Scientists in space! Universe beware!
As many will know, Stephen Hawking boarded a jet today and, thanks to some special dives and rolls, was able to experience weightlessness for several minutes. I'm sure that's a hell of a lot of fun, and Hawking sure looks like he's having a blast in the photo that was released. Aside from having a damn good time, the world famous scientist participated in the stunt to raise money for charity and to make a point.
In a real sense, what Hawking is complaining about are in fact the consequences for the world of just a couple hundred years of scientific development. In a tiny fraction of time, scientists have managed to destroy this world. Now they want another one? I, for one, don't trust them.
Hawking said in an interview with Reuters that he feared that the human race did not have a future if it didn't go into space.These are points worth listening to, and I share his concern about the dire futures facing humanity. Nevertheless, I have to say I disagree with his prescription. Space travel will certainly only bring more scientists into space. After what they have done down here, we ought to think twice before unleashing them upon the rest of the unsuspecting universe.
"I therefore want to encourage public interest in space. A zero-gravity flight is the first step towards space travel," he said.
"Life on Earth is at an ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers," Hawking added at the news conference.
In a real sense, what Hawking is complaining about are in fact the consequences for the world of just a couple hundred years of scientific development. In a tiny fraction of time, scientists have managed to destroy this world. Now they want another one? I, for one, don't trust them.
Labels: apocalypse, science, the future
posted by Phoenix Insurgent at 5:27 PM
2 Comments:
You've confused science with technology.
It is not scientists who are destroying the world, it is technocrats, industrialists and capitalists.
Scientists are the willing accomplices to the murder of the planet. It is their belief system, science, from which technology is given rise. As a class, scientists demand total unaccountability from the public at large and bow before the state and capital as their masters. Attempts to call them to account are generally met with howls of indignation and they defend themselves with demands for so-called independence, which is in fact merely a cover for continuing research despite its consequences to others. This despite the fact that they produce overwhelmingly not for the people in general but for institutions that are far from in the people's interest.
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