So They Say

Superconductivity and acquired immune deficiency syndrome are remote from each other on the spectrum of research problems. But, like most other scientific matters of our time, they exist in a political dimension, since Washington controls money and policy for research. The different responses accorded these problems by the Reagan administration provide a tale of values—and it’s not a pleasant one. The political response to superconductivity was swift, sure-footed, and backed with money. It showed that government can move rapidly and sensibly—especially when Japan is pushing research in a hot field, huge problems remain to be solved, and the eventual market potential is in the billions. In contrast, the Administration’s response to AIDS has been indifferent and pennypinching and a debacle in leadership.... How will history remember this President? Given his ignominious response to what could evolve into the greatest health crisis of modern times, Ronald Reagan could go into the books as the Epidemic President. Daniel S. Greenberg “Tale of Two Reagans: AIDS vs. Superconductivity” Science & Government Report, pp. 5-6 October 15, 1987 Grounding U.K.’s Space Program Britain’s paltry space budget, which is currently equivalent to a mere $180 million, accounta for a per capita annual expenditure roughly equivalent to $3. By contreat, the U.S. per capita expenditure on space is about $40. Britain, a country with a notable record in aerospace, is currently fourth in the European space pecking order with no money, strategy or will to play a more significant role. The recent British decision against an increase in space funding is very foolish indeed. It is yet another example of Britain’s infamous blinkered attitude towards technological trends, which is slowly causing that country to convert to third-world status. What a tragedy. David Nixon Letter to the Editor Aviation Week & Space Technology, p. 106 October 26, 1987 SETI: Well Worth the Money If NASA does request funding for an expanded SETI [search for extraterrestrial intelligence] project this year, and if Congress approves it, the new SETI program could in just a few years expand radio search efforts 10 billionfold.... The cost of SETI is incredibly small compared with its monumental benefits, even without receiving a bona fide signal. If nothing SETI will help to focus humanity’s attention on a common purpose—a cause to inspire all but the most wooden psyches. It is noteworthy that the cost of all the SETI programs of all the nations up to now is less than one-sixth the cost of the cigarettes smoked by Americans in one day and about twice the $5 million the Fox TV network is reportedly paying comedienne Joan Rivers not to broadcast her “Late Show” gabfest to the universe. The proposed NASA SETI observing and R&D program through 1988 could be funded by less than a single day’s worth of U.S. coffee consumption. This seems not an unreasonable payment for experiments that could revolutionize human culture, or at least serve as a reminder of our continued quest to know our place in the cosmos. Eugene F. Mallove “Accelerating the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence” Issues in Science and Technology, pp. 92, 96, Fall 1987 NASA Chief Looks Back and Ahead “In a hundred years they will speak of our times as the beginning of space-age civilization. I remember that 30 years ago I was asked to take a look 30 years a head My predictions about putting telescopes beyond the bounds of the atmosphere and developing communications satellites and a New York-New Delhi space express were met with skepticism. But the first two have already come to pass, and the realization of the third is not far off. Therefore I’ll permit myself to make a prediction for another 30 years ahead. I think there will be vigorous development of the search for extraterrestrial civilizations, on the one hand, and rational use of Earth’s riches with the help of devices in space, on the other. It’s possible that in the year 2017 the future director of NASA will announce the birth of the first child in space. Dreams? But when people don’t dream, they perish.” James Fletcher "How Columbus, Magellan, and Galileo Met," Pravda, p. 5, October 17, 1987 Charting NOAA’s Course Having lost its administrator and with no replacement yet named, it is again being asked on Capitol Hill whether the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) can function effectively as part of the Department of Commerce. Although it receives about half the department’s budget, its research and weather forecasting functions have always seemed out of place in an agency that is also responsible for economic development and trade policy. But despite interest from Congress, NOAA is unlikely to be moved out of Commerce, and its new administrator will have to continue to chart its course through treacherous bureaucratic waters. Joseph Palca “NOAA at Sea: Who Will Be Named to Take Over the Helm” Nature, p. 6 November 5, 1987 An American ‘Brain Drain’? A new study of President Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative program concludes that it could produce a national “brain drain” that would siphon scientific talent from the civilian sector. The Council of Economic Priorities, a New York research group that is opposed to the so-called “Star Wars” program, estimates that as many as 140,000 scientists and engineers would have to be employed annually between the years 2001 and 2010 to achieve the full-scale deployment proposed by President Reagan. “If SDI is funded at the crash level the administration wants, it could essentially put the Department of Defense in command of the direction of high-tech research in this country,” said Rosy Nimrody, the principal author of the council’s 234-page-book, Star Wars: The Economic Fallout. Michael Isikoff “Study Says SDI Could Produce ‘Brain Drain’” The Washington Post, p. F3 November 18, 1987 The Computer Age In an age of computerized everything, much of scientists’ work still occurs inside the mind. They mentally picture what they otherwise wouldn’t see. “I do my best research in my sleep, when I dream,” says physicist Larry L. Smarr, director of the University of illinois supercomputer center. But newly emerging technology is enabling scientists to put mental images onto the computer screen. This “visualization” effort is providing fresh insight into a disparate assortment of studies, from forces that affect deepest space, to secrets of sea otters, to new ways of looking at injured joints.... Many times experiments can’t capture the speedy, tiny phenomena scientists study. So researchers simulate experiments on a computer with fancy graphics gear and visualize results. “Most of the time scientists are confused,” says Robert Haber of the Urbana-Champaign [supercomputer] center. “We spend most days ins mist. Scientific graphics is a way out.”. Dennis Kneale “Computers are Making Strides in Portraying Scientists’ Ideas” The Wall Street Journal, p.29 November 6, 1987 There is Only One Science It seems incredible that scientists are debating the relative merits of a manned expedition to Mars. The proposed venture recognizes a grand purpose of science in life and would provide inspiration and motivation in the education of generations to come. The search for knowledge is the noblest endeavor of mankind. The great strength of mind that has fueled men in the enterprise of science must never be diminished by any special definition of its goals. There is only one science and that is basic science. This means we must look at what there is to see and what the universe is about— piloting in uncharted waters, exploring, and learning. We have an obligation to communicate effectively these, the best ambitions of civilization, to a public suspicious of the many expensive and esoteric research efforts that they have already underwritten. We can do so by undertaking the visible and magnificent challenge to reach and explore Mars. Kevin C. Spencer Letter to the Editor Science, p. 732 November 6, 1987

So They Say

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December 1987

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