From: Lee Corbin (lcorbin@tsoft.com)
Date: Sun Jun 09 2002 - 12:35:26 MDT
Samantha writes
> > This is a model for the way that we want to explode
> > into the future. Another metaphor: we should colonize
> > every star in the galaxy at about the same time, none
> > of this "picking only the closest and going one by one".
> >
> What on earth (or off it) for?
>
> >To bring life to unliving matter. To allow people to live
> >who otherwise never would.
>
> Assuming of course that we don't screw with stars that already
> have life around them and leave room for that life to also grow,
> I have no great problem here. Except that I find it odd that I
> am accused of "bubris" [hubris, sorry] when I speak of tuning
> our economic system more realistically and appropriately to
> what we wish to accomplish yet you believe it is only natural
> and write that you speak about colonizing every star in the
> galaxy and even having entire galaxies obey your whim. Something
> is just a tad out of kilter here. Don't you think?
I'm probably not being inconsistent. We know for certain
that re-designing economies and enormously complicated
human societies is beyond our ability. We can only nudge
here and there a little, as you'd probably agree.
But bringing life to the cosmos appears relatively straight-
forward. Uploaded entities can be cloned at will, and our
own solar system contains enough resources to target many
thousands of other stars, which in turn can target all the
rest. So this task is not *impractical* as is re-designing
our economy (say to get rid of capitalism).
Now you wish to pass on, I'm sure, to the moral question of
whether we should even attempt to colonize the universe.
First, if it's already inhabited, then our efforts won't
come to anything more than the efforts of ants to take over
my house (I always win). If it's inhabited, but only by lower
forms of life (e.g. algae and spiders), then it's high time
that that matter learned how to really live.
But make sure that whatever answer to give to that apply
consistently to you when you next decide to recapture your
bathroom from its present insectoid and microscopic
occupants.
Lee
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