Aeronautics Industry Aeronautics Industry    FAQ   Search   Memberlist   Usergroups   Register   Profile   Log in to check your private messages   Log in  Space as mankind's last Window of Opportunity?          Aeronautics Industry Forum Index -> Aeronautics Industry View previous topic :: View next topic   Author Message Michael Turner Guest Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2007 9:54 am    Post subject: Space as mankind's last Window of Opportunity? If you have a moment or two: http://transcendentalbloviation.blogspot.com/2007/04/space-final-window-of-opportunity.html The essay is a second draft, the first one having come out of an exchange with Monte Davis. If it looks good enough after incorporating any comments, insights and references suggested by people here, I might submit it to The Space Review. -michael turner Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Jonathan Guest Posted: Thu Apr 26, 2007 3:13 am    Post subject: Re: Space as mankind's last Window of Opportunity? "Michael Turner" <leap@gol.com> wrote in message news:1177480448.674814.20620@b40g2000prd.googlegroups.com... Quote: If you have a moment or two: http://transcendentalbloviation.blogspot.com/2007/04/space-final-window-of-opportunity.html The essay is a second draft, the first one having come out of an exchange with Monte Davis. If it looks good enough after incorporating any comments, insights and references suggested by people here, I might submit it to The Space Review. Most people won't know what 'meme' means, which causes a pause right off the bat. And the last paragragh seemed to ramble on with little relevence to the idea. I agree with the sentiment of the essay, that there seems to be an unjustified assumption everywhere the earth cannot supply our future needs. That we must move out into space to survive and so on. For starters, why would anyone think we can build a sustainable and useful space colony if we can't do so on earth with all the abundance and advantages on earth? We must be able to design and manage sustainable ecosystems on earth before we have any chance in the hardships of space. And once we have, that negates the need to colonize space. The only true justification for colonies is the 'big catastrophe'. But is it easier to build colonies or easier to create the ability to protect earth from collisions? I would say the latter. I think the idea of the essay needs more support in the form of examples or facts. For instance, the US population has a higher growth rate right now then in China. But not due to births/deaths so much as migration. Showing a correlation between population growth and economic success might help paint a better picture of the future. Just as the fact that population growth rates are expected to fall dramatically in the future. Quote: -michael turner Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Monte Davis Guest Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 7:45 pm    Post subject: Re: Space as mankind's last Window of Opportunity? Michael Turner <leap@gol.com> wrote: Quote: If you have a moment or two: http://transcendentalbloviation.blogspot.com/2007/04/space-final-window-of-opportunity.html Try parsing it into four distinct memes, three of them independen of space. In sequence, 1) Noah's Ark, Deucalion, Lot's family leaving the Cities of the Plain, Mormons, When Worlds Collide, etc.: the fortunate, virtuous few leaving corruption to its doom 2) New World-ism plus American exceptionalism -- the belief that all of the good things that grew out of Renaissance Europe c. 1500 can be identified with Anglo-colonial and US history, so that "a fresh start" is valorized in and of itself 3) "We are in a race between education and disaster" (H.G. Wells, rephrased after Da Bomb by Einstein and many others) -- IOW, "the species had better grow up faster if it's going to play with these levels of power." I think all three were prerequisites for the Pournelle version, with its very specific features: 4a) Ehrlichian population boom/resource bust 4b) "the long Luddite night is about to descend" 4c) Conflation of "those who disagree with me about terrestrial politics" and "those who took away my Ever-Expanding Space Program" I find it quaintly redolent of the 1960s and 1970s. But some space enthusiasts seem to have freeze-dried them, bringing them out every few years to rehydrate them with "just you wait 'til the killer asteroid comes," "just you wait 'til the grey nano-goo starts to spread," "just you wait until Islamofascism proves a bigger threat than anarchists, Reds and Nazis combined," or whatever. Monte Davis http://montedavis.livejournal.com Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First         Aeronautics Industry Forum Index -> Aeronautics Industry All times are GMT Page 1 of 1   Jump to: Select a forum Aeronautics Industry----------------Aeronautics Industry  You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum 222 Attacks blocked Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group