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There used to be a time when a single person mastered X% of humanity's technology anf knowledge. Packing up 100 people on some boats meant you could start a vi
by raducu 8y ago
There used to be a time when a single person mastered X% of humanity's technology anf knowledge.
Packing up 100 people on some boats meant you could start a viable colony across some seas.
Can you still do that today?
- jpatokal 8y agoColonies don't subsist in isolation, they require trade to survive. See Jared Diamond's Collapse for the pop science version of what happened to a few isolated colonies (Greenland, Easter Island, etc) when trade stops.
- SubiculumCode 8y agoWhat happened in the past in very different circumstances won't be all that informative. Differences in education, environment, technological requirements and capacities, different world-views, different superstitions, native populations (or lack thereof), medical practices, air gravity and radiation. Moreover, colony is a soft boundary word. I daresay that the United States (former European, now independent Colony) could survive without external trade if it came to that..what would it take for a colony on another planet to be self-sufficient? Minimally, the ability to produce items required for survival (e.g., airtight living quarters and vegetable gardens, energy, oxygen, etc).
- javagram 8y agoTrade is required when the materials of subsistence cannot all be produced locally. A successful mars colony would need to have a plan to reach self-sufficiency through Martian plus asteroid resources.
- shkkmo 8y ago> A successful mars colony would need to have a plan to reach self-sufficiency through Martian plus asteroid resources. Not at all. While there will be an economic and logistical incentive to reduce the dependence on imports from earth, it is not reasonable to expect the colony to fully duplicate the manufacturing capabilities of earth. There will be drugs, electronic components and human experts that will imported from earth for a very long time. I believe a Martian colony would be successful when they achieve economic viability (import value lower than export value). This would happen well before they would reach actual self sufficiency.
- nine_k 8y agoI don't think any imports from Mars could be profitable. Except scientific data, of course. The colony will depend on Earth tech for a long time. The only case for a self-sustained colony I see is some local political extremism. To prefer to live on Mars by one's own means would take some very strong Earth-incompatible views.
- greedo 8y agoThe chance of a colony on Mars NOT seeking independence when it reaches a modicum of self-sufficiency is nil. Look at the US; separated by 6-12 weeks of sailing. It's human nature to seek to govern your own affairs, and with travel time to Mars being around 300 days, as soon as they can, they'll become independent.
- reddog 8y agoI don't know. Look at Canada; separated by the same distance yet it remained a colony until 1931. While rebellious space colonies has been a dependable sci-fi trope since the 50's, I am skeptical things would really work out that way given how dependent Mars would be on Earth for everything other than the very basics of self-sufficiency. I am talking about things like art (music, books, films) and the kinds of developments in science, medicine and engineering that can only be generated by having a support base of 8 billion people.
- Qqqwxs 8y agoI think it also depends on what flag the Mars colony flies. If a country (e.g. the U.S) claims the colony for themselves, I think it makes sense that there will be more and more pressure to disassociate especially as people from different countries on Earth mix together. I can see a united colony, however, something like the ISS, working better as there is the cultural idea of being "for humanity" as opposed to "for this country that not everybody identifies with".
- mkl 8y agoSports, gameshows etc. that rely on the low gravity seem plausible. Pretty unlikely to sustain an economy, though. Tourism and some healthcare likewise, but that's not really an import.
- jononor 8y agoNow we can keep X% of the knowledge of humanity on a portable device. That should help.
- brianwawok 8y agoUnless that device breaks? What hardware that we have today will still work in 100 years? Books you can make it happen. Phones are broke within 10. Desktops within 20.
- kitsunesoba 8y agoWe’re perfectly capable of building electronics that can run for many tens of years without issue… it’s just that such things don’t get built because that’s not profitable for manufacturers. If an organization like NASA puts in an order for computers or handheld devices specifically designed to not break for long stretches of time, it wouldn’t be a problem to fulfill said order.
- samstave 8y agoThis is why I have such little respect for billionaires who leave no long-lasting meaningful impact at all. Gates/Musk may be the only ones who appear to desire to have a many-generational-positive impact on Humanity. Every one else are just egos. Unless I am not aware of some of the greater things that ilk is doing?