I was watching Bill Maher the other night. I think he is funny. I think he is a misogynist, and I think he is as dense on the left as others are on the right, but he always presents some good thoughts and conversations. I particularly liked his rant on the NFL being a socialist organization, taking the money made by all and sharing it evenly. Hence: a different team may wind up in the Superbowl every year.
But anyway, this week the noted astrophysicist Dr. Neil Tyson was a guest on his show. It was cool to see someone with a science background on t.v. It got me thinking about how the country has really missed Carl Sagan, the Star Trek shows, and Sully and Maulder. Fringe is still a little too far out there for the common man, though I love it, and Steven Hawking parodies still show up on South Park from time to time, though the new generation of kids have no idea who that guy in the wheelchair is.
OK, sooooooooooo, the idea that anyone would be interested in space travel completely baffled Bill Maher. When asked, Dr. Tyson explained the fact that even though the NASA and space exploration budget are only a 1/2 penny of the US budget, people always want to cut it. But that wasn't Bill's main concern. "Why go to Mars" sayeth Bill, "what's there that we need?"
Now I may not an astrophysicist, but I do teach space science and my 8th graders and I love thinking and talking about the universe. I do wish I were there to answer Bill's question. The first thing I would ask him is how the heck he thinks his show gets to me? "On my FIOS fiber optic cable!" I would reply, "And just how do you think that technology came about being developed, huh Bill? huh? huh?"
I guess the common folk, like Bill Maher, don't realize that the reason we have computers, hd tvs,cell phones, remote control garage door openers, microwave ovens, and all the other technological gewgaws we use everyday is because JFK, (in the early 60s!), had the wisdom to throw money and resources into math and science that was necessary at the time to get us to the moon. Now I know that the impetus for this idea was to beat the Russians there. But the payoff of having a "Sputnik" moment, as Barack recently called it, was all the cool stuff we now own and use today, stuff that was invented for and is used by the common good.
I, for one, absolutely adore my Smart board, and am not sure I would love teaching as much anymore if someone took it away from me. The internet, for about a dollar a day, allows me to gather and use resources from all over the world. I have a digital camera that i can plug into my laptop and show my relatives all over the country the pics of my new grandson. NONE of this would have occurred without the Space program.
The importance of research and development in this country is not what it used to be. You can tell what the country is interested in by watching what's on mainstream t.v. The only science that is discussed nowadays is forensic.
How is it that in the early part of the 20th century we cured tuberculosis, eradicated small pox, and developed inoculations for childhood diseases, and nowadays, with billions of dollars sunk into research every year, we can't cure a thing; can only can come up with expensive pharmaceuticals that have horrible side effects?
It's sad in my mind that there aren't enough television shows that stimulate curiosity and the desire to find out new stuff. . 40 habitable planets have just been discovered. 40 places we now know of where life can exist besides earth Isn't that awesome? Who knows what inventions lie in trying to discover more about these worlds?
A famous FOX pundit recently stated that he didn't "believe" that the moon caused the tides. <eyeroll> Belief has nothing to do with science. Belief is for things taken on faith. I believe my dad is in heaven looking down on me. I can't prove it. But I can believe it.
For scientists to state something, however, it must be proved. As I tell my students every day "evidence is the enemy of dogma". Or as Dr.Tyson put it: "The good thing about science is it's true whether or not you believe in it."
