Maphusio said:
I'm sorry your heart is not in it as it once was.
That's what getting older usually does to a man.
If we as a species are to have any hope of survival we must become a space faring species. We must get off this planet, we must spread our seed through this solar system and beyond in order to ensure our survival. As Spock would say, "Logic dictates this."
Oh, but I agree: that is what logic dictates. Unfortunately it's never going to happen unless it is staged and filmed in a Hollywood studio. Where it has happened countless times before.
You stated that there are no "exotic" particles or alternative means of travel and seemed to imply that as a known fact.
No, I did not state that. I said there are no exotic sources of energy out there that we don't already know of. We're not going to dig up some weird, magical mineral all of a sudden of which we only need a gram to fuel everything on Earth for the coming thousand years or so. That's not going to happen. Trust me.
That, we as humans have evolved to the point where we completely understand the universe and know there is no way to traverse the expanse of space other than with current conventional means.
Again: I did not state that. At all. Of course we do not understand the universe completely. We never will. We do have a pretty good understanding and knowledge of what Earth has to offer, how our small planet works, where it is located, and so on. We don't know everything about Earth yet, but I reckon it's safe to say that this is the only planet we understand so well.
Compare it to the Electromagnetic Spectrum: we know that spectrum from top to bottom. There are no surprises left there for us, even if we can't see or feel or hear certain wavelengths. Compare it to the Periodic Table: we know that table, we even designed an extended version of it, including numerous possible, but yet to be discovered elements and there's no totally awesome element left that can save our arses, otherwise we'd be looking for it or making it ourselves.
The same thing holds true for energy sources. We know them. We know all the stuff we can use to fuel things with. We can't use all of them because they're often not even to be found on Earth (stuff that happens in stars or black holes), but we do know them. So no: we're not all of a sudden gonna discover a new alternative source of energy. Those days ended long ago. We have to make do with what we have.
Surly this was a comment made in angst as it is clearly flawed.
No.
We know very little about the universe, a true working TOE has not been developed. The closer we come to figuring things out we come up with more questions and new innovative ideas.
We'll never construct such a TOE. Ever. It's not because we're supposed to be the most intelligent species on Earth that we can grasp everything. Just like a cat doesn't know that it is a cat. Just like lice think the world starts and ends with the fur of certain animals. And so on. We are limited as well, and it is my opinion that we are too stupid to figure out completely how the fabric of reality works. I don't care about that, though. The only thing I hate about this is that 99% of humankind chooses to discard what little we do know about the universe (scientific facts) in favour of bedtime stories and blatant lies (religion and philosophy).
Look at the development of string and m-theory in the past 20 years. In that time alone we have discovered so much that has turned what we thought we knew before upside down. Now amazing concepts such as traveling through space via a gravity or "SlipString" drive has come to pass. There are limitless ways to traverse space and beleive me, we have just begun our trek at exploring those ways and satisfying our never ending curiosity.
In short? Science Fiction. In the past we've speculated about travelling through wormholes as well, but as far as I know, we have yet to do so, right?
All the crap that scientists come up with nowadays serves one main purpose: fund raising, blingbling making. If NASA claims that there is certain evidence for life on Mars, you can bet your arse that they need cash badly. And they usually need it for something completely unrelated to what they've just made public.
It's a trick as old as the world. It's why Columbus got to "discover" America, for instance (new traderoutes -> let's rob them of their gold and dignity). And it's sad that so many people tend to believe this crap.
You had also indicated a manned mission to Mars would not accomplish anything of value and that we would not want to live on the surface of that planet due to its inhospitable climate. As I stated in the post above your initial post in this thread, that is something we can correct. Terraforming Mars is a very real possibility and to assume it will not work, and therefore is not worth trying is mind boggling. We are talking the equivalent of cave man discovers fire and puts it out because it might not always start in the future.
Terraforming Mars? Science Fiction. And yes: it's mind boggling that one would dare to believe stuff like that. Discovery Channel is probably one of the worst inventions ever. It feeds lies to kids and grown-ups alike.
That you dare to compare Terraforming and Galactic Conquest to the discovery of fire is - to say the least - pretty damn laughable. Fire was handed to mankind on pretty much a silver plate by nature.
Common sense suggests that our days are numbered on this planet. Its only a matter of time before a catastrophe destroys life as we know it, as has happened many times in Earths past.
I agree wholeheartedly.
The longer we stay here and continue to over populate this planet, rob it of its balance, ignore external threats and expect it to keep on giving brings us one step closer to finding out when our lease on this world ends.
Overpopulation can be dealt with without having to travel the rest of the universe. All it takes is five minutes of political courage. Pollution can be dealt with without having to leave Earth. Again: five minutes of political courage and the first step would be taken.
The reason why this ain't happening is probably because a large part of humankind thinks exactly the way you do: pfff, if this place gets fucked up, let's just move to another planet and fuck that one up as well. Reasoning like that would make sense if we were located in a part of the universe with lots of habitable planets and an abundancy of resources, but that is not the case. Our solar system is such an empty, lonesome place that common sense should tell you only one thing: we're stuck here and if we don't try to save our arses here, it's not going to happen anywhere else.
Another reason why it ain't happening? Courage and politics don't go well together nowadays. Popularity is all that counts. Losing votes because of harsh decisions is not an option for modern day politicians. But you already knew that, right? That real
change ain't gonna happen?
I'm not the doomsday fanatic you might find preaching on a bustling street corner. I'm not a 30 year old male in his parents basement waiting to join starfleet academy. I'm someone whom believes in the survival of the human race. I'm someone whom recognizes the need to have a back-up plan, and to not have all of the proverbial eggs in one basket.
There is no back-up plan. Plan A is all we've got and unfortunately we are noticing that our Plan A is becoming quite the failure.
How many centuries do you think we have left to figure out how to SlipString our sorry arses through space before the ice melts, the water raises and the floods swoop us away?
Maybe we should learn how to grow gills first before we try to conquer the rest of the universe. What do you think? Wouldn't that be feasible according to Discovery Channel?
