[ExI] Manned Spaceflight (Was: future fizzle)

[Stefano Vaj]

On Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 1:11 PM, Stathis Papaioannou <stathisp at gmail.com> wrote:
> 2009/6/2 Stefano Vaj <stefano.vaj at gmail.com>:
>
>> So, the real issue is, quite trivially, that technoscientific
>> achievements are valued *less* than they used to be simply because
>> societies are drifting away from what might motivate them in this
>> respect, our task being that of resisting, if not of reversing, such
>> trend.
>
> I suspect you're right, but what evidence is there that
> technoscientific achievements are valued less than they used to be?

Mmhhh...

Available funding for fundamental research? Relative social status
(and/or remuneration) provided by of technoscientific jobs in
comparison to other? Prohibitionist or hostile legislation (and
campaigning)? Decreased international competition (except perhaps, to
a limited extent, for tech with immediate military or security
dividends, and even that only in the US)? Diffusion of luddite memes?
Allocation of venture capital?  Decline in numbers and quality of
western technoscientific students?

Once again, compare that with the period 1870-1970. Now, if you are
really smart, you want to be the CEO of a bank, not Watson or
Heisenberg or Darwin or Einstein.

-- 
Stefano Vaj