It sounds like something out of sci-fi, doesn't it? Space can't be too far behind, so space travel. The ability to click our heels and be where we wish down here on Earth. I'm wondering, though, once these things we spent years dreaming and fantasizing about are accomplished and readily available, what will become of our fantasies? What will they look like once these once unattainable new realms are conquered?
This was a cool read :)
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Thanks. It is certainly Sci-Fi made real!
SpaceX ETS plans are particularly relevant for me personally because of having my older kids, parents and other family in Australia. It would make a huge difference if my Israel family and Australian family were able to be 2 hours apart instead of 24 hours apart.
I think that SpaceX's plans for settling Mars actually open up endless horizons for humanity, both physically and spatially and in terms of freedom to pursue all sorts of fantasies, including alternative social and governance arrangements and of course low and zero gravity sports and other physical activities :-).
Mars is just the start. It is a world with as much land area as Earth with no entrenched interests, native people or established players. A chance for hundreds of colonies to start again and build different versions of a better world - a bit like good crypto projects, but in the real world without regulation. The best will thrive and the good ideas will percolate back to Earth. This is what the USA did for the world in its early, frontier years.
It is also what happened in Israel with the early Kibbutzim and Moshavim exploring all sorts of alternative communal arrangements which are not possible in existing communities or inhabited places (eg fully Vegetarian, fully communal with all property shared & many others).
Settlement there then opens up the Asteroid Belt (which is immense) to mining and later settlement.
A triangular trade will exist with Mars supplying food and low tech stuff to The Belt, Earth supplying High-tech stuff to Mars and The Belt supplying raw materials (esp metals) to Earth.
The technologies arising from this will allow settlement of the whole Solar System and ultimately inter-stellar travel and settlement of planets around other stars.
I recommend reading Dr Zubrin's The New World on Mars as all this is fleshed out in great detail.
I also recommend Kim Stanley Robinson's Red Mars, Green Mars, Blue Mars series for a fictionalised take that is even more relevant today than it was when first published 32 years ago.
Yes, I certainly thought of that while reading this. An important difference, especially as your kids get older and will presumably start having families of their own. Well, hopefully Elon gets to work :)
Oh completely. It's hugely exciting. It's a good comparison with early America, I liked that from your previous post. I always think, watching films about that era, that sure America's kinda fucked now, but imagine being alive then and being able to witness that immense expanse of possibility. Speaking of, this conversation brought The Expanse to mind, with their Belters and Earth-Mars perpetual mistrust (really fun watch/read if you're in this frame of mind). Also of Hamilton (Peter F this time). I haven't had a chance to read Kim Stanley Robinson, but I keep hearing the name. Thank you for both recommendations (Zubrin was already on my list from our previous conversation) :D
I love The Expanse. Watched it 3 times through already!
Excellent on the tech and general reality of settlement of the solar system - a topic rarely dealt with in SciFi, but much closer at hand than the more popular interstellar adventures.
The idea that Belters will be poor and downtrodden makes great fiction, but is contrary to the basic economics.
For a long time, labour will be in very short supply off Earth, like early America, because of costs of getting people there and because an ever expanding frontier keeps pulling people further out.
Mining asteroids is very skilled and dangerous labour and will command premium wages, just like working on oil rigs does on Earth. In Australia, miners and offshore rig workers earn huge money.
Even if the low G did cause the inability to return to Earth G over generations, these people wouldn't be trapped but would be in huge demand, including for further expansion.
Another of my favourites (not just because of the shared surname). I think I've read all his books. I just re-read Misspent Youth before Hive Fest. Was super interesting reading a 25 year old SciFi projection of today. Many things in the book came true or even better - some for me personally :-) -, but others he got completely wrong.
The Expanse really hooks you in, doesn't it? Hamilton, too. I never know what to read from him next. They're great fun (and really strong writing), even if not everything comes true. I think that's part of the fun. I love older books that are set in the 2020s or nearby. Like hearing someone talking about you. I'm realizing now I haven't read Misspent Youth. Too many books, much too little time.
That makes sense. We keep asking where and how people are gonna work when many jobs become obsolete thanks to AI. But we only look to Earth, and that's fair. Fear always makes people short-sighted. I'm glad Belters wouldn't have it so bad, at least at first. I'm glad there might be hope :)
You should definitely read Misspent Youth. Its quite short and I think you'll find it very interesting.