I live in a cocoon, my own little cocoon. Naively, I’ve lived in this cocoon thinking most people think like I do, that most people believe in Science with a Capital S. That most people do not believe the Conspiracy Theorists. The last 2-3 years have proven me vastly wrong in my view of the intelligence of people in these United States.
[this is NOT a post about model railroading, nor is it about politics, it’s about NASA.]I’ve just became FB friends today with a guy who is a Model Railroader like me (in fact, he owns his own structure kit making business – creating kits for other model railroaders to build), and he just posted a “congrats” to NASA regarding its success with today’s landing of the InSight probe on Mars!
Someone (apparently a FB friend of his), commented on his congrats post with the following:
“Randy, I can’t believe you really think they went to Mars. Really?”
When he then questioned them on whether or not the particular commenter believed in the moon landing (of ~50 years ago), they replied no, they didn’t, quote “I don’t think ’we’ are smart enough to have done that” unquote (or something very similar to that).
O.m.g.
I’m not the brightest nor sharpest crayon in the box, so help me, please help me to understand me mentalities like this.
Oh, the (crazy?) commenter then commented/mentioned, “…I live an hour from the Space Center and watch the shuttles go up.”
Just.shoot.me.now.please.
[I could go on, but I have to catch my bus for home.]P.s., Thank you NASA for all “the stuff” you do, congrats on the Mars probe landing today – some of us believe in what you do and are doing, we know you have the smarts, we know that there are a vast number of people there at NASA, and all over the U.S., not to mention, the entire world who ARE smart enough to accomplish big efforts like the one that happened today (and that tiny, little accomplishment on July 21, 1969). I know this and believe in your mission.
#GoNASA
I’m on my bus now, and one last thought:
We now have self driving cars, electric cars, and computers the size of a comic book, that are millions of times as powerful as the huge room sized ones in the 1960’s, and cell phones, and e-readers with “moving print”, and the internet (connecting millions of dumb or smart people with other dumb/smart/smarter people), etc., what makes a person think we don’t have “the smarts” to send something to a distant moon or planet?
[Argh, just have had enough today, to give me a stroke or to blow an aneurysm.]
