4 ms·

Indeed. I want to meet these people who say not to worry about climate change because we will have space travel.

vkou 5y ago
Read the comments on any HN thread about Mars colonization. They generally go along the pattern of: + I am so excited about <potential of this development/timeline/discover>, what an amazing step towards Mars colonization. - Mars colonization is a waste of everyone's time. It's a giant distraction, and a truly gargantuan resource sink, that doesn't get us anything meaningful. We should be focusing on immediate problems, like hunger and climate change and nuclear weapons and toilet paper shortages. + Mars colonization creates redundancy for humanity against extraterrestrial existential threats. It's important to direct our efforts to ensure that <some tiny fraction> of 'humanity' can survive an Earth-killing cataclysm. - Extraterrestrial existential threats are unlikely and hypothetical on any appreciable timeline. We are spectacularly failing to deal with a short-term, man-made existential threat to our civilization. In the <near>/<long> term, I'd rather direct <gargantuan efforts required for building a self-sustaining Mars colony> towards saving <overwhelming majority> of humanity from <impending, obvious catastrophe>, than work to preserve <some tiny fraction> of humanity from <highly unlikely cataclysm that somehow kills off 100% of the people on Earth but 0% of the people on a hypothetical self-sustaining Mars colony>. And so on, and so on.
- kiba 5y ago
  With regard to Mars colonization, we can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time. The solution to world hunger isn't actually meaningfully impacted by resources spent on Mars colonization. Rather, it would seem that solving climate change will give us the tool to deal with space colonization, as space colonization of new homes fundamentally involves managing new ecology and life support systems.

vkou 5y ago

Read the comments on any HN thread about Mars colonization. They generally go along the pattern of: + I am so excited about <potential of this development/timeline/discover>, what an amazing step towards Mars colonization. - Mars colonization is a waste of everyone's time. It's a giant distraction, and a truly gargantuan resource sink, that doesn't get us anything meaningful. We should be focusing on immediate problems, like hunger and climate change and nuclear weapons and toilet paper shortages. + Mars colonization creates redundancy for humanity against extraterrestrial existential threats. It's important to direct our efforts to ensure that <some tiny fraction> of 'humanity' can survive an Earth-killing cataclysm. - Extraterrestrial existential threats are unlikely and hypothetical on any appreciable timeline. We are spectacularly failing to deal with a short-term, man-made existential threat to our civilization. In the <near>/<long> term, I'd rather direct <gargantuan efforts required for building a self-sustaining Mars colony> towards saving <overwhelming majority> of humanity from <impending, obvious catastrophe>, than work to preserve <some tiny fraction> of humanity from <highly unlikely cataclysm that somehow kills off 100% of the people on Earth but 0% of the people on a hypothetical self-sustaining Mars colony>. And so on, and so on.

kiba 5y ago
With regard to Mars colonization, we can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time. The solution to world hunger isn't actually meaningfully impacted by resources spent on Mars colonization. Rather, it would seem that solving climate change will give us the tool to deal with space colonization, as space colonization of new homes fundamentally involves managing new ecology and life support systems.