Schwarzenegger and Proposition 71

On November 2, Proposition 71 will be on the ballot in California. If passed, it would provide researchers $3 billion over the next ten years for stem cell research. While watching World New Tonight on ABC this evening, I learned that his proposition was recently endorsed by California’s Republican governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger. This breaks from the California Republican Party’s official stance which is against Proposition 71.

I think it is noble that Schwarzenegger would break party lines to fight for something he believes in. Politics get caught up too much nowadays in the development of science and technology; Schwarzenegger was able to separate politics from technology, a practice which most other politicians have yet to participate in. Most politicians support or don’t support the development of certain new technologies based on one question: Will supporting this technology help to get me re-elected? I think that this is absurd and that more politicians should follow Schwarzenegger’s example and do what they feel is morally right, not what will supposedly help them on Election Day. Staying true to yourself is undoubtedly more important in the long run than how many terms in public office you serve.

Read an article about Schwarzenegger’s endorsement here.

The Space Race: A Source of Unity

Section II of Chris Kraft’s book Flight: My Life in Mission Control begins with the Russians launching Sputnik, the first man-made satellite. This sparked the space race between the United States and Russia. The creation of NASA and the start of the Mercury Missions soon followed; manned space travel was not far behind.

It astounds me that even with the limited technology available in the 1950s, engineers were still able to put men in space. Computers back then were bigger than rooms and handheld calculators were unheard of. The physics and logistics of space travel had to be invented by the engineers as space travel had never been attempted before. The perseverance of the engineers and the bravery of the astronauts in an unknown field of science are admirable qualities that can be elusive in this day and age. These people were working for the good of the country, not to further their own agendas. The scientists, contractors, and astronauts were united in an effort to beat the Russians in the space race, which would culminate in 1969 with the first moon landing. This is an excellent example of the American spirit that so many Americans love about United States.

Edison vs. Tesla

Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla were two great inventors of the late 19th century. These two men had much in common; they even worked with each other at one point. However, the two men also had striking differences.

Thomas Edison’s method of invention was not scientific; he preferred trial and error to actual scientific knowledge. Edison is probably most famous for improving the electric light bulb, an accomplishment that makes him an elementary school hero. Edison was also a very prolific inventor; he received over one thousand patents during his lifetime.

Nikola Tesla, on the other hand, was a man of science, not of guessing. Unlike Edison, Tesla preferred to apply his scientific knowledge to problems in order to invent things, not use trial and error. Tesla famously invented a new electric motor as well as the Tesla coil, which produces microwaves as it changes low-voltage current to high-voltage current. The Tesla coil was an invention to try to realize the dream of wireless electricity, which turned out to be infeasible.

I think that I am more like Tesla than Edison. I like to use the knowledge that I already have in order to try to solve a problem. I am not a fan of trial and error as I like to be able to predict the outcome of what I do. Like Tesla, I am not against learning scientific methods in order to solve a problem. Edison did not trust science and, therefore, wasted a lot of time guessing at what to do before he actually achieved his goals. I think that is a huge waste of time and that learning the science behind a concept is much easier than guessing it.

However, I cannot deny that Edison’s methods were not effective. His many inventions improved the quality of life for many people, and he did have an amazing mind. But, if Edison had actually learned to trust science and apply it like Tesla did, his one thousand patents may have been two or three thousand. Who knows what he could have achieved if he had not been so stuck in his ways.