Knowledge over life? Which is more important?

asking · Jul 24, 2008, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capuchin

I think we all, somewhere deep down, believe that humans are different. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that we're really not. (Hence religion, etc.)

I couldn't agree more. It is hard to come to terms with that idea. And most people never will because they reject the idea.

But I guess that I think we should be honest with ourselves about that. There probably will be a last person on Earth someday, though it's a scary thought. If you have read the story of Ishi, the California Indian who was the last of his tribe, you can get a sense of what it would be like. And I remember reading about a Hawaiian bird that was the last of its species--a male singing its mating call. But no females ever appeared because there weren't any...

DuBas07 · Jul 24, 2008, 02:09 PM

I understand and agree with the overall general point that humans are no different..I constantly point out to my close friends we are monkeys. But we are monkeys with intelligence that no other recorded animal can rival. Call me an optimist but I believe if all of humanity puts there efforts into something I think very few goals would be unachievable. I do recognize there is a good chance humanity will kill each other off, I'm not an idiot(at least I hope I'm not :-) ).

DuBas07 · Jul 24, 2008, 02:14 PM

I didn't know about Christa McAuliffe, I was three at the time so I don't remember any of the media coverage.

Unknown008 · Jul 25, 2008, 02:40 AM

Sorry, you're right Capuchin, I made a big big mistake, lol. Thanks for reminding me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuBas07

I do recognize there is a good chance humanity will kill each other off

Yes, good point there.

Capuchin · Jul 25, 2008, 03:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuBas07

I didn't know about Christa McAuliffe, I was three at the time so I don't remember any of the media coverage.

It happened the day after I was born..

asking · Jul 25, 2008, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Capuchin

It happened the day after I was born..

Sigh. I'm the oldster here by a long way. I was working on a shuttle biology project at a university and in my 20s. Because of the disaster, they put our project on hold for 7 years. It was supposed to have gone up on the next shuttle...

DuBas07 · Jul 25, 2008, 02:36 PM

Sorry about your project being delayed, did you still get to work on it?

JimGunther · Jul 28, 2008, 07:42 AM

By the way, civilians died in the recent Space Shuttle disasters.

0rphan · Jul 28, 2008, 01:16 PM

Life is precious no matter who they are..... You could say Astronaults choose to do their job, just as the military do in the wars, but it does not make their life any less valuable.

Looking back at that first moon landing..about 40 years -ish...it doesn't seem to me that we have achieved anything else, having said that, no one knows what goes on behind closed doors, least of all ordinary people like myself.

I have to say that any knowledge regarding an alternative place to live, has to be good, therefore those brave people, did not give their lives in vain, but for their believe in preserving mankind.

May God Bless Them All.

JimGunther · Jul 28, 2008, 01:56 PM

As you can tell by my avatar, I worked on the Apollo XI mission and can tell you that we have learned a lot about how to live in space but obviously have a lot still to learn. NASA suffered budget cuts after Apollo XVII and decided to go in the direction of near-earth missions and construction of the Space Station, and of course, unmanned probes of various types. The knowledge obtained to that point will be used in future space applications.

I don't feel people who have lost their lives in space have done so in vain either. It is an incredibly dangerous place to survive in and yet we must learn to do it if we as a civilization are to survive.

Knowledge over life? Which is more important?

Add your answer here.

Check out some similar questions!