Re: Science is NEVER a priority

On 10/9/25 8:01 AM, JTEM wrote:
> 
> This describes a Mars return mission as costing an "Astronomical"
> $11 billion:
> 
> https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bringing-mars-rocks-to-earth- 
> could-cost-an-astronomical-11-billion/
> 
> Now compare that figure to how much the U.S. government has spent
> on other people's war... Israel... the Ukraine.
> 
> "But those are important," you might argue, but in so doing you're
> acknowledging that space is not. The search for life on another
> world, perhaps the single greatest scientific find possible, is not
> important. War is important. Science is not.
> 
> We spent like $4 trillion -- $4,000 billion -- on the idiotic
> response to CoronaPanic. And in return we made the poor much poorer
> and the rich much richer...
> 
> So $4,000 billion wasn't too much to spend on idiocy but $11 billion
> is an "Astronomical" figure to pay for he biggest scientific
> discovery yet possible.

Correction/clarification:

A return mission does *Not* guarantee the proof of life on Mars, present
or in the past.

Science is a method. It's a way of investigating nature. Call it an
"Approach" if you want.

What it comes down to is a process for eliminating the human element.

Humans are idiots... "I stubbed my toe. It rained. Stubbing my toe
obviously causes rain."

And you can brush that off but, turn back the clock enough times,
before science, and things got a lot worse than THAT!

The point is that SCIENCE isn't a priority. The hunt for life on
Mars is not a priority. Killing people in other people's war is
important, but science is not.




-- 
https://jtem.tumblr.com/tagged/The%20Book%20of%20JTEM/page/5