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> The Milky Way is big, but not so big that it's impossible to traverse generationally. Creating a self-sustained ship is not so easy. And there are tons of fa
by arp242 2y ago
> The Milky Way is big, but not so big that it's impossible to traverse generationally.
Creating a self-sustained ship is not so easy. And there are tons of failures that can happen, especially over the course of multiple generations. And you won't be able to just "beam down" to some random planet once your interflux quantum capacitor and its two backups fail. Unlikely things happen given enough time.
And why would you want to do this in the first place? Would life on such a ship really be all that great? Sounds like the stuff of a depressing dystopian sci-fi novel more than anything else.
Dyson spheres seem completely impractical. Just the sheer amount of materials needed alone, never mind the construction effort and maintenance effort. Dyson himself didn't take it very seriously, and I have no idea why anyone else does either.
- dTal 2y agoAll very relevant points to why human generation ships are unlikely. Totally irrelevant points as to why, out of the hundreds of billions of planets in the Milky Way, it would appear that not one has evolved an organism capable of spreading out of its gravity well. In general, Life Finds A Way. Life on a ship is depressing? You may as well argue that life in hydrothermal vents would be boring. As for Dyson spheres, don't take the remark so literally. I simply meant that a galaxy-spanning slime mould would probably be visible to our physics, somehow. Life is an entropy engine. Once it gets going, it really gets going. But we appear to live in an improbable oasis in a vast desert.
- arp242 2y agoMost of those "billions of planets" cannot support life (the exact number of which can is currently unknown). And who says no life evolved "capable of spreading out of its gravity well"? > As for Dyson spheres, don't take the remark so literally. Of course it should be taken literally, because all of this is all about what the laws of nature do and don't allow and the practicalities surrounding that. This isn't an class or discussion about what does and doesn't make a good sci-fi story. And what is a "galaxy-spanning slime mould" even? > Life on a ship is depressing? You may as well argue that life in hydrothermal vents would be boring. Yes, it would be. There is no intelligent life living near thermal vents. What an odd thing to say.
- defrost 2y agoThat's a damning indictment of the inhabitants of Hjalteyri. Is this perhaps a specific personal grudge against your hometown or a more general dislike of Icelanders? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hjalteyri https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hjalteyri https://xray-mag.com/content/strytan-diving-icelands-hydrothermal-vents https://xray-mag.com/content/strytan-diving-icelands-hydroth...