19 August 2009

JFK endorses FIST

President Kennedy's vision for landing a man on the moon is exactly what FIST is about:
In a very real sense, it will not be one man going to the moon. If we make this judgement affirmatively, it will be an entire nation, for all of us must work to put him there. This decision demands a major national commitment of scientific and technical manpower, material and facilities, and the possibility of their diversion from other important activities where they are already thinly spread. It means a degree of dedication, organization and discipline which have not always characterized our research and development efforts. It means we cannot afford undue work stoppages, inflated costs of material or talent, wasteful interagency rivalries, or a high turnover of key personnel.
- John F Kennedy, 1961

1 comment:

Pete said...

I don't see a single FISTy statement in this entire quote. He speaks of the large teams that will need to be assembled "all of us must work to put him there" (not small), he speaks of national commitment of manpower, material and facilities (not inexpensive). He speaks of more "organization and discipline" in R&D which could mean more rigid processes. He says he deson't want inflated costs or wasteful interagency rivalries but of course he doesn't want that, nobody would. Those statements aren't necessarily FISTy.