, toys, sport,
> 747's ... the list goes on.
> There is NO economic justification for these activities - if we were all
> smart we would save all our money for our retirement and concordant medical
> expenses.
>
> Yuk
>
> People do these things because they WANT to...
>
> So space travel is not just about science or discovery, though they are
> really important parts to it, the really important bit is that Space Travel
> is a HUMAN activity.
> A lot of people want to Space simply because it would be fun to them, or
> because it would satisfy some deep philosophical or spiritual yearning. Such
> reasons are only tangentially related to science or economics.
>
> To dismiss out of hand such concerns is to ignore the prime motivators of
> the greater bulk of humanity, since time immemorial. Such motivators are not
> rational! and do not make good economic sense except to those who make much
> money out of such primitive instincts.

You are confusing travel with exploration. Travel is provided as an
entertainment. Exploration is driven by curiosity, which we are all born
with, but which society tries to beat out of us. The few of us who escape
the process continue to search for better ways to stick our fingers in
sockets and run with scissors. The rest travel.

George Evans

.

Relevant Pages