I would take issue with part of Bob's statement on
uniqueness. The decision to go to the Moon was
purely political. It was an artifact of the cold war.
All one needs to do to demonstrate this is to examine
the fate of the science budgets since the cold war
ended. Some of the problems we are discussing about
salaries and jobs are a result of an over supply of
the commodity (scientists) produced to help in the
war effort. Put to a vote, our society would not
be willing to vote budgets to satisfy our scientific
curiosity. How is that for cynicism?
Are such political motives unique to homo-sapiens?
Perhaps so, but the agressiveness that leads to things
like the cold war certainly is not.
With regards to intellectual curiosity, why is that
more unique than any other survival trait resulting
from natural selection? We revere it because we have
developed the trait and find it very appealing. But
the primary purpose of it was to give us a means of
survival against species that developed other
advantageous traits that could do us in without some
intelligence to defend ourselves. I am not too
optimistic about the intellectual curiosity of homo-
sapiens anyway, if that must compete with a big
house or SUV.
Sorry to be so cynical. That is not my ordinary
nature, but this is a time when the cuts in science
budgets have me deeply concerned.