4 ms·

Because then we can stop caring and go on as before! :) No, honestly I don't know either. I don't know what it even changes without mentioning Mars at all, and

Because then we can stop caring and go on as before! :) No, honestly I don't know either. I don't know what it even changes without mentioning Mars at all, and that's what all the "the Earth has been always gone through that" or worse advocates do not get? Besides it comparatively not being true at least at that timescale or with that population.. it all does not matter: It has never been about Earth in general or what may survive or reemerge at some point, it has always been about us (and our children)?!

sillysaurusx 3y ago
What do I get out of it? Happiness, of course. If my life was all about me and ny children, then it’d truly be meaningless. Say we ran with your perspective. Mars doesn’t matter. Ok, that means it’s guaranteed that you, your children, and the descendants of everyone you know will die as our sun heats up. This is not so far away, as the video illustrates. So then, what do you get out of this? A few dopamine hits and some nice chemical reactions before the eternal void? What’s all of our work even amount to? We have the privilege of being the only life form ever to use technology. Technology! We can do things. Most life can’t do a damn thing. They live, briefly, and then die, gruesomely. And till the asteroid hit, that might have been the story of our planet until the sun gobbled it up. (Though imagining dinosaur astronauts is fun too.) Would you say that asteroid is all about you and your children? It’s what even made it possible for you to be here, along with the unbroken string of cells from billions of years ago till the present day. Me and my children? We’re nothing, in that perspective. We are here thanks to everyone that came before. And we owe it to those who come after to let them live an even better life. So unless you want the descendants of everyone you know to die horribly one day, colonizing space is our only way out. But that’s just what I get out of it. After all, my own chemical reactions are unlikely to change a thing, over a single millisecond of that video. There’s nothing wrong with focusing on yourself and enjoying the ride. But personally, I end up a lot happier trying to make life be about more than little ol’ me. (My daughter says "gaaaa!" as I write this, which is either a salute of agreement or a firm rebuttal. Time will tell.)
- throwbadubadu 3y ago
  Mars or even stellar exploration will matter, or would, if we make it there... didn't question that. And it is not just about me and my nonexistant children ;) But tbh, if something after us emerges again in some millions of years is similarly important to me as if any other alien life exists.. and no it won't help me any bit over the sadness of massive unnecessary suffering we will cause to ourselves and all the living beings around us in the near future. I am not a sad / depressive person, but no, a future alien population (no matter if earth or somewhere else born) will not help the current perspective at all, or make me happier? > We have the privilege of being the only life form ever to use technology. I doubt that is and will be true. I don't get your following derivations, I think you understood me wrong.
  - sillysaurusx 3y ago
    What would make you happier? I ask in earnest, since finding meaning is a lifelong pursuit. Being able to thumb our nose at the universe by colonizing Mars before the sun wipes out the solar system appeals to my rebel tendencies, since the sun is the ultimate authority, after all. May as well give it a good run for our money. There’s also a chance that being on Mars is exactly the right spot to be in when our sun starts to expand. I guess I like the idea that even if we humans don’t get there, something that descends from us might. Actually, I like the idea that something a few steps up the evolutionary tree (like an alligator) will spring to life and discover the merits of language, if some cataclysm wipes us out. Or maybe reptiles in space is just my thing. The early Apollo missions were a missed opportunity to make a lizard astronaut a reality. If there’s some other way to escape the existential dread of none of what we do mattering whatsoever, please share. It’s at least nice to imagine that one of our cells will make it from earth to mars.
    - seadan83 3y ago
      Remember, the very best conditions of Mars will always be far worst than the worst conditions ever present on Earth. Mars is _incredibly_ inhospitable; even a nuclear wasteland Earth is easier to live on than Mars. Second, a permanent Mars colony will always be dependent on the Earth for regular resupply. If Earth were to become toast, so would the colonies on Mars. This person gets into it in more detail: https://www.quora.com/How-would-we-be-able-to-live-on-Mars?no_redirect=1 https://www.quora.com/How-would-we-be-able-to-live-on-Mars?n... Further, stating that the most salient problem for us to solve now with technology is a problem that will occur 5 billion years from now - strikes me as hubris. That _we_ must be the ones to save the Earth, as if we will have failed unless _we_ are the super heroes that save humanity for all of time. Meanwhile, the Earth is a giant garden. Given our focuses, I don't think future generations will think of us as heroes. I don't think future generations will think of us too kindly at all.

sillysaurusx 3y ago

What do I get out of it? Happiness, of course. If my life was all about me and ny children, then it’d truly be meaningless. Say we ran with your perspective. Mars doesn’t matter. Ok, that means it’s guaranteed that you, your children, and the descendants of everyone you know will die as our sun heats up. This is not so far away, as the video illustrates. So then, what do you get out of this? A few dopamine hits and some nice chemical reactions before the eternal void? What’s all of our work even amount to? We have the privilege of being the only life form ever to use technology. Technology! We can do things. Most life can’t do a damn thing. They live, briefly, and then die, gruesomely. And till the asteroid hit, that might have been the story of our planet until the sun gobbled it up. (Though imagining dinosaur astronauts is fun too.) Would you say that asteroid is all about you and your children? It’s what even made it possible for you to be here, along with the unbroken string of cells from billions of years ago till the present day. Me and my children? We’re nothing, in that perspective. We are here thanks to everyone that came before. And we owe it to those who come after to let them live an even better life. So unless you want the descendants of everyone you know to die horribly one day, colonizing space is our only way out. But that’s just what I get out of it. After all, my own chemical reactions are unlikely to change a thing, over a single millisecond of that video. There’s nothing wrong with focusing on yourself and enjoying the ride. But personally, I end up a lot happier trying to make life be about more than little ol’ me. (My daughter says "gaaaa!" as I write this, which is either a salute of agreement or a firm rebuttal. Time will tell.)

throwbadubadu 3y ago
Mars or even stellar exploration will matter, or would, if we make it there... didn't question that. And it is not just about me and my nonexistant children ;) But tbh, if something after us emerges again in some millions of years is similarly important to me as if any other alien life exists.. and no it won't help me any bit over the sadness of massive unnecessary suffering we will cause to ourselves and all the living beings around us in the near future. I am not a sad / depressive person, but no, a future alien population (no matter if earth or somewhere else born) will not help the current perspective at all, or make me happier? > We have the privilege of being the only life form ever to use technology. I doubt that is and will be true. I don't get your following derivations, I think you understood me wrong.
- sillysaurusx 3y ago
  What would make you happier? I ask in earnest, since finding meaning is a lifelong pursuit. Being able to thumb our nose at the universe by colonizing Mars before the sun wipes out the solar system appeals to my rebel tendencies, since the sun is the ultimate authority, after all. May as well give it a good run for our money. There’s also a chance that being on Mars is exactly the right spot to be in when our sun starts to expand. I guess I like the idea that even if we humans don’t get there, something that descends from us might. Actually, I like the idea that something a few steps up the evolutionary tree (like an alligator) will spring to life and discover the merits of language, if some cataclysm wipes us out. Or maybe reptiles in space is just my thing. The early Apollo missions were a missed opportunity to make a lizard astronaut a reality. If there’s some other way to escape the existential dread of none of what we do mattering whatsoever, please share. It’s at least nice to imagine that one of our cells will make it from earth to mars.
  - seadan83 3y ago
    Remember, the very best conditions of Mars will always be far worst than the worst conditions ever present on Earth. Mars is _incredibly_ inhospitable; even a nuclear wasteland Earth is easier to live on than Mars. Second, a permanent Mars colony will always be dependent on the Earth for regular resupply. If Earth were to become toast, so would the colonies on Mars. This person gets into it in more detail: https://www.quora.com/How-would-we-be-able-to-live-on-Mars?no_redirect=1 https://www.quora.com/How-would-we-be-able-to-live-on-Mars?n... Further, stating that the most salient problem for us to solve now with technology is a problem that will occur 5 billion years from now - strikes me as hubris. That _we_ must be the ones to save the Earth, as if we will have failed unless _we_ are the super heroes that save humanity for all of time. Meanwhile, the Earth is a giant garden. Given our focuses, I don't think future generations will think of us as heroes. I don't think future generations will think of us too kindly at all.