# The Big Bang is not proven fact; it is opinion. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 5, 2006, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-is-not-proven-fact-it-is-opinion/343078 "2006-02-05T05:20:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2006, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-is-not-proven-fact-it-is-opinion/343078/82 "2006-02-17T23:06:30Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > [A Young Bush Appointee Resigns His Post at NASA](http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/08/politics/08nasa.html?pagewanted=print) That’s not even the best part. The best part is that his explanation is that this discrepancy was just an oversight because his resume wasn’t “updated.” In what world do you put that you graduated on your resume before you graduate, and then forget to take it out again after you’ve left school entirely? If you haven’t actually graduated, you always put "(expected May 2005) or whatever next to the degree. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-is-not-proven-fact-it-is-opinion/343078/83 "2006-02-18T00:11:15Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > In what world do you put that you graduated on your resume before you graduate, and then forget to take it out again after you’ve left school entirely? Perhaps the same one where you claim to have fulfilled your Air National Guard service but fail to report for duty for months on end. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-is-not-proven-fact-it-is-opinion/343078/84 "2006-02-18T15:33:01Z")
> [@RogueRacer](#): > > I don’t know if CEV is really to blame for the science cuts. That blame seems to fall more on the shuttle program and the ISS. This is kind of an interesting (and short) read by Jeffery Bell (who I normally consider to be a total wanker) [Griffin’s Vision For Apollo 2.5](http://www.spacedaily.com/reports/oped-06a.html). How serious he is in the article is open for debate, but it’s kind of interesting. > > Also, I know that I read something recently (can’t find it right now) stating that the “science” portion of the NASA budget has been on the increase (as a percentage of overall) for years. Some of the current cuts are getting it back to old levels. Granted, that may not be a wise choice. Yesterday I read an article (somewhere) that NASA is expecting more cuts, and maybe an end to the Mars projects. If I find it again, I’ll post the link. ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2006, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-is-not-proven-fact-it-is-opinion/343078/85 "2006-02-18T18:35:24Z")
> [@SteveG1](#): > > Yesterday I read an article (somewhere) that NASA is expecting more cuts, and maybe an end to the Mars projects. If I find it again, I’ll post the link. I doubt you will see all of the Mars projects end, but I too have read that some of the programs will be cancelled or scaled back. I would be interested in the article if you can find it. I have a lot of faith right now in Griffin. Although I’m not sure if Congress or the executive branch will see any of the current plans through. As administrations change, so do agendas. Time frames and schedules slip as a result. I think one of the biggest worries right now is that Congress’s honeymoon with Griffin is going to end. He seems like he is trying very hard to bring fiscal responsibility and realism to NASA. Some of the programs that are getting cancelled are also ones that are continually behind schedule and over budget. Eventually though, he’s going to have to cut some pork from the budget. That’s when I worry about his Congressional support waning. ---
**Author:** ![BJMoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@BJMoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BJMoose)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-is-not-proven-fact-it-is-opinion/343078/86 "2006-02-19T02:54:02Z")
Seems to me the whole Bush administration is a damned good argument against the Theory of Intelligent Design. (Side note: do the ID folks call their notion a theory??) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-is-not-proven-fact-it-is-opinion/343078/87 "2006-02-19T03:54:59Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > More likely it shows that the universe is balaned upon the back of a honkin’ gurgiantic tortise named Fred. He’s named Great A’tuin, actually, and the Disc actually sits on the back of four gigantic elephants which stand on his shell. What do you mean the world is round?! ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-is-not-proven-fact-it-is-opinion/343078/88 "2006-02-19T16:20:19Z")
> [@RogueRacer](#): > > I doubt you will see all of the Mars projects end, but I too have read that some of the programs will be cancelled or scaled back. I would be interested in the article if you can find it. > > I have a lot of faith right now in Griffin. Although I’m not sure if Congress or the executive branch will see any of the current plans through. As administrations change, so do agendas. Time frames and schedules slip as a result. I think one of the biggest worries right now is that Congress’s honeymoon with Griffin is going to end. He seems like he is trying very hard to bring fiscal responsibility and realism to NASA. Some of the programs that are getting cancelled are also ones that are continually behind schedule and over budget. Eventually though, he’s going to have to cut some pork from the budget. That’s when I worry about his Congressional support waning. On the one hand, I’ve witnessed some of the schedule slippages and spiralling costs. Sometimes, I think NASA was too accomodating or sided with the company too easily and too quickly. I’ve seen many projects get “re-baselined” both for design and schedule. On the other hand, when an agency is chartered to develop new technology and new methods, there is no way to accurately predict much of anything regarding the budgeting and scheduling is done. Plus, when you build something (anything) on a onesy twosy basis, the cost skyrockets. It’s not like getting something COTS (commercial off the shelf) that could be gotten anywhere and is already there in large quantities. So while I can see where outsiders worry about high cost, I can also see why it happens. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-big-bang-is-not-proven-fact-it-is-opinion/343078.md?page=4)