Thursday, December 07, 2006
Water, water, everywhere
Based on the last information sent by the Mars explorer vehicle, it now appears that Mars has water on or near its surface... which means that Mars may indeed have some kind of life.
The question of water on Mars is among the very few subjects I still remember from high-school science classes. We learned that Schiaparelli had "falsely" seen water flowing on Mars back in the 1870's, and that other astronomers had later debunked the claim. Ha, ha, ha, we learned; those early scientists were so dumb and ridiculous, and the great 20th Century Scientific Consensus is always right.
Well, old Schiaparelli has the last laugh. Mars has water, and thus possibly life.
In the end, we'll see that most of these Great 20th Century Scientific Consensi are wrong, and that the 19th century understanding of most subjects, including human behavior, atoms, and climate, was right after all.
= = = = =
Meanwhile, saline water also appears on the floor of Congress, as the Republicans illustrate graphically their complete failure to learn anything at all. They have spent the last few days serenading their departing colleagues, complete with tears, sniffles and nose-blowing. Between the weepfests, apparently as a bit of comic relief from their extreme passion, they pass desperately urgent and important laws naming the Post Office in North Sasquadaucus, New York after Mrs. Thelma Hogbert Knowles.
You'd think a losing party would want to start repairing its reputation, but no.
These idiots only show us even more dramatically why they had to be kicked out.
= = = = =
An afterthought: I've knocked NASA early and often for its continued waste of money and time on manned exploration. (Let's go to the moon! What, you mean we already did that? 30 years ago? Wow, I don't remember that!) But the robotic explorers, on Mars and other planets, have contributed hugely to science, with minimal expense. So let me say a heartfelt Bravo to the robotic side of NASA, which is doing a wonderful job. ¶ 8:26 PM
Based on the last information sent by the Mars explorer vehicle, it now appears that Mars has water on or near its surface... which means that Mars may indeed have some kind of life.
The question of water on Mars is among the very few subjects I still remember from high-school science classes. We learned that Schiaparelli had "falsely" seen water flowing on Mars back in the 1870's, and that other astronomers had later debunked the claim. Ha, ha, ha, we learned; those early scientists were so dumb and ridiculous, and the great 20th Century Scientific Consensus is always right.
Well, old Schiaparelli has the last laugh. Mars has water, and thus possibly life.
In the end, we'll see that most of these Great 20th Century Scientific Consensi are wrong, and that the 19th century understanding of most subjects, including human behavior, atoms, and climate, was right after all.
= = = = =
Meanwhile, saline water also appears on the floor of Congress, as the Republicans illustrate graphically their complete failure to learn anything at all. They have spent the last few days serenading their departing colleagues, complete with tears, sniffles and nose-blowing. Between the weepfests, apparently as a bit of comic relief from their extreme passion, they pass desperately urgent and important laws naming the Post Office in North Sasquadaucus, New York after Mrs. Thelma Hogbert Knowles.
You'd think a losing party would want to start repairing its reputation, but no.
These idiots only show us even more dramatically why they had to be kicked out.
= = = = =
An afterthought: I've knocked NASA early and often for its continued waste of money and time on manned exploration. (Let's go to the moon! What, you mean we already did that? 30 years ago? Wow, I don't remember that!) But the robotic explorers, on Mars and other planets, have contributed hugely to science, with minimal expense. So let me say a heartfelt Bravo to the robotic side of NASA, which is doing a wonderful job. ¶ 8:26 PM
