I am so sick and tired of hearing people argue against change because "We don't need to reinvent the wheel."

I assume you are talking about the burnt-out and fossilized types who insist on teaching everything the same way as they have always taught it because they have lost their passion for getting thru to kids (if they ever had any passion or talent for that in the first place).

For them I think I would say "That wheel isn't getting any traction any more."

Even popular shows like "Seinfeld" and "Friends" will eventually wear out. Savvy tv producers never wait until the show runs flat.

As to that "other matter". Here's some actual rocket science from today's Seattle Times:

"Going into orbit [as opposed to going "suborbital" 62 miles above the earth] is exponentially more difficult.

"There's a thing called the rocket equation," Andrews said. "You have to go from zero to 25,000 feet per second (about 17,000 mph) to go into orbit."

That requires a much more powerful rocket engine than being used by the X-Prize teams. It also requires special heat shielding because the spaceship re-enters the atmosphere traveling at 17,000 mph.

"Things really get hot above 3,000 mph," Andrews said."

Here is url if anyone is interested in learning why rocket science isn't always "rocket science":
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001759020_xprize05m.html