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talkpoliticsFirst off, let's start with "an" historic news.
BBC: Polar bears have smelly feet
"Polar bears have smelly feet, scientists have discovered. Not just feet that are stinky because they are dirty, or unwashed. But feet that distribute scent, allowing the bears to leave chemical trails wherever they walk."
First response to this that I came across was like, "Hell, those scientists have spilled a billion and a half to land on some piece of icy rock out there in space, what's left for aimlessly splashing more cash on sniffing the smelly feet of polar bears!"
To that sort of "why spend money for stuff we don't need and don't care about right now" attitude, one Bill Nye had a very nice response. Well, WE DON'T KNOW YET! That's the point of the whole exercise. What we do know, though, is that there are areas of which we roughly know are where we could find potential for further future developments and discoveries if we pursue them in a meaningful way. Discoveries that oftern turn out to be something we never expected, but which, if past experience is any guide, tend to bring a tremendous chance of pushing the human civilization onto new levels of development.
Not saying that smelly bear feet is one of those. But it could be. The principle of inquiry here is much more important than the particular study and results thereof. The examples of this principle are rather numerous to be able to even begin listing them right now. A number of researches that at their time seemed pointless, useless, even frivolous... and in any case, unreasonably expensive, have later led to discoveries that have transformed society.
Sure, there'll always be the cynics who'd be a pain in the ass and keep asking, "But, but why are you wasting money for stupid stuff, you morAns?" And those will forever remain a footnote in the history of scientific and societal development. And those who've ventured into putting their reputation on the line and have embarked into endeavors that've often seemed like a shot in the dark, are actually the ones we keep studying about in the school-books.
My hubby who works for the IT department at CERN, has a nice response to those cynics who've had their sense of curiosity amputated sometime in childhood: "When the next technology emerges that you'll use to tweet to the world how awesome you feel about yourself, I'll be already there on your social page, awaiting your gratitude".
BBC: Polar bears have smelly feet
"Polar bears have smelly feet, scientists have discovered. Not just feet that are stinky because they are dirty, or unwashed. But feet that distribute scent, allowing the bears to leave chemical trails wherever they walk."
First response to this that I came across was like, "Hell, those scientists have spilled a billion and a half to land on some piece of icy rock out there in space, what's left for aimlessly splashing more cash on sniffing the smelly feet of polar bears!"
To that sort of "why spend money for stuff we don't need and don't care about right now" attitude, one Bill Nye had a very nice response. Well, WE DON'T KNOW YET! That's the point of the whole exercise. What we do know, though, is that there are areas of which we roughly know are where we could find potential for further future developments and discoveries if we pursue them in a meaningful way. Discoveries that oftern turn out to be something we never expected, but which, if past experience is any guide, tend to bring a tremendous chance of pushing the human civilization onto new levels of development.
Not saying that smelly bear feet is one of those. But it could be. The principle of inquiry here is much more important than the particular study and results thereof. The examples of this principle are rather numerous to be able to even begin listing them right now. A number of researches that at their time seemed pointless, useless, even frivolous... and in any case, unreasonably expensive, have later led to discoveries that have transformed society.
Sure, there'll always be the cynics who'd be a pain in the ass and keep asking, "But, but why are you wasting money for stupid stuff, you morAns?" And those will forever remain a footnote in the history of scientific and societal development. And those who've ventured into putting their reputation on the line and have embarked into endeavors that've often seemed like a shot in the dark, are actually the ones we keep studying about in the school-books.
My hubby who works for the IT department at CERN, has a nice response to those cynics who've had their sense of curiosity amputated sometime in childhood: "When the next technology emerges that you'll use to tweet to the world how awesome you feel about yourself, I'll be already there on your social page, awaiting your gratitude".
(no subject)
Date: 4/2/15 13:37 (UTC)Just wanted to put this here.
(no subject)
Date: 4/2/15 14:43 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 4/2/15 18:36 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 4/2/15 18:57 (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 4/2/15 19:01 (UTC)You never know where the next big breakthrough would come from.
(no subject)
Date: 4/2/15 19:14 (UTC)Carl Sagan
Date: 4/2/15 22:19 (UTC)This notion of pure research for the sake of research, and not knowing where the chips could land was an integral plot element in Sagan's book Contact: the SETI researcher Ellie Arroway constantly locked horns with David Drumlin, a scientist who was more interested in "practical science" with proven dividends for the tax paying public, that was a common theme for NASA during the 1970s through the 1990s Something that Sagan had to deal with for most of his lifetime working at JPL. This theme was also a main element in his epochal series COSMOS).
Sagan was also great at explaining why it was so vital to fund pure research. Sagan brilliantly illustrated the point of how valuable pure research could be, and not knowing where it could lead by using this hypothetical example: if Queen Victoria in 1850, asked a "scientific adviser," "I'd like a box that would show a moving image of myself in every home in the Empire so I can govern more efficiently?" The answer would have been no.
Sagan goes on to explain what was happening in the background that made TV eventually possible (and lots of other good things). It's such great stuff.