Quote:
Originally Posted by Frownland
To be fair, there is a massive difference in the ethical standards of an individual and a government, so this is a false equivalency.
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I'm not specifically speaking about public vs private spending. I'm talking about the general idea that in order to achieve pleasure from pretty much anything, you have to do something pointless. Want a better meal? Put seasoning on that ****, or buy more expensive ingredients, or expend more effort than is necessary to prepare and cook it. But that's ultimately a waste of time since you could have just eaten with only gaining sustenance in mind. And the **** wants that?
The same basic principle holds true for a great many things that would make life a much less interesting prospect if they didn't exist, from aesthetically pleasing architecture vs. utilitarian architecture, to buying and playing video games, to taking a walk in the park when you could be working. And often the money, time, and effort spent on these frivolous activities could be logically said to have been better spent on more practical concerns that would more obviously benefit society while ultimately making it boring and soulless.
And this is one great reason I support space exploration, because it provides cultural value to the human race that makes us a vastly more aesthetically interesting species than if we abandoned it to start crunching numbers.