4 ms·

I have no idea what this is in reference to, but I love the cut of your internet commenting jib.

bilsbie 4y ago
Thanks. If it needs explaining I meant this guy is worried about a few 1000 tons of space debris versus the certain eventual end of the species if we don’t become spacefaring.
- palata 4y ago
  Wait, what? What about we start by not destructing our planet? "No no but look: we destroyed most life on a whole planet, but it will be different in a spaceship: there we will live happily in peace forever, without any problem we can't handle (because we destroyed them with our habitat)"
  - zizee 4y ago
    This is not what the grandparent meant, and also not what anyone sane means when discussing establishing off world colonies. They are talking about an insurance policy if we happen to get hit by an asteroid, or world war III breaks out, or a devastating pandemic, or any number of other civilization (or life) ending events. No one wants the bad thing to happen, but instead they are saying "wouldn't it be smart to have redundancy". They're also not saying "ignore trying to save the environment because we have mars". It is very likely any effort to make mars into a habitable planet would dwarf fixing problems here on earth. They're also not suggesting spending a significant amount of our resources on Mars, to the detriment of life here on earth.
    - palata 4y ago
      That's the thing: not everyone agrees on all that. I personally don't give a damn about saving a subset of humanity by sending them on Mars. But by doing that, we pollute, and that's part of the problem here on Earth (which I care about). Worse: they're not just sending a couple rockets, they send as many as they can, and build services like Starlink, which are about producing and consuming more, which again is part of the problem. I am of those who believe that if technology is a big part of the problem, then more of it won't make it better. But it's not like I have a choice, so instead of waiting for a potential asteroid that will kill me while some (rich US citizen, maybe?) survive on Mars, I am here waiting for the catastrophes we are creating.
tuatoru 4y ago
The usual form of the metaphor is "a crab bucket". The mental image this is meant to evoke is that if one crab attempts to escape the bucket by climbing the side, then others will grab it, and their weight will pull it back down. So no crab escapes the bucket. A metaphor for unconstructive criticism or obstruction that squashes attempts at betterment.

Thanks. If it needs explaining I meant this guy is worried about a few 1000 tons of space debris versus the certain eventual end of the species if we don’t become spacefaring.

palata 4y ago
Wait, what? What about we start by not destructing our planet? "No no but look: we destroyed most life on a whole planet, but it will be different in a spaceship: there we will live happily in peace forever, without any problem we can't handle (because we destroyed them with our habitat)"
- zizee 4y ago
  This is not what the grandparent meant, and also not what anyone sane means when discussing establishing off world colonies. They are talking about an insurance policy if we happen to get hit by an asteroid, or world war III breaks out, or a devastating pandemic, or any number of other civilization (or life) ending events. No one wants the bad thing to happen, but instead they are saying "wouldn't it be smart to have redundancy". They're also not saying "ignore trying to save the environment because we have mars". It is very likely any effort to make mars into a habitable planet would dwarf fixing problems here on earth. They're also not suggesting spending a significant amount of our resources on Mars, to the detriment of life here on earth.
  - palata 4y ago
    That's the thing: not everyone agrees on all that. I personally don't give a damn about saving a subset of humanity by sending them on Mars. But by doing that, we pollute, and that's part of the problem here on Earth (which I care about). Worse: they're not just sending a couple rockets, they send as many as they can, and build services like Starlink, which are about producing and consuming more, which again is part of the problem. I am of those who believe that if technology is a big part of the problem, then more of it won't make it better. But it's not like I have a choice, so instead of waiting for a potential asteroid that will kill me while some (rich US citizen, maybe?) survive on Mars, I am here waiting for the catastrophes we are creating.

tuatoru 4y ago

The usual form of the metaphor is "a crab bucket". The mental image this is meant to evoke is that if one crab attempts to escape the bucket by climbing the side, then others will grab it, and their weight will pull it back down. So no crab escapes the bucket. A metaphor for unconstructive criticism or obstruction that squashes attempts at betterment.