Charlie StrossNov 1

Random Fermi Paradox solution of the day:

Nobody goes into space and colonizes the galaxy because only Moon Nazis want to do that, and after experiencing a few dozen genocides all sapient species learn the safest thing to do when you see a Moon Nazi is to murder them immediately, it's the only way to avoid the genocides.

Show threadPete Alex Harris🦡🕸️🌲/∞🪐∫Nov 1

@cstross
Nobody goes into space and colonises their galaxy because it's an insane, incoherent goal with no possible return on the investment of energy and resources. Only civilisations infected by the Infinite Growth mind-virus pursue such goals, and their home planets … don't make it.

I sure hope our civilisation isn't throwing irrecoverable resources into a project that can definitely never pay for itself just to make the number go up for as long as possible.

Show threadIsaac Ji KuoNov 1

@petealexharris @cstross I think that "colonizing" the galaxy is a reasonable goal, but the "problem" is that the rational way to go about it would take a lot longer than the age of the universe so far.

For the most part, interstellar probes can provide desired scientific exploration info about far away star systems, and these will not be very noticeable for us.

Space colonization makes most sense within a star system, with expansion to other star systems only making sense during close flybys.

Show threadIsaac Ji KuoNov 1

@petealexharris @cstross So here's the thing. Star system flybys are not very common. As such, it's just plain going to take a really long time to expand throughout the whole galaxy.

So "the" solution to the Fermi paradox might simply be that the galaxy is young compared to how long it would plausibly take for our solar system to be colonized by another civilization.

Show threadPete Alex Harris🦡🕸️🌲/∞🪐∫Nov 1
@isaackuo @cstross
I think it isn't a reasonable goal at all, and suspect the idea gets way too much unwarranted, unexamined acceptance because we're embedded in a culture with a distorted view of the same-planet colonisations our ancestors hailed as successes. But it's not the same thing; there are no precedents at all for it. It's a plan to burn vast resources irrevocably and bring back nothing to replace their lost value.
Show threadIsaac Ji KuoNov 1

@petealexharris @cstross We do lots of things that consume vast resources that bring nothing of value. I think it's a quintessential mistake to demand that human activity produce something "of value".

For example, a lot of people enjoy going on vacations to see ... I dunno penguins or Paris or something. Doesn't do a lick of good toward producing something "of value". So what? That shouldn't be the purpose of a human life.

Show threadPete Alex Harris🦡🕸️🌲/∞🪐∫
@isaackuo @cstross
It doesn't cost ten billion dollars to visit Paris for a day. If it did, nobody would do it, even though they'd all agree, as I do, that not everything we value can be measured economically.
When we have the luxury of ignoring the opportunity cost, we can decide what outcome we prefer from our expenditure much more freely. Interstellar travel comes with a non-ignorable opportunity cost due to the scale of the problem, which we do NOT have an intuitive grasp of.
Nov 1 at 7:29pmWeb
Show threadIsaac Ji KuoNov 1
@petealexharris @cstross I'm not talking about interstellar travel. I'm talking about space "colonization" within a star system. It's very expensive for us now, but may not be for aliens who start off on a slightly less massive planet, or it may not be for us in the future with more technology and infrastructure.