Peak Oil is a fact - unlike your constant refrain of “WILL GO!”. We could dicker over the consequences of PO, but not the fact of its occurrence (unless you subscribe to non-biotic oil theories, of course)
Don’t get me wrong, I would rejoice in any Mars landings just like I rejoiced in the Rover’s first pics. I just don’t think it’ll happen in this century - because of that “global catastrophe”. Or that it would be as world-shattering as you believe, even if it did.
Dude, South Africa (the most technically advanced African country by far) didn’t even have TV when Armstrong stepped down. Believe me, it was no big deal here.
But I’m not saying people won’t have the ability to see the landing. I’m saying they won’t care.
Since the absolute numbers of people in those places is definitely much more now, yes, they are worse.
And posters of Tupac on the walls, I know, I know. Doesn’t mean they give two pesos about Mars missions, en masse.
No, I wouldn’t. I know enough.
No, it isn’t - it’s observation and experience.
If that’s what they are currently doing, then no, I doubt very much they would watch a Mars landing live on Three-Vee. In my experience, people like that are much more likely to want to see the next football World Cup than a Mars landing. Even in America and Europe, sport and reality T.V. get more public attention than the BBC science shows. People in the rest of the world? No different.
They don’t have the knowledgebase to realise what makes such an event important to people like you or I. Sure, there’ll be one kid in the village who dreams of stars (I know, I was that kid in my home ghetto), but mass impact? I doubt it.
Take it to the Pit. Not buying into your Arean daydream is no reason to get abusive.
Gotta disagree with you here. Sure in terms of short term objective goals, we might not have gained much, but I agree with xtisme & his “Our first steps into the greater solar system” comment. The more we poke around in the universe, the emptier it seems. There is a very real chance that our planet has the only life in the reachable vicinity. The spreading of life beyond our planet has (IMO) enormous consequences in the long term thinking of the scope of life in the universe. The idea that the process might begin in our lifetime has to be intriguing even to the biggest cynic out there.
Plan for that possibility. Don’t launch the expedition until the automatic plant has already landed, proved functional, and made enough fuel for the return trip. (A meteor might land and smash it when the expedition is almost to Mars, of course – you can’t plan for everything.)
Well, the debate is over the gloom and doom consequences of Peak Oil™. Certainly oil production will peak, if it hasn’t already. But THIS isn’t a debate about Peak Oil (fortunately).
Suit yourself. I think it WILL be earth shattering, and I’m militantly bored with the whole ‘global catastrophe’ meme at this point. So…we each have something to focus on it seems.
Dude, I’ve BEEN to Africa (though, admittedly, not South Africa). And I’ve talked to people who remember Apollo there. Were they representative of the population as a whole? Probably not considering the circumstances that brought me there. Was it a ‘big deal’ there? Well, it didn’t go completely without notice, I know that. I suppose it depends on who you talk to…and your definition of what a ‘big deal’ is/was.
I’m not saying that everyone is going to jump for joy over a Mars mission (obviously you are not going to)…but I think it will be far from the indifference you seem to think it will be. I suppose time will tell as I’m sure it’s going to happen this century and probably in my lifetime.
Based on the amount of shows on things like Discovery/TLC/History, at least here in America SOMEONE cares about this stuff…or the stations wouldn’t bother with that kind of programming as there would be no market. At an outside guess, someone in Russia and China (as well as Japan and the EU) ALSO care, or they wouldn’t be spending money on looking into going there.
This doesn’t prove that people en masse will care about a Mars mission, especially outside of which ever nation actually attempts it first/pulls it off. Whether anyone cares or not, I think it’s going to happen, so the point is really moot. We can just disagree as to the impact it will have world wide and see what happens.
You are, of course, welcome to your opinion. I disagree.
:dubious: But this isn’t a debate about poverty or relative life styles of dirt farmers/peasants vs sweat shop workers, so let’s not get into that, ehe?
On the other hand, it’s not proof that they won’t care either, ehe?
Well, there you are.
Interesting…I’m using the same thing to make my own assessments.
Do you know what a trip to Mars will entail??? The risks that any nation that attempts it will be incurring (let alone the crews)? The months the crew will be taking those risks…and the dangers along the way? The personal interactions and crisis situations they will be going through? Isolation…solar storms…emergency situations…the landing. Exploration of a new world that humans have never been to? Discovery of life? You don’t think this will BE a reality TV drama??? Really? Wow…
I seriously think you are underestimating people if you think this is going to be a yawn and switch to Dancing with the Stars moment.
:rolleyes: You think saying ‘bullshit’ is Pit worthy?? Seriously?
Yeah, currently Discovery is the non-stop ISS channel…oh, wait, no it isn’t. It’s the non-stop ghosts-and-UFOs channel, more like. Never mind the [del]History[/del]Hitler channel.
Right now, there are people more-or-less permanently in space. Is their (also risky, somewhat like a Mars mission) daily life the subject of worldwide interest and reality TV? No, it is not. I’m extrapolating from how yawnsome &/or incomprehensible the world (as a whole) currently finds the existing space program, to how they will behave towards a Mars mission that, sad to say, would generally be a lot like the ISS one. Long days of routine with moments of excitement.
Sure, you’ll get an audience possibly in the hundreds of millions for the actual landing, but I think it’ll fall short of the “galvanise the whole world” event you seem to think it’ll be. And yes, I do think you’re biased in who you’ve interacted with in Africa.
“Nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public.” H.L.Mencken.
I think that holds worldwide.
Nope, but I can see this escalating if all your counterarguments end in terms of abuse.