From: Hal Finney (hal@finney.org)
Date: Mon Jun 10 2002 - 21:51:13 MDT
Spike writes:
> Great post Hal. I disagree with this part. It is easy for me to
> imagine that a very advanced civilization might manage to cross
> interstellar distances of a few light years but not be able to
> manage the 10K or so light years of emptiness between
> the Milky Way and even the closer dwarf galaxies.
>
> I could even imagine an advanced lifeform crossing interstellar
> space near the galactic core only and deciding the stellar
> burbs out here are just too sparse to make it worth the effort.
That's possible. OTOH the intergalactic spaces have less dust and gas
so there would be fewer problems in travelling close to light speed.
And presumably there are a few intergalactic stars scattered about
which could serve as oases and refueling depots if that were necessary.
Assuming that interstellar travel is possible at all, it seems unlikely
to me that a barrier will arise at a distance of a few thousand light
years, one which a galactic civilization could not surmount.
Maybe part of the issue is, why is the civilization expanding? IMO we
have to look beyond traditional reasons like population pressure from a
3% biological growth rate. With super-advanced technology, people will
reproduce exactly as fast as they desire. If a civilization is expanding,
it's because they want to. It's because they believe in expansion, and
they inherently value increasing their territory and their population.
These people believe that spreading life into a dead universe makes it a
better place, and frankly I agree with them. Beings who have some such
psychology will come to dominate the expansion, so this is the kind of
attitude I see as driving the spread of life. They will make a strong
effort to move into adjacent, dead galaxies and bring them to life.
Hal
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