"You do not need to be a
rocketscientist." Americans hear these words often. People say them in schools, offices and factories. Broadcasters on radio and television use them.
This is how you might hear the words used.
Workers in an office are afraid to try to use their new computer system. Their employer tells them not to be foolish. "You do not need to be a
rocketscientist to learn this," he says.
Or, high school students cannot seem to understand something their teacher is explaining. "Come on," she says. You do not need to be a
rocketscientist to understand this."
Or, a company that makes soap is
trying to sell its product on television. "You do not need to be a
rocketscientist to see that our soap cleans better," the company says.
These words send a strong message. They say that you do not need to be extremely intelligent to understand something.
How did the expression begin?
No one seems to know for sure. But an official of the American space agency, NASA, says the expression just grew. It grew, he says, because
rocketscientists probably are the most intelligent people around.
Not everyone would agree.
Some people might be considered more intelligent than
rocketscientists. For example, a person who speaks and reads fifteen languages, or a medical doctor who operates on the brain.
Still, many people would agree that there is something special about
scientists who build
rockets. Maybe it has to do with the mystery of space travel.
Moving pictures from before World War Two showed a man named Buck Rogers
landing on the planet Mars. He was a hero who could defeat any enemy from outer space.
The
rocketscientist is a different kind of hero. He or she makes space travel possible.
Rocket
scientists, however, can have problems just like everyone else.
A Washington
rocketscientist tells about a
launch that was postponed many, many times. Finally, everything seemed right. Mechanical failures had been repaired. The weather was good.
The
scientists had planned that part of the
rocket would fall into the ocean after the
launch. All ships and boats within many kilometers of the danger area had been warned. But in the last few seconds a small boat entered the area. Once again, the
launch was postponed.
When the work goes well, most
rocketscientists enjoy their jobs. One
scientist said, "As a child I loved to build
rockets. Now I am grown. I still love to build
rockets. And now I get paid for it."
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