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True, but a lot of people didn't exactly live long or good lives then, and explorers, far from just being daring people... were desperate. When I hear that Elon
by QAPereo 9y ago
True, but a lot of people didn't exactly live long or good lives then, and explorers, far from just being daring people... were desperate. When I hear that Elon Musk is on the first one-way trip, I'll be a believer too. Until then, it's just too easy to contextualize the sacrifices of history, or the present, in ways that make it heroic rather than tragic.
- emiliobumachar 9y agoA lot of people don't exactly live long or good lives now. They're typically not qualified for much of the labor needed in a colony, but that's another problem. We only need a tiny percentage of the eligible. Some people really have different priorities than confort and longevity. Many of them are risking their lives on Everest, for much less.
- QAPereo 9y agoIf the first mission to Mars is really full of explorers, mountaineers, and daring billionaires then as I said I will be a believer. If they’re full of desperate people not searching for longevity or comfort, but those same things for the families they leave behind, I will not believe. It strikes me as fundamentally wrong to accept that the world is full of desperate people, while also rationalizing away the morality of exploiting them. If there was no other way, as it frankly was in the age sail, and human lives simply had to be the currency of progress then so be it. We don’t live in those times, and we definitely have options other than sacrificing some people; they’re just more expensive, difficult options.