wrote in message
ups.com...
John Ordover claims that, "Exploration is only done for a profit
motive."

John might be incorrect where individuals and groups up to a certain size
are concerned, but I think he may be thinking more about societies and
nations.

To state it more specificially: No society, and certainly no nation, has
ever engaged in a large-scale colonization effort in a new frontier
motivated soley by the individual urge to explore for curiousity's sake.

Anytime a discussion comes up regarding space exploration, someone is
bound to ask, "What's the point? There's no economic justification that
I can see." Or something along those lines.

Some of us think that's a problem of the limited vision of the nay-sayer,
rather than a problem of a lack of economic opportunities beyond the Earth.

Perhaps that's yet another
good reason for me to get off this planet and explore what's out there.


The unfortunate problem you face is that in the current (and forseeable)
situation, you will require subsidization to the tune of billlions to get to
do what you want. You'll find that most people are not willing to hand over
vast sums of money to help you satisfy your itch to explore. On the other
hand, people occasionally hand over vast sums of money when there's a
prospect of them getting even more back later on. The trick is to combine
the two, and that's where most of my attention is directed.

I cannot deny my curiosity. Yet my curiosity is anything but weak. It
is powerful enough to rank right next to my need for food, water, and
life itself.

Please forgive me, but I don't take this assertion very seriously. How many
starving 3rd-worlders are intensely interested in the exploration of Mars?
For them, it's a tremendous irrelevancy (just ask them). The thought to
explore the universe only comes to people who aren't worrying about where
their next meal is coming from.


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Regards,
Mike Combs
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Member of the National Non-sequitur Society. We may not make
much sense, but we do like pizza.