Alexander 'Sasha' Chislenko wrote:
>Meanwhile, is there anybody with some HTML skills and/or a few extra
>dollars and a will to use them to promote worthy causes?
Mr. Bishop,
I would very much like to help in the privately funded project to
industrialize and colonize MARS. I believe successful industrialization
and colonization of MARS hinges on growth and development of key
technology. The cable television DISCOVERY CHANNEL featured a
scientific research project currently in progress at NASA. The NASA
project is TERRY FORMING. TERRY FORMING is the process of transforming
environmental and atmospheric conditions existing on other planets in
such a way as to make the
environmental and atmospheric conditions existing on other planets more
earth like.
I believe the success of TERRY FORMING depends on the growth and development of NANOTECHNOLOGY as espoused by Dr. K. Eric Drexler, in his book ENGINES OF CREATION (Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Copyright 1986). Imagine trillions of replicating atomic scale assemblers and disassemblers released into the atmosphere of a planet with a hostile environment. The assemblers and disassemblers are under control of an atomic scale nano computer. The assemblers and disassembers immediately go to work changing poison gases into appropriate levels of oxygen and nitrogen.
Mr. Bishop, you state that this privately funded project will deploy near term technology. I have a question for anyone on this list that can answer it. Why do scientist make such long range forecast in terms of new scientific discoveries allowing expansion of mankinds capabilities?
I read about predictions that it will take 100 or 200 years to accomplish such and such. It seems to me that such predictions discount the incrediable power associated and inherent in each new scientific discovery. I tend to believe that such long range predictions is a meme planted inside the scientific community for the purpose of stalling scientific progress.
In the book ENGINES OF CREATION by Dr. K. Eric Drexler, Dr. Drexler makes long range forecast, but, provides a discussion concerning how artificial intelligence can greatly accelerate design and engineering. I think long range forecast are contradictory to the to the inherent power of current and expanding technology.
Mr. Bishop, I belief projects such as Industrialization and Colonization of Mars proposed by The Institute of Atomic-Scale Engineering will give the human race something to shoot for, other than shooting at each other. I believe public excitement and enthusiasm for The Industrialization and Colonization of Mars project will promote scientific progress.
I believe that Industrialization and Colonization of our Universe will have to be accomplished by private non-governmental interest. I believe scientific progress is so mind boggling that Lawmakers are not able to govern in new emerging areas in society and culture. The new emerging areas in society and culture are a consequence of scientific advancments.
Lawmakers are very confused. I believe the current DOG FIGHT in the United States capital reflects confusion and is counter productive to scientific progress. The URL below provides more information on this point:
Phil Goetz (goetz@zoesis.com) wrote:
>I think colonizing the Earth's oceans would be a far easier and more
>profitable venture -- perhaps a logical first step.
>Phil
>Many others agree with you and have formed a organization for that very
>purpose, even though space colonization is their ultimate goal:
>Paul
"den Otter" <neosapient@geocities.com > wrote:
>Planetary colonization (as opposed to ocean colonization) does have
>at least one great advantage:
>True autonomy; if you could launch a private colonization effort
>of, say, Mars within 10-20 years, you could claim the entire planet
>(or solar system for that matter) and no government could stop
>you. Their silly space treaties would be useless without fleets of
>starships to back them up, and somehow I don't think the
>cumbersome and uninspired government space programs
>are going to produce any of those anytime soon. Even if
>they manage to shoot something at you, you still have a
>year or so to intercept/blow it to bits. Think about it: claiming
>a whole planet just by planting a flag (if you even bother with
>that), and getting away with it. Also, in case things should turn
>nasty on earth (nuclear war, grey goo etc.), Mars is a great
>retreat. Far enough to be safe, close enough to keep in touch
>(and stay abreast with the latest tech), lots of raw material to
>use and a nice gravity well to keep those feeble fleshbodies fit
>until you can upload or become a cyborg.
>Nonetheless, it would never hurt to set up an ocean colony, if
>only for "rehearsal" (like the Millennium org's setup), certainly
>if your budget is relatively small. Though far inferior to space
>colonization (forget real autonomy or safety), it certainly beats
>doing nothing at all.
I tend to agree with the viewpoint of Mr. Den Otter, as posted above. On earth, arbitrarily defined geographical boundries will always be the focal point of border disputes and war. The earth is too small. The mind boggling nature of an infinite universe will promote peace because it will be more difficult for technical beauracrats to lay down a precise border as a boundry. Ocean colonization will provide good practice to colonize the final frontier of space.
Sincerely,
Mark Gaffney
http://www.alltel.net/~zebra/
zebra@alltel.net