5 ms·

I'm sure it wasn't your intention, but this comment describes perfectly why I find there's nothing appealing about colonizing Mars. Ah yes, that glorious future

by trgn 5y ago

I'm sure it wasn't your intention, but this comment describes perfectly why I find there's nothing appealing about colonizing Mars. Ah yes, that glorious future of humanity, let's go live underground in a tube. Not that I don't understand the intellectual appeal of space faring (smart people doing smart stuff with technology), but I find the picture of humans in space such an impoverished vision of the future.

Teever 5y ago
What do you consider to be an appealing vision of space travel/habitation? Like if space travel was an electric car and you were an ICE car kind of guy, what would space travel have to be like for you to be like "Okay, that's pretty cool."
- pengaru 5y ago
  As long as you can convince the ICE car kind of guy he's in the upper caste that gets to stay earthbound while the poor are sent to Mars, it's probably not too difficult.
  - trgn 5y ago
    Why would the poor be sent to Mars? Its my impression the discourse is the other way around; the adventurous, people with options, would mindfully choose to leave earth and start anew.
- trgn 5y ago
  Gravity similar to earth, breathable air. So my body still works fine on this new planet. Mediterranean climate would be great, but that's negotiable. I like your analogy with ice cars and electric cars. It perfectly captures the value system that drives space colonizatuon. It's the fetishization of technology. Because it requires advanced technology, therefore, in and of itself, space travel is the right thing to pursue. It's a modernist mindset.
travisporter 5y ago
Building a Marsbase is a Horrible Idea: Let's do it! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqKGREZs6-w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqKGREZs6-w
- trgn 5y ago
  Great video, loved it. Perfect example. Figuring out stuff, doing science, equations, technology stuff, is valuable in and of itself. No word on what is the inherent value of colonizing another planet, why a human would need to be on Mars in the first place. Going to Mars will eventually end up the same fate as going to the Moon. It's a branding effort, the most expensive carnival ride. We'll do it a few times, some young people with a sense of adventure, middle-aged people bored with their families, old people looking for a last hurrah. And once there, only to live in the most bureaucratic, degraded, dependent way possible. In a true anti-state of freedom. It's constructive to think about this in contrast to the explorers of the 15th and 16th century. They discovered paradise. Mountains of gold and silver, perfect weather if you were lucky, freedom (frighteningly raw freedom) from their lords in the old country, grass plains carpeted with red meat, streams overflowing with fish, ... Technology was not a value in and of itself in any of these endeavors. Current discourse around going to Mars, technology _is_ the value.

by trgn 5y ago

Teever 5y ago

What do you consider to be an appealing vision of space travel/habitation? Like if space travel was an electric car and you were an ICE car kind of guy, what would space travel have to be like for you to be like "Okay, that's pretty cool."

pengaru 5y ago
As long as you can convince the ICE car kind of guy he's in the upper caste that gets to stay earthbound while the poor are sent to Mars, it's probably not too difficult.
- trgn 5y ago
  Why would the poor be sent to Mars? Its my impression the discourse is the other way around; the adventurous, people with options, would mindfully choose to leave earth and start anew.
trgn 5y ago
Gravity similar to earth, breathable air. So my body still works fine on this new planet. Mediterranean climate would be great, but that's negotiable. I like your analogy with ice cars and electric cars. It perfectly captures the value system that drives space colonizatuon. It's the fetishization of technology. Because it requires advanced technology, therefore, in and of itself, space travel is the right thing to pursue. It's a modernist mindset.

travisporter 5y ago

Building a Marsbase is a Horrible Idea: Let's do it! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqKGREZs6-w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqKGREZs6-w

trgn 5y ago
Great video, loved it. Perfect example. Figuring out stuff, doing science, equations, technology stuff, is valuable in and of itself. No word on what is the inherent value of colonizing another planet, why a human would need to be on Mars in the first place. Going to Mars will eventually end up the same fate as going to the Moon. It's a branding effort, the most expensive carnival ride. We'll do it a few times, some young people with a sense of adventure, middle-aged people bored with their families, old people looking for a last hurrah. And once there, only to live in the most bureaucratic, degraded, dependent way possible. In a true anti-state of freedom. It's constructive to think about this in contrast to the explorers of the 15th and 16th century. They discovered paradise. Mountains of gold and silver, perfect weather if you were lucky, freedom (frighteningly raw freedom) from their lords in the old country, grass plains carpeted with red meat, streams overflowing with fish, ... Technology was not a value in and of itself in any of these endeavors. Current discourse around going to Mars, technology _is_ the value.