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I actually disagree a little bit. I think too many people could possibly drive demand for more development in space. Instead of Mars, what we really should be

I actually disagree a little bit. I think too many people could possibly drive demand for more development in space. Instead of Mars, what we really should be doing is mining the Moon and the asteroids, and building gigantic rotating space stations. Theoretically, we could house a nearly infinite number of people that way, with artificial habitats optimized for human living unlike the planet we're on now. Population stagnation could potentially lead to worldwide cultural stagnation, which would result in humans never getting off the planet and eventually getting wiped out somehow.

muninn_ 9y ago
> Population stagnation could potentially lead to worldwide cultural stagnation, which would result in humans never getting off the planet and eventually getting wiped out somehow. I understand the population piece, but I don't understand the cultural piece. Japan has stagnated, and it's clearly culturally vibrant. On the other hand, the United States brings in immigrants and is growing, yet I'm constantly scolded and reminded that I have no culture since I'm just a white person. Oh, and back to the population piece. We're approaching 8 billion. How do you feel about, say, 3-4 billion? I mean, it seems like that's a pretty good number of people to get things done. We'd have less people doing menial work (or not working) and we'd have more essential and necessary work, wouldn't we?