2 ms·
As little as 20 years ago, the idea that Mars had a lake, like honest to God lake, or that we'd gather 1000s of exoplanet signatures, or that we'd find solid ev
by jvanderbot 3y ago
As little as 20 years ago, the idea that Mars had a lake, like honest to God lake, or that we'd gather 1000s of exoplanet signatures, or that we'd find solid evidence of a liquid ocean on Europa. All of this would be bananas.
It may not feel fast on the scale of a decade, but on the scale of my lifetime this is breakneck pace. Not fast enough now that I'm middle aged, but so fast.
Everything is amazing, even if you already knew it was amazing, just let it be amazing.
- bongobingo1 3y agoFunny to think about how different people perceive the rate of change. Growing up before they landed on the moon, seeing a smudgy black and white blob walk around in a funny way to getting robots onto MARS, with "realtime" (radio-time) imagery is insane, the stuff of HG Wells. Growing up after the landing, with science fiction being a pervasive genre, color television, the internet, you can see how to some it might feel like a lot of hurry up and wait. The perspective of "one day, we might just see that moon up close" to "well duh we are going to mars."
- masswerk 3y agoOn the other hand, much of this had always been anticipated. E.g, Fermi's question from 1950 and the Drake equation are essentially based on the presumption of exoplanets. Or, the sensors (automatic mini labs) of the Viking probes in the 1970s were essentially based on the assumption that any life on Mars would be based on water (which in turn includes the presumption that there either are or had been significant amounts of water, an assumption strong enough to include this equipment, in the first place.) What has changed, since, is sensor technology.