Comments on: Hutchison, station science, and cosmic rays

By: Donald F. Robertson

Donald F. Robertson — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 18:17:54 +0000

Oops, if I’m going to make comments like that, I suppose I ought to spell “Texas” correctly.

— Donald

By: Donald F. Robertson

Donald F. Robertson — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 18:16:23 +0000

Al, that may be true, but Texus does seem to contribute more than its share of “those politicians.”

— Donald

By: Al

Al — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 17:59:37 +0000

As a country that has chosen the path of a “representative democracy”, we get represented across the board. Just as there is a bell curve in intelligence across the general population — in any population for that matter — there are smarter Members of Congress, and more … let’s say … dimwitted … Members of Congress.

It is pretty easy to figure out which end of the spectrum that Senator Hutchison lies.

The only reason she (and other Members of Congress on her end of the spectrum) do not make bigger fools of themselves is all the aides around them that are continually catching (and trying to prevent) mistakes.

As others have pointed out, this is equally true for both of the parties.

– Al

PS — This should not be news to anybody here. It has been true since the founding of our country.

By: Chance

Chance — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 12:49:02 +0000

For all concerned, there is a decent article in this month’s American Scientist by Daniel Sarewitz on “Liberating Science from Politics” that you might enjoy if you haven’t already read it.

By: The Lidless Eye

The Lidless Eye — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 03:05:59 +0000

“Sure, the missing link is Republicans and brains.”

We need more Democratic rocket scientists like Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee.

By: Donald F. Robertson

Donald F. Robertson — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 00:04:01 +0000

Paul, correction noted and agreed. I mis-stated.

— Donald

By: Paul Dietz

Paul Dietz — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 23:52:48 +0000

the solar wind does have one key (and, in my opinion, vital) application — to drive solar sails.

Solar sails are driven by light pressure, not by the pressure of the solar wind. M2P2, which I mentioned, exploits the momentum of the solar wind.

By: Greg Kuperberg

Greg Kuperberg — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 23:35:07 +0000

Donald: Well, defer up to a point. I agree that scientists should not be the sole arbiters of how much is spent on science, just like doctors should not be the sole arbiters of how much is spent on health care. But if Congress sets science, or engineering, as a priority, they should then should mostly defer to expert panels for guidance. They should learn panel conclusions before approving them, but they also should not tamper with the conclusions.

Either you want science or you don’t. You shouldn’t want science and then claim to know better than the scientists.

Which is not advice that Kay Bailey Hutchison has followed. She seems determined to garble every technical gleam that comes to her. I don’t know if arrogance is part of it, or if it is 100% stupidity. It reminds me of movie caricatures of blockheads, like the classic line from Spinal Tap: “Mine goes up to 11.”

By: Donald F. Robertson

Donald F. Robertson — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 22:18:58 +0000

Greg: Understand, yes. Defer, no. Often, there are much wider issues involved which narrow special interests (e.g., scientists) cannot, and connot be expect to, take into account. Decisions on whether and how to persue human spaceflight, for example, are, and should be, only partially related to science. This field also impacts commerce, trade, geopolitics, military issues, et cetera. Part of the reason we have (ideally) a citizen legislature is to prevent small specialized groups from imposing solutions for their needs and concerns onto the population at large.

In a Republic, whether you like it or not, everyone should have a say on space policy, not only “the experts.” If anything, “the experts” should defer to the needs and desires of the public as a whole. “The experts” role is to devise a solution to try to achieve the desired results, not necessarily to have exclusive decision-making power over what the Republic wants to do.

— Donald

By: Greg Kuperberg

Greg Kuperberg — Thu, 09 Mar 2006 21:17:12 +0000

Any Mouse: But it's not a self-selected elite. It's a mutually selected elite, which is something very different and more reliable. After all, we all come to depend on mutually selected elites in our daily lives. If you are sick with cancer, you go to an oncologist, because you need someone with elite training to plan chemotherapy. If your car has transmission trouble, solving that kind of problem requires elite training as well. I'm not even saying that Congress or even the Science committees should be replaced by elite expert panels, only that the committees should understand and defer to those panels. As they already do on lucky days.