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Avoiding Risk Confines You to Mediocrity
- coglethorpe 18y ago"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." Neil Armstrong was a test pilot and knew more about risk taking than Godin ever will. From what I know of Neil Armstrong, he represented the US with dignity and humility and helped make NASA look like gods. Even MTV wanted a piece of Armstrong's credibility in their initial ad campaign. Armstrong was a purple cow on the moon and Godin only mentions him to get some of that credibility in his post.
- m0nty 18y ago"They avoided risk, played it safe and chose someone who wouldn't make a ruckus." Yes, you really need someone who's prone to making a ruckus when you're flying to the moon in a rocket-propelled tin-can. Anyway, the final decision about who would go first was decided (to Buzz Aldrin's everlasting disappointment) by a coin-flip. So it could have been Aldrin who is celebrated as the first man on the moon, and Godin would presumably be saying what a dull man he is as well. What is so inspiring about the Apollo missions is the massive investment (in emotional and financial terms) in a huge, co-operative endeavour which brought together the best scientists, technicians and pilots of the day. They didn't need a flashy front-man: they needed people with brains and nerves of steel. It's an awe-inspiring achievement which (as Arthur C Clarke said) will outlive all of us. Recommended reading: "A Man on The Moon" by Andrew Chaikin.