50 years since the moon landing.

[Walkie]

Hey guys! it's 50 years since the moon landing! And my son and I just watched an awesome documentary about it on BBC, which really brought it to life.   Seriously, we were on the edge of our seats , just as though we watching it in real time, even though we knew how the story ended; still, somehow we felt as if it could all go wrong this time around 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0006p5f/8-days-to-the-moon-and-back

On a sadder note, it brought back to me how optimistic everybody felt about the future back then, and  this led me to consider how very different the future turned out to be. Not only less technologically advanced (IT aside) than exoected   and much less outward-looking   but socially really backward inasmuch as the rich got richer and the poor got poorer and the world is increasingly tawdry.

But it was stunning to recall so vividly one moment in in history when I, along with billions of others, actually  felt proud to be a member of the human race.  More moments like that one, please!

PS if somebody could once again  find a link where everyone can watch that for free, that would be great!

[Jack]

It will air in the US via PBS July 17. Maybe the full version will be available for free online after that.

https://www.pbs.org/show/8-days-moon-and-back/

[Minister Of Silly Walks]

It's funny how the past almost sounds like the future.

"When I was a little kid people used to fly to the moon and walk around, and you could catch a supersonic flight from London to New York that would get you there in 3 hours".

Also remember that a lot of people thought that WW3 and global destruction was inevitable. So it could have been much worse.

You mention IT. In 1969 we had no idea that computers would ever get as powerful as they are now. I remember when I started working as a software developer in 1984, and hearing about Moore's Law.

Moore's Law. (n.) Moore's Law is the observation made in 1965 by Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel, that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits had doubled every year since the integrated circuit was invented. Moore predicted that this trend would continue for the foreseeable future.

And how, even in 1984, people were saying that it was incredible that Moore's Law had stayed relevant for as long as it had, but that it would soon cease to work because otherwise everyone would end up walking around with a supercomputer in their pocket, and you would be able to buy the equivalent of a building full of disk storage for a few dollars. And how ridiculous would that be, ha ha.

I guess if someone, in 1984, had shown most IT people two visions of 35 years into the future. One of which involved the IT tech that most of us carry around in our pockets, and one of which involved colonies on Mars and the early stages of interstellar travel. Most would choose the latter as more believable.

[Walkie]

Also remember that a lot of people thought that WW3 and global destruction was inevitable.

a lot of people still do, don't they? we just kinda got accustomed to living on the edge of oblivion i think, to the point that it will come as shock when it actually happens (much like when Wollfie died. Most of you guys didn't know - cos Pyraxis and i were sworn to secrecy-  but  he'd carried that prognosis for so long  that it felt like "not yet"could extend into infinity, and, for my own part,  i was less prepared for the reality of it  than i had been, say, five years earlier)

In 1969 we had no idea that computers would ever get as powerful as they are now.

Quite a number of SF writers did.  Asimov springs to mind!  But yeah, you're right,  this kind of IT seemed much more in the realm of science fiction than colonies on Mars and interstellar travel did, We really did seem to be on the cusp of the latter and it was one heckova let-down to pass the year 2001 without the eponymous movie edging any  closer to reality.

Some nice observations! 

[Minister Of Silly Walks]

In 1969 we had no idea that computers would ever get as powerful as they are now.

Quite a number of SF writers did.  Asimov springs to mind!  But yeah, you're right,  this kind of IT seemed much more in the realm of science fiction than colonies on Mars and interstellar travel did, We really did seem to be on the cusp of the latter and it was one heckova let-down to pass the year 2001 without the eponymous movie edging any  closer to reality.

I remember reading "The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress" as a kid. A huge, powerful computer in "the future", on a lunar colony, became self-aware and really really smart. Also "I Robot" and "2001", of course. Sci Fi did predict that computers would become very powerful, but were more concerned with what sort of personalities they would have when they inevitably became sentient. And what sort of ethics and values.

IT is probably more powerful and ubiquitous than even the most imaginative Sci Fi writers would have guessed, but I guess the fact that computers are still just processing data and not named HAL and saying things like "I know I've made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. ..." just means that we still have a lot to learn about what makes something sentient.

[renaeden]

I've been dismayed since I was a kid that the space race didn't continue with the enthusiasm it once had. Sure, they have the space station. But had they kept going with vigor, we might have a moon base by now. The trip to Mars may have already been done.

I'm just sad about the whole thing.

[Minister Of Silly Walks]

The space race was only ever about getting there before the Soviets.

[odeon]

We should have been on Mars by now.

[odeon]

^Don't get me wrong, btw. I think we've achieved some really wondrous things, but spaceflight's always been about *human* spaceflight. It's why Star Trek still works. You know, to boldly go and all that. But since the last moon landing, the farthest we've been is low earth orbit.

[Bastet]

I disagree. Humans are far too selfish and shortsighted for that to happen anytime soon. I wish I was a cat.

[Walkie]

I agree with all the above (with a bit of exception for Bastet)

During  the Cold War it was all about national dick-waving
But in the modern day it's all about  gaining an actual military advantage... or commercial advantage ofc.

I mean, those are the considerations that serve generate the funding.   For your average man-in-the-street it's still about "Boldly going ..." That's what catches the public imagination, and, paradxically works to unify mankind. . Who really gave much of a damn that the Americans got there first? It was the getting there that really mattered.

And yeah, we should be on Mars already, but nobody saw and profit in it.  Which is to agree with Bastet about the  "selfish and short-sighted" thing  (though that's our rulers , more than us. IMO)

But you'd sooner be a cat?    Cats are as  selfish as they come.  I know, i know, that's part of their charm.  But still, if cats ever develop this level of technology, they won't be using it to spread peace and joy 

[odeon]

Seeing quite a few comments stating that we should focus on this planet rather than go to Mars. I always wonder why not do both? Putting people on Mars is cheap when compared to military budgets.