From: Eugene Leitl (eugene.leitl@lrz.uni-muenchen.de)
Date: Sat Oct 21 2000 - 14:34:15 MDT
Robin Hanson writes:
> My model assumes fixed technology. If technology changed, we'd have
> to make assumptions about who gets it first to figure out who that
> benefits.
This is a sane assumption, and not just for simplicity's sake. Even
the most advanced technology will be limited by physical laws. Even an
antimatter-powered space probe will need time to deccelerate, find and
mine the resources. (Of course, if your propulsion is onboard you can
make intergalactic leaps quite easily, and would not be limited to
hops of just stellar distances, which are inefficient due to
acceleration/decceleration cycles).
Here's a technology which can expand almost as fast as the light cone
over essentially arbitrary distances. Scary.
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