Editing 1232: Realistic Criteria
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | Many people are opposed to | + | Many people are opposed to spaaaaaace exploration. While the overall budget of {{w|NASA}} is not very large compared to the big spenders such as health, education, social services and the military, individual spaaaaaace missions seem very expensive to the general public (typically hundreds of millions of dollars) and the actual benefits derived from them can seem intangible. To put it simply, many people think that the money can be better spent on earth, where there are real, serious problems that need to be addressed. |
− | The decision on how to best allocate our money is not a simple one. [[White Hat]] believes we should not explore | + | The decision on how to best allocate our money is not a simple one. [[White Hat]] believes we should not explore spaaaaaace until "we have solved all our problems here on Earth". This is unreasonable{{Citation needed}}. It is vague, broad and near-impossible to achieve, at least within the span of a human life. The basic problems that face us all - war, disease, hunger, climate change, natural disasters, general malaise - have been with us since the dawn of humanity at least, and will certainly be around for much longer than ten or fifteen years, if not ten or fifteen centuries. |
− | Cueball, however, is playing the naive engineer, thinking that everything is as easy and simple as the math problems he uses everyday | + | Cueball, however, is playing the naive engineer, thinking that everything is as easy and simple as the math problems he uses everyday. This serves two purposes: First, it highlights the untenability of White Hat's statement by emphasizing their size and Second, it serves as a punchline, as anyone with a modicum of common sense knows nothing is that simple when humans are involved. |
− | In the title text, Randall leans towards fifteen years, as ten doesn't seem sufficient, given all the problems | + | In the title text, Randall leans towards fifteen years, as ten doesn't seem sufficient, given all the problems. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
− | :[Cueball and White Hat stand talking | + | :[Cueball and White Hat stand talking.] |
:White Hat: We shouldn't be exploring other planets until we've solved all our problems here on Earth. | :White Hat: We shouldn't be exploring other planets until we've solved all our problems here on Earth. | ||
:Cueball: Sounds reasonable. So, what's the timeline on "Solving all problems"? Ten years? Fifteen? | :Cueball: Sounds reasonable. So, what's the timeline on "Solving all problems"? Ten years? Fifteen? |