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Space is unbelievably boring. It is so boring that it’s a news story when something in space reminds us of a thing on Earth. Mars is dead, dead, dead; and it’s

Space is unbelievably boring. It is so boring that it’s a news story when something in space reminds us of a thing on Earth. Mars is dead, dead, dead; and it’s depressing to even think about how dead and boring it is.

Brian_K_White 5y ago
Joins a conversation only to say they have no interest in it.
- lima 5y ago
  Boring things can be interesting!
  - earthboundkid 5y ago
    Sure. :-)
- javajosh 5y ago
  The subject is Mars, not the conversation about Mars. And GP's comment is interesting. Consider that Earth, even after nuclear war, comet strike, caldera explosion, destroyed habitats, etc is still infinitely more habitable than Mars.
  - dylan604 5y ago
    Mars is definitely dead, and nothing there within current human technical abilities to brink it back to life. Living underground or in airtight capsules is the only way of living on that planet. Which is pretty much the same thing that would happen on Earth in any of those doomsday events you suggested. The main threat to earth is uninhabitable atmosphere, so if we figured out how to reverse those changes, then perhaps we could reverse Venus' atmosphere. If that were possible, then we might actually have a second livable planet in our solar system.
  - Brian_K_White 5y ago
    The post is about a curious discovery on Mars. The commenter joined the conversation about that discovery to say nothing other than that they don't find the topic interesing. There is no getting around the fundamental ignorance and offensiveness of that. My comment IS exactly about conversation not about Mars. It's about the curious but not at all uncommon phenomenon of joining a conversation for no other purpose but to tell everyone in it that you are not interested in it. My point is to point out that that is what they are doing when they do that, not merely adding their own perfectly valid opinion on a topic the same as anyone else's. It's uniquely invalid and offensive. It's walking down a hall, hearing a conversation behind one of the doors, stopping, entering the room, and announcing to everyone in that room "It's stupid to discuss this topic". Obviously, the ignoramus who does this doesn't realize that this is what they are doing. Obviously they think they are delivering a valuable observation and conclusion, or at least expressing their opinion which they are entitled to have and even to express. The problem is the context. They were not already in a conversation where something came up and their opinion was relevant. They were not specifically asked for their opinion like with a poll or an article that poses the question. They went out of their way to join a conversation in the first place for no other purpose than to say it's a pointless conversation. I am distilling their action to it's essense to expose just what they are actually doing, and lay bare the lack of any valid motivation for an action like that. You are supposed to see this, and understandably try to find a hole in it to save face, but then eventually when there turns out to be no way to avoid the essential facts after unpacking, realize that's what you're doing and maybe do it less. Or failing that (honestly, more likely, but at least they no longer have the excuse of ignorance), at least maybe some bystanders will be wiser to the phenomenon in the future an be better able to recognize a tool for what they are on first sight and not grant them the time of day by bothering to get into any arguments with them. IE, recognize that peculiar form of mental Turet's and thereby feel no attack from it, and feel no need to defend against it.
JoshTko 5y ago
Agreed. Not sure if a space colony on Mars is worth the ROI from a scientific standpoint. Technologically we would learn a lot about how to sustain multi-planetary life.
- hownottowrite 5y ago
  I think the only thing we will prove with a Martian colony is that humans can go extinct on two planets instead of one.
  - sixQuarks 5y ago
    Very pessimistic thinking. We might as well never try anything. Always stay in our comfort zones
    - hownottowrite 5y ago
      Just because you can make air on another planet doesn’t mean you can live to breathe it. If we can’t get life right here, our technical ability won’t mean much on another planet once human nature takes over.
      - aaronblohowiak 5y ago
        “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you’ll deplete the worlds fisheries in three generations.” While that old saw has a bit of truth, the nice thing about mars is that there is no ecology to disturb
        hownottowrite 5y ago
        Subsistence isn’t the actual threat to a Martian colony, and that is what is so maddening about it. We can go and we can figure out the technical hurdles. But even with those magical capabilities we cannot eliminate ourselves from the equation. The danger for a Martian colony will not be from Mars, but from the “Martians” (just as it is on Earth).
kushan2020 5y ago
It’s because Mars is the best we have to add redundancy to the human condition.
- ncmncm 5y ago
  Except, it isn't. It is a desert at the deep bottom of a gravity well far from the sun. We can build in solar orbit much better than on Mars, and more sustainably.
- antifa 5y ago
  We'd always just be better off building a space colony in orbit and/or space mining.
Buttons840 5y ago
Indeed, all descriptions of how big space is can be followed by, "and the most interesting part is right outside your window, and in your own body and mind". As far as we know at least. I think of the words at the end of Battlestar Galactica, "so much life". As far as we know, there are entire galaxies where the most exciting and interesting thing you could hope to find is some crystals. Then I look around our planet and can hardly see a square inch that isn't covered in life. I may never travel to other planets, and will certainly never go to another galaxy, but at least I'm here, in the most interesting part of the universe.
malux85 5y ago
“Boring” is subjective. I find interplanetary geology very interesting. You don’t know that Mars is dead, and we are also looking for previous signs of life. I am excited about us learning about other planets, their mineral composition, what technological advancements we must make to create habitable environments for us, what robotic advancements we must made to study and build remotely. What protocol enhancements must be made to streamline high latency communications. And then later stage stuff, once functioning, self sustaining civilisation is established, how is it governed? What are the economics of trading in high latency scenarios? What’s next after Mars? There’s so many interesting things to discover and areas to be excited about.

Brian_K_White 5y ago

Joins a conversation only to say they have no interest in it.

lima 5y ago
Boring things can be interesting!
- earthboundkid 5y ago
  Sure. :-)
javajosh 5y ago
The subject is Mars, not the conversation about Mars. And GP's comment is interesting. Consider that Earth, even after nuclear war, comet strike, caldera explosion, destroyed habitats, etc is still infinitely more habitable than Mars.
- dylan604 5y ago
  Mars is definitely dead, and nothing there within current human technical abilities to brink it back to life. Living underground or in airtight capsules is the only way of living on that planet. Which is pretty much the same thing that would happen on Earth in any of those doomsday events you suggested. The main threat to earth is uninhabitable atmosphere, so if we figured out how to reverse those changes, then perhaps we could reverse Venus' atmosphere. If that were possible, then we might actually have a second livable planet in our solar system.
- Brian_K_White 5y ago
  The post is about a curious discovery on Mars. The commenter joined the conversation about that discovery to say nothing other than that they don't find the topic interesing. There is no getting around the fundamental ignorance and offensiveness of that. My comment IS exactly about conversation not about Mars. It's about the curious but not at all uncommon phenomenon of joining a conversation for no other purpose but to tell everyone in it that you are not interested in it. My point is to point out that that is what they are doing when they do that, not merely adding their own perfectly valid opinion on a topic the same as anyone else's. It's uniquely invalid and offensive. It's walking down a hall, hearing a conversation behind one of the doors, stopping, entering the room, and announcing to everyone in that room "It's stupid to discuss this topic". Obviously, the ignoramus who does this doesn't realize that this is what they are doing. Obviously they think they are delivering a valuable observation and conclusion, or at least expressing their opinion which they are entitled to have and even to express. The problem is the context. They were not already in a conversation where something came up and their opinion was relevant. They were not specifically asked for their opinion like with a poll or an article that poses the question. They went out of their way to join a conversation in the first place for no other purpose than to say it's a pointless conversation. I am distilling their action to it's essense to expose just what they are actually doing, and lay bare the lack of any valid motivation for an action like that. You are supposed to see this, and understandably try to find a hole in it to save face, but then eventually when there turns out to be no way to avoid the essential facts after unpacking, realize that's what you're doing and maybe do it less. Or failing that (honestly, more likely, but at least they no longer have the excuse of ignorance), at least maybe some bystanders will be wiser to the phenomenon in the future an be better able to recognize a tool for what they are on first sight and not grant them the time of day by bothering to get into any arguments with them. IE, recognize that peculiar form of mental Turet's and thereby feel no attack from it, and feel no need to defend against it.

JoshTko 5y ago

Agreed. Not sure if a space colony on Mars is worth the ROI from a scientific standpoint. Technologically we would learn a lot about how to sustain multi-planetary life.

hownottowrite 5y ago
I think the only thing we will prove with a Martian colony is that humans can go extinct on two planets instead of one.
- sixQuarks 5y ago
  Very pessimistic thinking. We might as well never try anything. Always stay in our comfort zones
  - hownottowrite 5y ago
    Just because you can make air on another planet doesn’t mean you can live to breathe it. If we can’t get life right here, our technical ability won’t mean much on another planet once human nature takes over.
    - aaronblohowiak 5y ago
      “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you’ll deplete the worlds fisheries in three generations.” While that old saw has a bit of truth, the nice thing about mars is that there is no ecology to disturb
      - hownottowrite 5y ago
        Subsistence isn’t the actual threat to a Martian colony, and that is what is so maddening about it. We can go and we can figure out the technical hurdles. But even with those magical capabilities we cannot eliminate ourselves from the equation. The danger for a Martian colony will not be from Mars, but from the “Martians” (just as it is on Earth).

kushan2020 5y ago

It’s because Mars is the best we have to add redundancy to the human condition.

ncmncm 5y ago
Except, it isn't. It is a desert at the deep bottom of a gravity well far from the sun. We can build in solar orbit much better than on Mars, and more sustainably.
antifa 5y ago
We'd always just be better off building a space colony in orbit and/or space mining.

Buttons840 5y ago

Indeed, all descriptions of how big space is can be followed by, "and the most interesting part is right outside your window, and in your own body and mind". As far as we know at least. I think of the words at the end of Battlestar Galactica, "so much life". As far as we know, there are entire galaxies where the most exciting and interesting thing you could hope to find is some crystals. Then I look around our planet and can hardly see a square inch that isn't covered in life. I may never travel to other planets, and will certainly never go to another galaxy, but at least I'm here, in the most interesting part of the universe.

malux85 5y ago

“Boring” is subjective. I find interplanetary geology very interesting. You don’t know that Mars is dead, and we are also looking for previous signs of life. I am excited about us learning about other planets, their mineral composition, what technological advancements we must make to create habitable environments for us, what robotic advancements we must made to study and build remotely. What protocol enhancements must be made to streamline high latency communications. And then later stage stuff, once functioning, self sustaining civilisation is established, how is it governed? What are the economics of trading in high latency scenarios? What’s next after Mars? There’s so many interesting things to discover and areas to be excited about.