Indeed. I like the OP as a SF writer, but I have to disagree with him in this case. All you can say for sure is "With our current knowledge of science and level

Indeed. I like the OP as a SF writer, but I have to disagree with him in this case. All you can say for sure is "With our current knowledge of science and level of technological development we will never leave the solar system". If you would have said a man would walk on the moon 100 years ago, you'd be regarded as crazy. What happens in the far future is impossible for us to predict right now. 100 years ago we didn't know everything there is to know, and now we don't either. History is full of these kind of closed-minded extrapolations. Appropriate other post on the frontpage right now: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2639701 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2639701