Constructive Debating for the Space Community

It is important the the space community be as constructive as possible. If we want to see the development of a space based world economy, then we must not waste resources attacking each other. Yet, the space community is at war. A common complaint on The Space Show, hosted by Dr. Livingston, is that many members of the space community are vicious and nonconstructive.

I do not believe this is intentional, we all want this common dream to come true, none of us would do anything to prevent this common dream from coming true. I believe the cause is current education system failure to teach logic and critical thinking, preventing those who go through the educational system from presenting arguments in a clear, precise manner.


I am writing this piece to true to end this silly war with in the pro-space community. We need every resource, every passionate person and every thought. We can not discourage the people we need to complete this goal because of vicious attacks. We all must avoid the following logical fallacies at all costs, not only do they make our arguments weak, they destroy our community.


Ad Hominem Arguments: Ad Hominem Arguments are defined as “disputing a position or argument by criticizing its source” (1). This type of attack robs the space community of the precious human resources we need to move forward. For example, let's say a person, without an engineering, science, or math degree, designs a rocket. According to this hypothetical person's calculations, this rocket will reduce launch costs. It would be destructive to argue against the rocket design by attacking the person's education level and competence. This sort of attack will demotivate a highly interested amateur rocket designer. These attacks could even force this hypothetical, highly motivated person out of the space field forever. A more constructive response would be to attack the design itself, pointing out flaws and explaining those flaws. This will allow that highly motivated person to grow and learn, increasing that person's value to the space community.


Straw Man: Straw Man is defied as “disputing a position by exaggerating it, misrepresenting it, or otherwise distorting it. Putting negative spin on an opponent's ideas” (2). A common counter argument seen in the space community is claiming an idea is “anti-space”. As an example, just because someone disagrees about space solar power does not mean that a person is even against space development; that person could be pro-space but anti space solar power.


Furthermore, attacking those who disagree with space development and exploration will only strengthen their positions, so it shouldn't matter whether or not someone believe are disbelieve in this field. We must be kind to both our side and the opponent's side to move forward, because in the end, our opponents are our watch dogs, they will catch errors we miss. That, is essential to this dream.


“Argument” from Outrage and Scare Tactics: These fallacies create a negative environment within the space community. A hostile environment is not conducive creativity, which we need lots of.


Group Think: “When loyalty to group values affects one's own judgment”. It leads to the acceptance of ideas formed and believed by the group without critical thought. Agreeing with ideas without critical thought could allow for flaws to be accepted as truth.


Source(s):

All quotes: Brooke Noel Moore and Richard Parker. Critical Thinking. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007

So, What Does the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act say about NASA

That is a really long title, sorry about that. But, either way, please enjoy what the stimulus package says about NASA. We are tossing huge amounts of money into changing the game, we may even move into a space based economy because of this act. Furthermore, NASA is not getting a blank check, they have to mange these funds with a strong plan. I will follow this post with detailed explanation of some of the programs detailed in this act. I'm also looking through the act for research funding to other areas of science, but this part of the act is on the main topic of my blog, so I'm posting it.

But, 400 million dollars to exploration is very impressive considering the political environment and that 400 million is less than half of what NASA is getting. It is an amazing time to be in this field, even politicians see the benefit of space. Well, I'm not going to hold you back any more, please, sit back and enjoy the jaw dropping, mouth watering, NASA stimulus.

SCIENCE
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE
ADMINISTRATION
NASA is directed to submit to the House
and Senate Committees on Appropriations a
spending plan, signed by the Administrator,
detailing its intended allocation of funds
provided in this Act within 60 days of enactment
of this Act.
SCIENCE
The conference agreement includes
$400,000,000 for Science, to remain available
until September 30, 2010. Funding is included
herein to accelerate the development of the
tier 1 set of Earth science climate research
missions recommended by the National
Academies Decadal Survey and to increase
the agency’s supercomputing capabilities.
AERONAUTICS
The conference agreement includes
$150,000,000 for aeronautics, to remain available
until September 30, 2010. These funds
are available for system-level research, development
and demonstration activities related
to aviation safety, environmental impact
mitigation and the Next Generation Air
Transportation System (NextGen).
EXPLORATION
The conference agreement includes
$400,000,000 for exploration, to remain available
until September 30, 2010.
CROSS AGENCY SUPPORT
The conference agreement includes
$50,000,000 for cross agency support, to remain
available until September 30, 2010. In
allocating these funds, NASA shall give its
highest priority to restore NASA-owned facilities
damaged from hurricanes and other
natural disasters occurring during calendar
year 2008.
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
The conference agreement includes
$2,000,000 for the Office of Inspector General,
to remain available until September 30, 2013.
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
NSF is directed to submit to the House and
Senate Committees on Appropriations a
spending plan, signed by the Director, detailing
its intended allocation of funds provided
in this Act within 60 days of enactment of
this Act.
RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES
For research and related activities, the
conference agreement provides a total of
$2,500,000,000, to remain available until September
30, 2010. Within this amount,
$300,000,000 shall be available solely for the
major research instrumentation program
and $200,000,000 shall be available for activities
authorized by title II of Public Law 100–
570 for academic facilities modernization. In
allocating the resources provided under this
heading, the conferees direct that NSF support
all research divisions and support advancements
in supercomputing technology.
EDUCATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES
The conference agreement includes
$100,000,000 for education and human resources,
to remain available until September
30, 2010. These funds shall be allocated as follows:
Robert Noyce Scholarship
Program ......................... $60,000,000
Math and Science Partnerships
............................... 25,000,000
Professional Science Master’s
Programs ................ 15,000,000
MAJOR RESEARCH EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
CONSTRUCTION
The conference agreement includes
$400,000,000 for major research equipment and
facilities construction, to remain available
until September 30, 2010.

The original document is here.