As such you could make these kinds of dismissive posts about every single human endeavour, why just complain about space research?
If you have these kinds of serious issues about humanity as a whole what are you doing to solve these problems that you perceive? It sounds to me like you're caught in a negativity loop and it isn't a good place to be in. If that's the case try and find something that you enjoy or take interest in and speculate about how you could make it better.
I have an on-going list with idea's I'd like to attempt. But I don't have the funding to carry them out. So I have to work, invest my own money with a limited target in attempt to help out.
I've started taking night classes in environmental studies, I daily go out and pick up trash. I don't eat meat, I recycle. I do all I can do. Every day I try to discover new methods on how I can do my part. If I didn't have to work, I could be focusing on research and working to a better environment but that's not possible. I'm doing all I can with the resources I have available with me but those itself are limited.
> If that's the case try and find something that you enjoy or take interest in and speculate about how you could make it better.
As much as I would like to, I can't. It's not like I can self-invest my time when I have to work eight hours a day to just allow myself to live. As much as I would love to start inventing to come up with new strategies, it's not possible. The interests I do have are underfunded, inaccessible without some sort of scientific degree and a life style where you have time for education.
How is space exploration different than these arguably frivolous activities? Should humans not use any resources for things that don't address these pressing issues you are talking about? I believe there are enough resources and wealth on earth to do all of these things, however, I, like you, disagree with how exactly the resources are being distributed. However, I don't think we need to single out space exploration, which I believe has potential for progress and expands human knowledge, as something we shouldn't be doing because of this unequal distribution.
I do agree with your sentiment about space increasingly being for the rich, with private companies and space tourism on the rise. However, I don't think all space exploration is and has to be this way
You earned that flag just for saying downvotes "prove your point", let alone the petty arguing.
But sure, reposting the first half of that comment without the extra hostility is pretty reasonable.
Retrospectively I do agree that the whole edited, down-votes comments may of been childish. But when people can just walk on by, down-vote without any justified meaning to why the down-votes are, I call them out; I do the same in real life.
Just about every technical advancement has benefited from space race everything from reducing size of electronics to the rumble strips on the side of the highway.
I think there are a few reasons you're getting downvotes, but they're involved enough that few are going to spare the effort to explain.
For example, all three of your last sentences are going to be strongly disagreed with and some people are going to read both a lack of thought on your part and a flawed way of thinking (ie. In terms of narrative, memes, drama) into those sentences and will decide it's not worth trying to engage and instead will just try and get rid of your message/you.
And just because we need them now doesn't make fair reason to space ventures.
Excluding the childish editorial remarks I made, the questions in which I pointed out are serious and are all pressing issues we currently face.
If they can be involved on clicking on a down arrow, they should be able to invest in to why they are clicking the down arrow. There was no attempt to fuel drama.
Those who are funding the space ventures are the ones who currently control the today and they don't exactly make it a pleasant place to be.
> Do you not believe people can focus on multiple different efforts
No, not really. Maybe if lucky but are you able to focus on multiple different efforts with the time and energy available?
Between our technologies, standard of living, relative peace, pushing exploration etc etc we're most definitely in a golden age relative to any other historical period. The problems we face are such that they relate to a continued and long term existential survival as a race and higher order concerns instead of mostly individual day to day survival for a majority of the worlds population and the fact we've even gotten far enough as a species to face such problems is in and of itself to be celebrated.
Hard times bring the most opportunity :)
And yes I personally focus on multiple different interests to a degree I make tangible impacts in all of them.
Currently we get it from fossil fuels, which is running out, heavily pollutes, and destroys the natural ecosystem. Nuclear was discovered, but it’s super complicated to handle and radioactive. Renewables are hit and miss, and must require a massive energy storage system in battery or water storage potential energy. Solar doesn’t always shine. Wind doesn’t always blow.
But in space, energy is infinite. For as far as we can see.
The problem is getting up there, and bringing it back down to earth.
But, what if we can harness it? In the form of solar collectors, and beam it back down to earth as microwaves or lasers. We can have vast fields of microwave collectors that can convert this energy back into electricity. Or laser receptors that can convert the laser back into electricity. No more pollution. No more environmental degradation. What you get is pure, clean, energy. All year round, day or night, rain or snow.
The challenges are great. The impossibilities are high. But the consequences of not achieving this is far worse.