...so I find it amusing that Kubrick chose two Strausses for "2001: A Space Odyssey". Maybe his math wasn't so good, either.

Hey, S_M...

There are places for dreamers and wordsmiths in the journey off-planet, even those of us without technical acumen, like me.

It's been my experience that, though the techies in this world are very smart people, they tend to tell in-jokes and talk about flow rates and logarithmic calculations as if the rest of the world understood. The rest of the world doesn't understand the concrete reality of what the techies are talking about, so it's up to the dreamers and wordsmiths to try to find a metaphor (or set of metaphors) as a carrier for techie hopes and innovation. Sometimes those who work at finding the metaphor don't have a great grasp on the technical details themselves, which is why articulate scientists like Sagan are such a boon, even though some people don't like them.

Then there are people like me. I know the struggle to leave the planet is important, and that I'll never be able to explain to people what the mechanical problems are and how to justify the budget line by line. So all I can do is to try to gather the tools for other people with an aptitude (many of them teenagers and children) and display those tools, as well as finding stories with good metaphors to inspire them. That's why I come here. That's why I read, and why I don't post. But even the lowliest of arguments will benefit me, because the ensuing exchange will put things in a framework that I understand, i.e., "hey, dumbass".

It doesn't do much for my self-esteem, but I'm figuring this isn't a therapy group. ;)

Please keep working on your dreams. Humanity is starting to turn inward again. We need all the stargazers we can get if space travel is to become more than the subject of fantasy novels.

Regards--
Mary Anne