BTW, enjoy these discussions here. My regular circle of contacts does not usually tackle such subjects and I am really interested in them.
BTW, enjoy these discussions here. My regular circle of contacts does not usually tackle such subjects and I am really interested in them.
As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”
It seems quite unlikely that there is another planet out there that will have conditions that are even remotely close to hospitable for human habitation without massive changes imposed on it by the humans when they arrive or the creation of an artificial human suitable bubble on that planet. We will not, in even remotely large numbers, be leaving earth to go live elsewhere within the lifetime of anyone alive today.
Even if the odds are surpassingly small, there are an awful lot of planets out there. And the whole human race doesn’t need to make the move for the species to survive. And just because it won’t happen the day after tomorrow doesn’t mean it won’t happen. Perhaps a century or two from now people will be demanding the removal of a statue of Jeff Bezos for whatever cultural crime is fashionable at the time. I like to think so.
Nope I won't be dead. I think it will happen sooner than you think and in ways that have not yet been explored. I want to see what the future has planned.
As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”
While it is true that science occasionally jumps forward by leaps and bounds I think anyone’s crystal ball is likely cloudy on the time frame. Including mine of course. Perhaps I’m just channeling my grandfather. He was born the year the Wilbur brothers first flew. He went to his deathbed in 1989 convinced that the moon landing was fake.
I think people with bold visions of the existing human population on Earth relocating in any significant numbers have been watching too much sci-fi. The whole speed-of-light thing would make anything more than "seeding" nearby systems basically impossible - they won't be sending giant Arks full of billions of humans. Probably more like robots and DNA and such to start. (And if you look at the current doubling period for human population, which is ~60 years, you couldn't find and settle extrasolar-system worlds fast enough to keep up with the seething mass of overbreeding humanity here.) (*)
If you and your family currently live on Earth, it is very much in your best interest to keep it a pleasant and welcoming planet. You won't be escaping anytime soon.
Now, our solar system itself has lots and lots of useful resources, but, they are "up there" and a bit tricky to access with our current technology. That is changing. Musk wants to "colonize" Mars, but I don't think we'll see Manhattan sprout up there anytime soon, given the difficulty of the task, and the problems with getting from here to there.
The Earth is very handy - among other things, it mostly shields us from the incredibly damaging radiation that sleets through our solar system. If you are outside its protection, things are troublesome.
(*) Note that with basically existing technology, humans are quite capable of completely colonizing the entire Milky Way galaxy in a relatively short period of time, spreading like a cancer.
https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/...-the-milky-way
Ha, Richard Branson is moving up his launch date, so he can beat Bezos into space.
https://www.tmz.com/2021/06/11/virgi...os-race-space/
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown
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