The internet is a weird and wonderful place where one blog leads to an article which leads to a link and next thing you know you are going to space.
But - is STEM education as dead as space travel?
(picture source - NASA)
Stephen Hawking to Blue origin to SpaceX to the VSS. My journey started with checking out other blogs and came across - The Librarian Errant
The author was seconded to another library and was involved with digitising material. I learnt that Stephen Hawking's original thesis is available for the whole World to read (understanding it, now that's a different matter) here
This lead me to learning that Richard Branson has offered Hawking a place on the VSS to go to space - the Virgin Galactic project opening up space travel to the public. Learn all about it here Virgin Galactic.
But, unfortunately €200,000 is a little bit rich for my blood so I've got to shop around or see if there is a possibility to stow away with Elon Musk's SpaceX (http://www.spacex.com/) or Blue Origin (https://www.blueorigin.com/)
Okay, okay, back down to Earth!. I know there is no place for a 40 year old married man to get to space, but it's the dreaming. Ever since NASA finished it's space shuttle program in 2011, for me, it has left a void in our aspirations and dreams. So many young nerds and geeks (whilst dodging the bullies) decided to study engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics, or even join the Airforce and become pilots with the hope of getting off this pile of rock and see what the universe has to offer.
(picture source - NASA)
Don't forget, the race to the moon, started by the Russians on November 3rd 1957, with the launch of Sputnik 2 kept them and the US battling for scientific superiority, which in turn helped them not start WW3. So why does it matter today? Instead of the most powerful & dangerous countries in the World figuring out new and more violent ways of destroying the lot of us - from Trump & North Korea to conflict in the Middle East - wouldn't it be great if we could use our combined knowledge and money for the betterment of the human race. Wouldn't it be great if we figured out how the universe was created and where would this lead us? Hang on - the World wasn't created 6,000 years ago - who knew! Wow!
My point is, what once led the aspirations and dreams of the brightest kids in school to become amazing scientists is now diminished. There is a huge push in Ireland today towards promoting STEM Education - Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths - or make it all steamy by sticking an A in the middle for Arts but why should we bother.
Why should we promote a boring career in becoming a roads engineer and study the density and lifespan of concrete in comparison to the amazing and awesomeness of space travel and exploration? Why should we consign our youth to a career which we cannot support in Ireland and even then how to we get a generation of kids that have an attention span of a goldfish and demand information in 140 characters to enter a field of study that uses a few more than 140 characters - thermodynamics anyone?
(picture source - http://www.jendai.com)
Before we carry our youth towards a career in STEM, in a wheelbarrow with square wheels we need to do some serious soul-searching and ask why. We need to have something inspirational, exciting and fun to encourage our youth, not a lifetime of computer coding in a dark data storage farm powered by renewable energy. Yes the bunker will be perfectly built, with perfect engineering and mathematical skills but it's still a dark, cold lonely World that the geek is consigned to, the very same as their time in school. Previously they had the dream of escaping to space, now...just the cold dark concrete bunker.
Then again, I might partner with one of them and the two of us can devise how to stow-away on the VSS. Then I could really be a Captain.
John "The Captain" Ryan
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