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As great as it is in theory, even agreeing with thebooktocom that it'll likely not happen... It hurts a bit knowing we'll never settle another planet in my life
by jeffool 15y ago
As great as it is in theory, even agreeing with thebooktocom that it'll likely not happen... It hurts a bit knowing we'll never settle another planet in my lifetime.
- arethuza 15y ago"in my lifetime" First invent (effective) immortality then travel to the stars.
- weavejester 15y agoI was about to suggest the same approach. Immortality seems an easier problem to solve than building a starship, and travelling between stars becomes a lot easier if we're not bothered about bringing our organic bodies along.
- pavel_lishin 15y ago> Immortality seems an easier problem to solve than building a starship Why do you think so?
- weavejester 15y agoImmortality is essentially a question of understanding a collection of cells well enough to transfer their state to a more robust medium. Performing experiments on cells is relatively cheap, and medical research is generally very well funded. On the other hand, a viable starship would require a considerable amount of energy. We'd need to be comfortable travelling within our own solar system, because we're not going to get the amount of energy required from Earth. The best option so far is probably to park some 100km wide solar panels close to the Sun, store up energy for a year, and then use some rather large laser beams to convert that energy into a million ton blackhole. We'd then have a portable generator powerful enough to get us to another star. So my guess is that we'll figure our immortality long before we can seriously think about building a starship.
- pavel_lishin 15y agoJust because something is cheap and funded, doesn't mean it's easy. That's like saying, "Math departments get more funding than pottery classes, and paper and pencils are cheaper than clay, therefore math is obviously easier than making your mom an ashtray."
- weavejester 15y agoThere are exceptions to the rule, but in general if performing experiments is cheap and easy, it's easier to solve a problem than if performing experiments is a million times more difficult and costly.