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I almost hope no traces of life are found. If traces of life are found, however distant in the past, it seems quite likely that any Mars colony or even explora
by waterlesscloud 14y ago
I almost hope no traces of life are found.
If traces of life are found, however distant in the past, it seems quite likely that any Mars colony or even exploration would be delayed by decades, if not longer. Preservationists would be against any interaction whatsoever.
- jeffool 14y agoI totally get you; I'm really torn on it. But part of me hopes that there are signs life existed there, and that gets more people on board with wanting to get there to investigate more. Maybe it even raises interest enough to get people there quickly. I have a hope that once that starts, going there will be become more regular. But then I remember the moon...
- andrewflnr 14y agoWhen have preservationists ever had their way, though? Granted, life on Mars would be a unique case, but I'm not sure you need to worry about them.
- Almaviva 14y agoAs someone who would take such a preservationist position, I think this is my best argument: It is morally inconsistent to think that super-intelligent life should leave us intact if we were found, and at the same time be willing to interfere with vastly less advanced life, for our own gain.
- kamaal 14y agoIf we aren't going to mars to destroy life on mars. Why should we expect that the super intelligent species will try to destroy us?
- danielweber 14y agoThe best way to explore that life, though, would be to get people near it so they can go looking for more of it. If it's not sentient, it doesn't have a moral claim to the planet.
- natrius 14y agoSentience is relative.