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It's an interesting question though: Is plan B of succeeding in interstellar travel actually easier than a plan in which we figure out how to change our biologi

It's an interesting question though: Is plan B of succeeding in interstellar travel actually easier than a plan in which we figure out how to change our biological construct to survive in harsher climate-change or post-war conditions?

airstrike 6y ago
It is interesting indeed, and meant to add to my comment that it feels like finding a way to have a permanent settlement in Mars seems more near-term than changes to our biology. I think the consensus is we generally "know" what to do to figure out a way out of this rock (so not necessarily interstellar travel), whereas modifying our biology seems magical in comparison. Living outside of Earth, in a different gravity well, with different doses of radiation and likely in confined spaces is challenging, but at least you can put those things into comprehensible words. I wouldn't even know where to begin describing how we'd modify our biological construct, as you put it.
- cousin_it 6y ago
  Human engineering can be put into words. It's just very scary. Genetic modification, cyborgification or mind uploading could give us any bodies we want, but also create new terrifying possibilities of control: imagine you've been genetically modified by a tyrant, or your brain lives in a robot body built by a tyrant, or your uploaded mind is in a computer controlled by a tyrant. Humanity isn't politically ready for human engineering tech - in other words, I wouldn't trust any of today's governments with it - but it's coming one way or another, and probably sooner than starships.
- lnanek2 6y ago
  There have already been human babies born with modified genetics to make them less susceptible to HIV. And in the realm of other biology where experimentation is encouraged we've definitely transferred genes for things like frost resistance between organisms. We don't generally make our own genes yet, just break ones we don't want or transfer ones we do want, but if the human race decided to allow it, we could certainly make a good start on improving the body for handling non-Earth conditions.

airstrike 6y ago

It is interesting indeed, and meant to add to my comment that it feels like finding a way to have a permanent settlement in Mars seems more near-term than changes to our biology. I think the consensus is we generally "know" what to do to figure out a way out of this rock (so not necessarily interstellar travel), whereas modifying our biology seems magical in comparison. Living outside of Earth, in a different gravity well, with different doses of radiation and likely in confined spaces is challenging, but at least you can put those things into comprehensible words. I wouldn't even know where to begin describing how we'd modify our biological construct, as you put it.

cousin_it 6y ago
Human engineering can be put into words. It's just very scary. Genetic modification, cyborgification or mind uploading could give us any bodies we want, but also create new terrifying possibilities of control: imagine you've been genetically modified by a tyrant, or your brain lives in a robot body built by a tyrant, or your uploaded mind is in a computer controlled by a tyrant. Humanity isn't politically ready for human engineering tech - in other words, I wouldn't trust any of today's governments with it - but it's coming one way or another, and probably sooner than starships.
lnanek2 6y ago
There have already been human babies born with modified genetics to make them less susceptible to HIV. And in the realm of other biology where experimentation is encouraged we've definitely transferred genes for things like frost resistance between organisms. We don't generally make our own genes yet, just break ones we don't want or transfer ones we do want, but if the human race decided to allow it, we could certainly make a good start on improving the body for handling non-Earth conditions.