tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6583590687956540859.post7070021078463675995..comments2024-01-18T00:18:10.209-08:00Comments on Xenophilia (True Strange Stuff): To Boldly Go to New Worlds, NASA Announces '100-Year Starship'Xenohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080841307174630996noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6583590687956540859.post-7722312577246846952010-10-25T17:37:47.000-07:002010-10-25T17:37:47.000-07:00Not to belittle a bold dream, a “Hundred Year Star...Not to belittle a bold dream, a “Hundred Year Starship,” but how long does a new automobile last? A new home, which most of us can't even pay for? Isn't there something wrong with this picture? Shouldn't we dream of life on earth before we begin to include life in space in our dreams? Or, our dreams of life on earth merely empty space?Annnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6583590687956540859.post-4001524256068320302010-10-25T17:48:12.000-07:002010-10-25T17:48:12.000-07:00We currently have all of our eggs in one basket. G...We currently have all of our eggs in one basket. Given what we know about space, our planet's history, the alien attacks on Jupiter, etc., we risk extinction if we do not shoot boldly for the stars. Our oldest known stories have reached across thousands of years to deliver the message: Build a life raft, you fools!Xenohttp://www.xenophilia.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6583590687956540859.post-17063415292583840642010-10-26T16:51:30.000-07:002010-10-26T16:51:30.000-07:00Ann's got an important point, though; even mac...Ann's got an important point, though; even machines we have built that have gone on to give us decades of service (aircraft carriers are first to spring to my mind) require overhauls. In space, no one can hear you curse out your defective machinery. Even an immense "Bio-dome" of a ship would have one of the most erratic wild-cards ever imagined, human beings, as a pivotal component. As we are already making clear, humans, on the whole, are not good long-term thinkers, and currently I can think of no scenario that would make good odds for a successful prolonged starship voyage. We'll do it eventually, but for now it would totally fail due to what the old mechanics' adage refers to as the "loose nut behind the wheel."Samnoreply@blogger.com