3 ms·

Mars and Our Search for Meaning

18 points by wjb3 3y ago

DoreenMichele 3y ago
It makes me think of many things, from the endless search for "your best place" to the challenges in trying to escape history to the episode of Star Trek (the original series) where the "monster" attacking them turned out to be the guardian of the eggs of its species that humans failed to realize were eggs and had been destroying.
barrysteve 3y ago
Great, let's go. What are we waiting for ? Forgive my impudent, probably arrogant, impatience... but can't we strap some house building robots and automated minesite equipment to a big rocket and call it a day! We're used to rapid changes in technological advancement now, Spirit and Opportunity exceeded expectations. You could find some antsy, criminals/men who'd prefer to build a mars base than wait for unemployment cheques, deport them. The meaning is clear, more land, more resources, an achievement for the history books, technological growth, human flourishing. Our first toe hold in the great cliff face of the milky way galaxy. Leave the earth management and babysitting work to the government, there's more freedom, love, life and meaning in conquering new worlds as a matter of course, in the human condition. Why wait!
- DoreenMichele 3y ago
  can't we strap some house building robots and automated minesite equipment to a big rocket and call it a day! Sure, if all you want to "live" there are robots. If you want to send people, we having annoying little issues to address like a breathable atmosphere, survivable temps and locally grown food.
- johnea 3y ago
  The whole idea of populating mars is one of the stupidest things in modern make believe. The place is so uninhabitable that you'll have to live underground. Why not just live underground in Navada? Then when you realize what a bad idea it was, you can simply leave...
  - barrysteve 3y ago
    There is a deep satisfaction of finally being separate from Government, Market and other people. Witnessing Liberty die from underground Nevada is sad. Watching Liberty die from Mars with a deck chair in a glass dome and beer in hand, is lovely and freeing.
johnea 3y ago
Who ever invented this idea that life has "meaning"? What even does anybody mean, when they say "meaning"? We grew out of the pond scum, why does that imply that it has any "meaning"? This is just another symptom of the pathological primate. A consequence of the first act of any (marginally) self aware entity: to believe it is at the center of the universe...
- nh23423fefe 3y ago
  So first you say that life having a meaning is some invented idea. So you admit the words are pointing at some idea. Meaning has a very common definition in this context: value or importance. I dont see why a fact from history: life evolved from non-living precursors, implies "there is no subjective value to any life because it evolved" which seems to simply be the inverse of the argument, "humans are special because they are made in God's image" (humans not special because not made in Gods image) We know what "meaning" points at. The idea that there is more than one way to live and some ways are better than others. Better is obviously a collective value judgement. Just like any judgement of beauty. A meaningful life is one that you would happy to have lived, a thing you wouldn't trade away, something you would be proud of. It's not reasonable to make an appeal to materialism and say, "these feelings are hollow vibrations of atoms" thats a category error.
- almatabata 3y ago
  > A consequence of the first act of any (marginally) self aware entity: to believe it is at the center of the universe... Your existence can have meaning without thinking you belong in the center of the universe. People can give meaning to events in life to make it easier to deal with them. While the meaning we give to things do not have any objective reality they still have a subjective value to the individual human that perceives it.

18 points by wjb3 3y ago

It makes me think of many things, from the endless search for "your best place" to the challenges in trying to escape history to the episode of Star Trek (the original series) where the "monster" attacking them turned out to be the guardian of the eggs of its species that humans failed to realize were eggs and had been destroying.

barrysteve 3y ago

Great, let's go. What are we waiting for ? Forgive my impudent, probably arrogant, impatience... but can't we strap some house building robots and automated minesite equipment to a big rocket and call it a day! We're used to rapid changes in technological advancement now, Spirit and Opportunity exceeded expectations. You could find some antsy, criminals/men who'd prefer to build a mars base than wait for unemployment cheques, deport them. The meaning is clear, more land, more resources, an achievement for the history books, technological growth, human flourishing. Our first toe hold in the great cliff face of the milky way galaxy. Leave the earth management and babysitting work to the government, there's more freedom, love, life and meaning in conquering new worlds as a matter of course, in the human condition. Why wait!

DoreenMichele 3y ago
can't we strap some house building robots and automated minesite equipment to a big rocket and call it a day! Sure, if all you want to "live" there are robots. If you want to send people, we having annoying little issues to address like a breathable atmosphere, survivable temps and locally grown food.
johnea 3y ago
The whole idea of populating mars is one of the stupidest things in modern make believe. The place is so uninhabitable that you'll have to live underground. Why not just live underground in Navada? Then when you realize what a bad idea it was, you can simply leave...
- barrysteve 3y ago
  There is a deep satisfaction of finally being separate from Government, Market and other people. Witnessing Liberty die from underground Nevada is sad. Watching Liberty die from Mars with a deck chair in a glass dome and beer in hand, is lovely and freeing.

johnea 3y ago

Who ever invented this idea that life has "meaning"? What even does anybody mean, when they say "meaning"? We grew out of the pond scum, why does that imply that it has any "meaning"? This is just another symptom of the pathological primate. A consequence of the first act of any (marginally) self aware entity: to believe it is at the center of the universe...

nh23423fefe 3y ago
So first you say that life having a meaning is some invented idea. So you admit the words are pointing at some idea. Meaning has a very common definition in this context: value or importance. I dont see why a fact from history: life evolved from non-living precursors, implies "there is no subjective value to any life because it evolved" which seems to simply be the inverse of the argument, "humans are special because they are made in God's image" (humans not special because not made in Gods image) We know what "meaning" points at. The idea that there is more than one way to live and some ways are better than others. Better is obviously a collective value judgement. Just like any judgement of beauty. A meaningful life is one that you would happy to have lived, a thing you wouldn't trade away, something you would be proud of. It's not reasonable to make an appeal to materialism and say, "these feelings are hollow vibrations of atoms" thats a category error.
almatabata 3y ago
> A consequence of the first act of any (marginally) self aware entity: to believe it is at the center of the universe... Your existence can have meaning without thinking you belong in the center of the universe. People can give meaning to events in life to make it easier to deal with them. While the meaning we give to things do not have any objective reality they still have a subjective value to the individual human that perceives it.