Alien Life, Interstellar Travel, and Million year Civilizations

[Ryujin]

The discussion keeps taking my mind here:

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

Oh I think life is ridiculously common in the universe. Too bad the distances involved make it impractical to go say hello.

 

[Umbran]

The question isn't whether a single society can survive that long but whether a successive collection of them can do so without hyperdestructive interims.

Or, the Civilization of Theseus - bits of it get changed and altered from time to time, but there's a continuity across time with no clear dividing lines.

 

[Umbran]

To be clear, I am not saying that at all. What I am suggesting is that given how hard it would be, there would be far better uses for that level of scientific and engineering power and the resources necessary.

You are perhaps not aware of the driving force of Big Audacious Goals on technological advancement?

You could put a self sustaining outpost on every moon in the solar system for what it would take to make a single ship that could carry 50,000 people across hundreds of light years over thousands of years.

And you have not considered that the self-sustaining outposts are a necessary precursor to interstellar travel at sublight speeds?

We haven't even begun to talk about HOW to go about the path, and you're dismissing it because it doesn't produce what you would prefer? That's... not fair, and perhaps not as well-considered as it should be.

 

[Umbran]

To be clear, I am not saying that at all. What I am suggesting is that given how hard it would be, there would be far better uses for that level of scientific and engineering power and the resources necessary.

By the way, this form of argument is most usually seen as a misdirection. The pattern goes like this:

A: We want to do this Big, Difficult Thing!
B: But, there are so many more basic things we could do with those resources! We should do those, instead.
A: Okay, we won't take on Big, Difficult Thing right now...
...time passes...
A: Okay, about those Basic Things you mentioned...
B: No.

It is not enough to give lip service to other things. If you don't commit to them, we have no reason to take the argument seriously.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The discussion keeps taking my mind here:

Metamorphosis Alpha the TV show.

 

[Ryujin]

Metamorphosis Alpha the TV show.

Launched 3 years before the game and created by Harlan Ellison, who was (unsurprisingly) less than happy with the final result.

 

[dragoner]

I loved the lost generation ship, from a game I ran 13 years ago using mongoose traveller and strontium dog, the players crashed in the swamp after fighting bat like swamp fungals:

 

[Thomas Shey]

Launched 3 years before the game and created by Harlan Ellison, who was (unsurprisingly) less than happy with the final result.

Well, besides other problems showing a serialized story out of order always does such good things for it.

 

[Ryujin]

Well, besides other problems showing a serialized story out of order always does such good things for it.

Apart from that he really didn't like having his stories "edited" and was miffed about the lack of budget. It was shot at the CFTO Toronto studios, in north Toronto (Scarborough).