I find it odd to see geeks, on a site essentially devoted to idle curiosity, speaking out against idle curiosity.
There is value in showing respect for the dead, mostly for the benefit of those near death and the grieving families, but the arguments made here seem weird to me. Do we seal homes and turn them into tombs when a person dies inside? Do we leave car wrecks on the side of the road?
If they get lost for 80+ years, yeah, we do. There's a state park not far from me that has a trail that uses an old highway's right of way for a bit. The highway is long long gone, but if you look down from the trail into the gully nearby, you can still make out a few rusting hulks of cars from the 1920's and 1930's that went off the road and were just left there.
I think the "risks" of disturbing a grave site are greater than any "rewards" for doing it.
A home in which someone died can be used again by another person after proper cleaning and what not. Wrecks on the side of the road are usually removed because they are a danger to other motorists.
In the case of Earhart's plane the air frame and navigation systems are 75ish years out of date so it's not like there is a pressing need to solve a potential safety issue. IMO there is nothing of value to be gained besides "solving the mystery" and perhaps gathering a few personal artifacts that could be displayed in a museum or returned to the families.
And nothing of practical consequence is learned from exploring the tombs in Egypt. We might be able to decipher some tidbits about everyday life thousands of years ago, but one would be hard-pressed to explain what tangible benefits it offers, beyond "well, it's a part of our heritage / it's cool to know". Just like many other human activities, it's glorified idle curiosity.
Curiosity is great but that doesn't mean it should always take priority. Would it be nice to know how that plane crashed? Sure, but we also figured out how the Titanic sank without lifting it out of the water.
> Do we leave car wrecks on the side of the road?
No, but we also don't need 80 years to find car wrecks on the side of the road, and there are various reasons to remove them. This comparison is ridiculous.
There is value in showing respect for the dead, mostly for the benefit of those near death and the grieving families, but the arguments made here seem weird to me. Do we seal homes and turn them into tombs when a person dies inside? Do we leave car wrecks on the side of the road?