Arthur C Clark

[kiwiak]

This might not be strictly legitimate science thread but well..

You go back to 60' and show Arthur C Clark KSP.

What is his reaction?

[K^2]

"Hm.. Are there any games about modern spaceflight in your days?"

[Brotoro]

"What is this machine, and when can I get one?"

[NASAFanboy]

"Hm.. Are there any games about modern spaceflight in your days?"

He then proceeds to go into an rage when he finds out what the future is like, with an idiotic generation who doesn't give more craps about space exploration than they do about some other idiots new hairstyle,, with criminally underfunded space programs being stuck in LEO and exploited for political means, and an Congress who can't agree on anything and an space agency directionless despite the best efforts of the administration building spacecraft without an purpose, along with rising trends of anti-space, anti-science, and religous fundementalism.

Then he tells his other friends, and finally, word reaches the top levels of the NASA Administration about the future, and they try their best in an gallant effort to prevent it, and create an alternate universe where we have landed men on Mars and have outposts on the Moon by 2001. That is the alternate universe I want to live in, not this crappy one.

Edited February 2, 2014 by NASAFanboy

[Brotoro]

...but by changing time, you eliminated most KSP players from ever existing. Bummer.

[Canopus]

...but by changing time, you eliminated most KSP players from ever existing. Bummer.

It is as likely that he eliminates KSP entirely, creating something like the typical Grandfather Paradox.

[fireflower]

He then proceeds to go into an rage when he finds out what the future is like

Yep. The Greatest Generation raised the Worst Generation. I'm not sure what he could have done to stop it though. He did plenty, with beautiful and realistic visions of the future that became very popular. What was he supposed to do? Eliminate decades of lead build-up from the environment? Beat up children and tell them not to be so ****ing selfish when they're adults? Take hostages and threaten to kill them if Nixon kills NASA's budget?

[Omicron314]

along with rising trends of anti-space, anti-science, and religous fundementalism.

Actually, I think the opposite is true. Last I've heard nearly 30% of the world's population does not consider themselves religious, as opposed to the 5% in the 1940s. I may be wrong, but I am decently sure of that.

[czokletmuss]

Actually, I think the opposite is true. Last I've heard nearly 30% of the world's population does not consider themselves religious, as opposed to the 5% in the 1940s. I may be wrong, but I am decently sure of that.

Let's go to wikipedia:

Atheists comprised an estimated 2.01%, and non-religious a further 9.66% of the world population, according to The World Factbook in 2010.

So more or less 10% - that's 700 million people. I'm quite sure that before communism spreading to China and Eastern Europe plus before 1968 this percantage was smaller. So yeah, probably more unbelievers today than in 1940s.

[Tada]

Cannot beat 90% of atheist in my country

A.C. Clark has maybe influence on a lot of space stuff, but I dont like his books much. They are very hard to read and not very exciting I must say. But Space Odyssey is kinda nice.

[Themohawkninja]

"It's magic!"

Whoever gets that gets an Internet.

[Themohawkninja]

He then proceeds to go into an rage when he finds out what the future is like, with an idiotic generation who doesn't give more craps about space exploration than they do about some other idiots new hairstyle,, with criminally underfunded space programs being stuck in LEO and exploited for political means, and an Congress who can't agree on anything and an space agency directionless despite the best efforts of the administration building spacecraft without an purpose, along with rising trends of anti-space, anti-science, and religous fundementalism.

Then he tells his other friends, and finally, word reaches the top levels of the NASA Administration about the future, and they try their best in an gallant effort to prevent it, and create an alternate universe where we have landed men on Mars and have outposts on the Moon by 2001. That is the alternate universe I want to live in, not this crappy one.

Alternate universes could have drastic unintended consequences you know. I wouldn't trade this universe for a grab bag of possible world dictatorships.

[fireflower]

Let's go to wikipedia

Sorry, but the quantum encyclopedia which we must always assume is both right and wrong is really just wrong today. Most of the Chinese and Japanese populations are atheists. Together they have most of the world's atheists, people rather different from the type of atheists we have in the West who are almost all apostates. Since the New Atheism began (ironically, with the writing of an important book, in 2005) it's had a measurable impact on the numbers of atheists and nonbelievers in the West, but the West in general is just a tiny fraction of the total human population.

Really though, the facts are irrelevant. User NASA_fanboy is angry. In English, the word for insane and the word for angry are the same word: Mad. That's helpful. As we are all devotees of the space program, we can all understand his anger, even if we do not approve of it. We all share his frustration at 40 years of regression, even if we do not agree on what caused it or even know the facts of the matter. Many of us may hold some form of religion close to our hearts, or at least take issue with openly criticizing it, but when a person is this angry, the force of his anger forces me to assume he was personally and irrevocably hurt by some form of religion. Even if we do not approve of that, or even support it, we must understand and respect it as an elemental force of nature. It's inherently ridiculous to accuse homosexuals (for instance) of bigotry against the religious bigots who hate them.

That said, I don't think we should be discussing any of these political issues. I seem to recall reading we weren't supposed to in the forum TOS. And after all there are better places to argue for or against religion.

[K^2]

Sorry, but the quantum encyclopedia which we must always assume is both right and wrong is really just wrong today. Most of the Chinese and Japanese populations are atheists.

There is a huge difference between atheist and non-religious. China and Japan are dominated by atheist religion. That, by the way, despite best efforts of The Party in the former. You only need to take a look at post-Soviet Russia to see how this works. So while yes, I would agree that these regions are predominantly atheist, they would still have, by far, a religious majority.

[NASAFanboy]

Because I make an non-direct reference to fundementalism, doesn't mean I want this thread derailed....

Please move back onto topic.

[Kryten]

There is a huge difference between atheist and non-religious. China and Japan are dominated by atheist religion. That, by the way, despite best efforts of The Party in the former. You only need to take a look at post-Soviet Russia to see how this works. So while yes, I would agree that these regions are predominantly atheist, they would still have, by far, a religious majority.

China isn't dominated by any one religion, atheist or otherwise, and may be majority irreligious depending on which polls you look at. The situation in Japan is rather more complicated, but it can definitely be said the majority don't belong to any organised religion.

[K^2]

China isn't dominated by any one religion, atheist or otherwise, and may be majority irreligious depending on which polls you look at. The situation in Japan is rather more complicated, but it can definitely be said the majority don't belong to any organised religion.

You have to take the polls with about a truck-full of rock salt. Same polls in Soviet Union would also reveal majority to be irreligious. Yet, somehow, within just a few years of collapse, over 90% where Russian Orthodox. When you can't be member of the party and openly admit to being religious, and you can't have a half-decent job or go to university without being member of the party, when they ask you if you are religious, guess what you say?

As for organized religion or not, I'm not sure how much difference it makes to the topic at hand. It still points to people choosing superstition and spirituality over reason. An irreligious person doesn't necessarily have to be an anti-theist. In fact, anti-theism is practically a religion of its own. But when majority of the population are keeping various religious symbols and worship in their own ways, whether or not they go to specific temples makes no difference. They are religious people. I suppose, it's not quite as bad in the big picture, because at least nobody is exploiting their religion. But it's still a symptom.

[pxi]

What would Arthur C. Clarke, proponent of geostationary sattelites for global communications, for whom the Clarke orbit is named, make of KSP?

I think he'd wonder why sattelites aren't more useful in the stock game.

Otherwise, I think he would love it. Don't know if anyone remembers it, but Clarke did star in the Sierra Rama game, seems like he was pretty positively disposed to computer gaming.

[jwenting]

He then proceeds to go into an rage when he finds out what the future is like, with an idiotic generation who doesn't give more craps about space exploration than they do about some other idiots new hairstyle,, with criminally underfunded space programs being stuck in LEO and exploited for political means, and an Congress who can't agree on anything and an space agency directionless despite the best efforts of the administration building spacecraft without an purpose, along with rising trends of anti-space, anti-science, and religous fundementalism.

Then he tells his other friends, and finally, word reaches the top levels of the NASA Administration about the future, and they try their best in an gallant effort to prevent it, and create an alternate universe where we have landed men on Mars and have outposts on the Moon by 2001. That is the alternate universe I want to live in, not this crappy one.

or he goes into early retirement, having had vindication of his nagging suspicion that everything he's trying to get people interested in space exploration and exploitation is useless.

[Roastduck]

I think he'd wonder why sattelites aren't more useful in the stock game.

I think he would understand that KSP is still in development, and would be anxious to see what its future brings.

[m4rt14n]

KSP would be version 1.2 by now instead of .23 (for the time being)

[KerbMav]

"It's magic!"

Whoever gets that gets an Internet.

Clarke's Third Law

[Themohawkninja]

Clarke's Third Law

Didn't know it was considered a law, but yeah... I think you got it.

[Awaras]

Didn't know it was considered a law, but yeah... I think you got it.

Well, they are not really laws, but...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke's_three_laws

[Themohawkninja]

Well, they are not really laws, but...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarke's_three_laws

Ah. I would tend to agree with those other two as well.