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Adding redundancy makes our civilization more resilient. Being more resilient is a good thing. The fact that this increased resilience doesn't make our civiliza
by marcusverus 5y ago
Adding redundancy makes our civilization more resilient. Being more resilient is a good thing. The fact that this increased resilience doesn't make our civilization invincible seems like a weird sticking point, since a) that goal is obviously beyond our capability right now, and b) redundancy is a necessary step in that direction.
- ModernMech 5y agoIf we send humans into space they won’t be part of our civilization, they will be their own. They may depend on us at first, but that bond will lessen over time and they will likely eventually demand independence and autonomy from Earth over time. This will be denied to them, and a bloody interplanetary war between Martians and Earthlings will ensue. See: America v. Briton.
- Wiseacre 5y agoDoes anyone else get the feeling that HN readership is far too biased from sci-fi? With that logic, no country would have ever let explorers leave their country to begin with.
- ModernMech 5y agoThe logic of the host country is that they can quash any rebellion through the extreme application of violence against the rebels. It works out sometime for them, and other times it doesn’t. Either way a lot of people end up dead on both sides. They are the poor, children, colonists, and indigenous peoples. Importantly, they are not members of the aristocracy, so no lessons are ever learned by elites as to why empire building is a bad idea.
- Wiseacre 5y agoWith that logic we would all still be living on the same continent and would never have spread across the Earth to begin with.
- ModernMech 5y agoI mean, I think it’s widely held that humans coming down from trees was a bad idea and should have never happened.
- Wiseacre 5y agoYou may notice the people who say that are hypocrites who believe their existence is legitimate and worthy of defending. Hint: they don't actually believe that.
- hairofadog 5y agoThey’re referencing a bit from Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
- Wiseacre 5y agoThat's happened to me twice in the past week. Time to re-read it.
- webmaven 5y agoTrees? Hah! We never should have crawled out of the ocean.