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There is another factor to consider. Future scientific gains may be more expensive to obtain than they were in the past. For example pushing the frontiers of sp
by IndianAstronaut 12y ago
There is another factor to consider. Future scientific gains may be more expensive to obtain than they were in the past. For example pushing the frontiers of space exploration is going to require much more funding. We have a few rovers on Mars now, but to get rovers on Titan will not be as cheap as getting them to Mars.
- christianbryant 12y agoThis is very true. But, we have set up a market in the form of software that can potentially generate billions of dollars with human energy being the primary expenditure, ideally using existing hardware and energy infrastructures to build off of. If we can push software further, generate the revenue needed for research and projects like deep space exploration from this, we can still get there. It's not exactly "money from nothing" but it's as close as we can get, and we've already built the infrastructure to achieve it globally...
- jimmcslim 12y agoOr possibly, we have reached the limits of what can be achieved in certain disciplines? Take batteries for example; a great many other technologies would be greatly enhanced by a quantum leap in battery energy storage (e.g. mobiles and wearables, robots, transportation) but we may have reached a practical limit in what can be achieved with the chemistry of the universe.
- rjaco31 12y agoThis is highly unlikely, there are numerous proofs of natural materials with way higher energetic density.