The Big Picture: Once Upon a Time in The Future

[Vetinarii]

Well we have sequence the Genome but there is still loads we don't know how to do. We still can't make out own enzymes or other proteins, if we could crack the "protein code" as it were all sorts of processes could be done more efficiently. And by make our own proteins I mean designed from scratch where we pick a function we want, e.g break down alcohol, and we design the entire amino acid sequence, make the gene and then grow it in bacteria and have it function in solution. Also sure we can "do GM" but we can get it much better, we can make crops give us vaccines and more vitamins but these are still in the early stages.

We have the potential to even control when crops grow and what triggers them to produce flowers plus seeds. This sort of biology is taking what we have and making it more suited to ourselves. The space thing just seems to be.... hmm not going to well on this planet best be moving on, in my opinion. With the mission to mars etc.

Interestingly the things you are discribing here sound like ways in which space colonisation can be greatly aided...

 

[twm1709]

Seriously Bob, you NEED to get over your difficult childhood and your reality escapism issues. How do you expect us to take you seriously like this?

 

[ph0b0s123]

Thanks Bob, exactly what I have been saying to people when I heard all of this was going to be cancled. I am so with you on this.

 

[Knight Templar]

"Ech"
That was a noise I head a few times. Anyway the "fuck space, help the poor" is an attitude of a favorite author of mine, but I disagree. The advancements we gain from space are invaluable, simply trying to make a space shuttle demands that many other useful advancements and products are created.
We can help people and go to space, they can be the same.

 

[matrix3509]

If we can't assure our immediate needs are met how in the hell do you expect to meet our long term needs.

If everyone thought as you do we would still be stuck in the stone age. The fact of the matter is that scientific advancement occurred throughout history in spite of all the thing that were wrong with the world. The world's problems will persist as long as humans exist. To claim otherwise is criminal in its naivety.

It is mindsets like this that prevent scientific advancement.

 

[matrix3509]

I hope everyone realizes that we are now less advanced technologically now than we were 40 fucking years ago? Sure we have all these cool abilities to make our phones smaller and to update everyone we've ever met with details of our inane lives, but we can't even get to the FUCKING MOON anymore.

Every technology we have developed in the past twenty years is absolutely useless in terms of scientific advancement.

 

[Logic 0]

Someday we will find the alien women all we need to do now is try 10000 times harder and build an even more badass spaceship.

 

[LondonBeer]

/snip

I think youll find its implied that I am asking the individual to think before typing. I find myself broadening the category of individual to respondees.

Also: Dodgy looking link. You've misspelled scallywag.

I am truly a sad and terrible person. Thank you for enlightening me as to my errors. I shall now go cry in my bathtub till the water turns cold. (Also, the spam detection system detained my comment so I didn't get a chance to test the link [I'll remember to use 'Preview' in future]. Scalawag is an accepted alternative spelling) (Any grammatical or spelling inconsistencies in this post are intensional)

Keep crying theres more to come.

 

[rddj623]

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one to think Constellation's cancellation was a huge misstep. I've been talking about this to anyone who'd care to listen since I heard it. le sigh.

 

[JMeganSnow]

What a heap of collectivist BS. Why didn't you just go ahead and call your idea "Manifest Destiny", Bob? 'Cause that's what it was called not too long ago when the "frontier" was still here on earth.

Why does all the responsibility for space exploration get dumped on "humanity" or "nations" like it's their job to finance this crap? You want to go to space? FINE. Front the damn money yourself. SOME of us would be happy if we could have the money you intend to loot off us back so we can AFFORD A DAMN PLACE TO LIVE. I'm not sad to see the space program go, even though I do hope there is space exploration at some point in the future--by people who have learned to understand the real source of scientific progress. But NASA is and always has been the "circus" to the welfare state's "bread".

 

[messy]

Well we have sequence the Genome but there is still loads we don't know how to do. We still can't make out own enzymes or other proteins, if we could crack the "protein code" as it were all sorts of processes could be done more efficiently. And by make our own proteins I mean designed from scratch where we pick a function we want, e.g break down alcohol, and we design the entire amino acid sequence, make the gene and then grow it in bacteria and have it function in solution. Also sure we can "do GM" but we can get it much better, we can make crops give us vaccines and more vitamins but these are still in the early stages.

We have the potential to even control when crops grow and what triggers them to produce flowers plus seeds. This sort of biology is taking what we have and making it more suited to ourselves. The space thing just seems to be.... hmm not going to well on this planet best be moving on, in my opinion. With the mission to mars etc.

Interestingly the things you are discribing here sound like ways in which space colonisation can be greatly aided...

I'm not saying biochemistry can't help the space programme, and colonisation. And I'm not saying the two shall never meet. Just this idea that "all our problems can be solved if we get to spaced" I think is personally wrong. My point is that we should try to perfect what we have here instead of just jumping ship. And doesn't it make sense that we should master what we're doing on our own planet before trying it else where?

 

[joshpahr]

I don't understand how asking for proof of where Obama was born is racist. You have to be born in the US to be president, no matter what color your skin is.

You could argue that isn't been asked and answered, or is no longer in question. That's fine. Argue that the burden of proof has been met. No problem. But racist for asking? That's just plain lazy. "I don't like that you ask those questions, so I'm going to just call you a racist, and hope that you go away."

Sure, and every WHITE president has had a bunch of mouth-breathers asking whether he was born in Sweden, Scotland, or Croatia.

Oh, wait, that didn't happen.

But the first time a black man takes office, it JUST SO HAPPENS... Sure, buddy. Lemme guess, you start every other sentence with "I'm not a racist, but..."

They were asking John McCain the same thing, and many democrats were doing the same thing with asking for his birth certificate because McCain was born Panama. So it wasn't only one side that was playing the same card. Accusing someone of being racist, is racist too, because it's a conscious prejudgment on one's character. Do you start sentences with, "I'm not a race baiter, but..." Why is it that if one million white people go to a tea party it's a clan meeting, but a million black people and it's a demonstration?

 

[Vrach]

Ok so I've been looking into this after seeing the video... perhaps I'm wrong, but what I saw was that the budget was more moved away from direct space travel, but is still within NASA.

The difference is that they're abandoning the active shuttling into space (which while cool, doesn't bring us much, if anything at this point) in favour of upgrading their technology to do so. Apparently, the technology they're using for shuttles right now is pretty much a remnant of the 50's/60's and as we know quite well, that doesn't really bring us any further into space than a few planets within the Solar system.

After watching the episode I was with you, space program is quite invaluable, but looks like you've got your facts wrong. They're just moving from "hey let's put a man on the moon so he can dance around ans show people he's there" to "let's get down to business and design better shuttles and technology". And if that's the case, sorry, but I'm all for it.

 

[Jacob Haggarty]

You are assuming of course that it is they who reach us.

Yes. That's a safe assumption. Because we're a long way off interstellar travel.

No one has ever stated that if extra terrestrial life exists it must be advanced. All they say (and accurately so) is that if they made it here. They're more advanced that we are. There are plenty of fictions about aliens less technologically advanced than we are. Look at 'Alien' For god's sake.

So you essentially just brought up a completely moot argument.

And as flawed as humans are, we arent THAT bad. People again seem to think that we as humans are programed to kill on sight, which simply isnt true. OK as humans we've done bad stuff to each other, but we dont constantly set out to inflict pain or misery on one and other. Have a bit of faith.

And if we found a planet (sometime in the future) full of less developed lifeforms. We wouldn't just pop down to say 'Hiya'. We'd be looking at how we could exploit them. And if we considered them a threat. We'd kill them. This isn't some self deprecating twadle. Just look at how we treat each other. We are ruled by fear and anxiety. It's just good sense if you want to stay alive really.

Also, judging our behaviour is by no means an accurate measure of another lifeforms. What i think you mean is its the easiest to relate to.

Finally I'd like to draw you back to this

We're anything but altruistic and while that doesn't mean that's true for all possible intelligent life. It is a good estimate.

At-least read what I say.

And may i say, thats a very cynical and pessimistic view of human behaviour. Like i said, we've done bad things to each other. Thats a given, and its apparent throughout history. But YOUR not looking at the whole picture; you have chosen to focus entirely on the negative aspects of humans. The way we fight or hurt or berate and belittle. Have you ever stopped to take in the (far greater) compassion we humans share? We have partners, mostly for life. There are only 2-3 other SPECIES that do that. We will stop and care for our ill and unfortunate. NO other animal in the world will do this (except maybe your orangutangs and chimpanzees).

Sounds sappy, but its true. Again, have a little faith. I know that got a little off track, but i get very passionate about humans... which sounds odd.

Listen, i am not going to argue with you about the whys and whats of a potentially COMPLETELY fictitious creature. I think one way, you think another. Good. Problem solved.

 

[Jacob Haggarty]

They were asking John McCain the same thing, and many democrats were doing the same thing with asking for his birth certificate because McCain was born Panama. So it wasn't only one side that was playing the same card. Accusing someone of being racist, is racist too, because it's a conscious prejudgment on one's character. Do you start sentences with, "I'm not a race baiter, but..." Why is it that if one million white people go to a tea party it's a clan meeting, but a million black people and it's a demonstration?

Umm, accusing someone of being rascist isnt itself rascist. It may be ignorant, but rascism is something completely (well... not so much if you think about it) different. What you described would be more on par with predjudice.

Just saying...

 

[Stinky244]

WoW this episode it was like me talking! Good to hear there are people out there who actually care about the things i do and are not complete morons. Humanity is maybe not completely lost?

 

[Jabberwock xeno]

The reason why nobdody knows about it is that no news outlet reported it.

I'm just as disappointed as you bob, but do we really need to have people put in space when we have all this crap going on here?

I don't mean "do we really need" as in that we have enough issues, but in that "do we really need people out in space where we can't keep track of them if they decided to do something hostile/stupid?"

 

[Bigsmith]

Bad move America, looks like it's up to Britian and the space S.A.S. to discover Prothean technology on mars. Don't worry, we'll share the discovery... for a price.

Hang on, who said anything about sharing. All is for the good of the British empire after all!

Ot: WoW I didn't even no this was happening. Shame I had to hear it through this.

I agree with pretty much everything that was said.

 

[Ritter315]

Aren't you going a little overborder man? I mean, space colonialism isnt exactly where our dollars are best spend is it? What positive feedback are the people of the world getting from the moon and mars other than the glory of space exploration. And the idea that anyone who opposes Obama due to racism at this point is a little un-informed I think. And I dont really think Space as the final frontier is a cool idea, yet. I mean American didnt even settle the west until we had the money, time, will, and technology (Affordable technology I might add) to do so. I'm sorry but I think those billions putting a man into space can be used better here on earth. Maybe Europe can take over the space tech and get it ready for bigger national involvement but right now, space isnt where we need to go right now.
And I seriously doubt corporate buisness is going to crew reality show stars to meet aliens, because no one is THAT stupid. We've never sent ambassadors who were celebraties. Actually..we kinda have but that was mostly for goodwill and it actually seems to be good. Give a Michael Jordan signed basketball to the Kim Jong family and they seem to stay quiet for a while.
Look, space is an amazing place, and I'd love to see space colonized and a new empire of technological mastery be achieved, hell I wouldnt even might the interplaentary wars space faring nations might have, but for right now, we just cant do that. Sorry.