A.T. Hagan :
A heck of a lot of people didn't see the need for Columbus to seek another way to the Orient either.
What is the point of any exploration? Why can't we all just be satisfied living in caves like we've always done?
Forty years since the first landing on the Moon and we've been slowly losing ground all the while. Send robots to do all of our exploring for us so we can look at the pretty pictures. Why ever bother going anywhere? You don't need to go to Europe. You can watch a video. Here, a nice photo of a geyser erupting. No need to go to the expense of going to Yellowstone. A baseball game? Why? Watch it on the television!
Why bother ever leaving your house? EVERYTHING can be delivered to your door! You can live and die right there in your living room never needing to exit your home.
The entire human species could still be living in Africa just as we had always done.
I'm done with this.
Actually, there was a very clear purpose in finding the Orient... MONEY. Finding a route to China across the Atlantic would have brought untold amounts of wealth. The purpose of most exploration is for wealth or resources.
Once again, though, I have used terrible phraseology - I'm fine with sending robots to explore the Moon and Mars, but there's really no point in sending PEOPLE unless there are resources to be obtained. Too risky and too expensive with too little in return.
Sorry, I tend to be VERY practical when it comes to discussing billions of dollars.
Still, I do see where you're coming from.