Original Message: ----------------- From: Bruce Bostwick lihan161...@sbcglobal.net Date: Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:04:59 -0500 To: brin-l@mccmedia.com Subject: Re: WeChooseTheMoon
>It seems like a cruel joke nowadays, that 1950's-1960's technology >landed human beings on the moon and all the more "modern" technology >we had later on fell so far short of that mark. I'm with Pournelle on >that .. never thought I'd live to see the last ones. One thing that the non-inventor and/or non technical project leader often fails to have a gut feel for is how often advances are dictated by where 5000 foot sheer cliffs and what passes appear as we explore new landscape. I have buddies that made tremendous leaps forward in just a year or two; I've also been part of efforts that looked promising at first, but ended up being dead ends. If you look at the last 40 years of development most of it has been tied, directly or indirectly, to Moore's law. For example, in my field, I and my productive friends would never have been able to design tools without the myriad uses that we put computers to. It allowed us to model responses, it allowed us to build better mechanical parts, it allowed for far superior electronics design, it allowed us to run fast computers at 175C with tools that withstand shocks of 1000G and rms vibrations of 20G over a vast random frequency range for hours. Without computers being fast, none of this would have been possible. Unfortunately, aerospace is a place where, after 40 years of development, a 30% savings in fuel cost is a big thing. There is a cliff there, and no passes have been found since the heady days of the '60s. But, remember, that was a time when engineering was paid cost plus, and money was no object. Dan M. _______________________________________________ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- mail2web.com – Enhanced email for the mobile individual based on Microsoft® Exchange - http://link.mail2web.com/Personal/EnhancedEmail _______________________________________________ http://mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l_mccmedia.com
