Comments on: Step 1: Put humans in space at any cost. Step 2: ??? Step 3: Utopia.

By: Evan

Evan — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 01:03:39 +0000

Are the colonize space! cheerleaders ready to be on that first shuttle flight to the construction site? Bueller? Anyone?

Strawman. Yes, many many thousands of space enthusiasts would eagerly volunteer to be on the first shuttle, or the second, or the hundredth. Hell, a lot of them would give their left arms for a chance at a ticket.

By: FoolishOwl

FoolishOwl — Sun, 18 Jun 2006 00:17:53 +0000

Has anyone else read Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars series? He’s a “hard” science fiction writer, as in, he did lots of research. He’s also a lefty, and most of the story involves political struggles and whatnot. Anyway, it’s a series of novels about colonizing and terraforming Mars, and it thoroughly convinced me that colonizing and terraforming Mars would be a stupid idea, even if it were possible, which it probably won’t be. The only thing that seemed to justify colonizing Mars in Robinson’s books was the creation of radically new, experimental cultures — and doing that doesn’t require a separate planet.

By: Amanda Marcotte

Amanda Marcotte — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 22:05:36 +0000

This entire discussion of giving up on Earth and starting a colony on Mars just makes me think of this for some reason.

By: Chris Clarke

Chris Clarke — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 21:58:36 +0000

These people are usually pretty smart (a lot of computer programmers, for example) and can pull physical trivia out of their ass far better than I can, referencing this guy’s vaugely used law or that largely ignored study. They are also, to a man (and 99 times out of 100, it’s a man), conservative/libertarian sci-fi fans with shall we say, issues socializing. But they are passionate about getting people into space.

You know, for all the shit my post kicked up, I was too chicken to say what you just said.

You are officially my hero.

By: Indy

Indy — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 20:55:23 +0000

Just to nitpick, the actual location of the Roanoke is in north carolina. Roanoke, Virginia, is a decent sized town in the mountains, founded much later.

though, i really doubt there was much going on in Roanoke, VA in 1586, either.

Its a cool story. They got dropped off there, abandoned for a couple years (war, financial troubles, their backer fell out of favor w/ the virgin queen), and when someone finally went back to check on them, they found an intact settlement with no people on it- no bodies, no signs of fire or violence, just one word, carved into a tree- “Croatan”.

may refer to a nearby island, or to indians, or something. no one knows. 120 people just fucking vanished.

I came home from school one day, and my mom had left me a note with just the word “Croatan” on it.

turns out she just went to the store, but it sure had me worried for a second.

By: junk science

junk science — Sat, 17 Jun 2006 19:48:50 +0000

I wouldn’t trust NASA to fix me a bowl of cereal without accidentally pouring oven cleaner in it, much less send me into space.