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What Will It Take for Humans to Colonize the Milky Way?
Scientific American ^ | 1/13/16 | Kim Stanley Robinson

Posted on 01/13/2016 9:28:58 PM PST by LibWhacker

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To: LibWhacker
Forget arks. We're going to have to do it with speedy starships

Forget speedy starships, the galaxy will be populated by humans if humans develop sufficiently advanced AI,robotics, genetics, embryonic and seed storage as to send automated arks full of all the basic frozen ingredients to seed a planet upon arriving at a suitable one.

The AI and firstborn humans might find the planet already inhabited with life and even decide that the planet is not really suitable for Earth life unless the Earth forms are hybridized with native life in order to adapt to the planet.

A program of abduction, genetic testing and release would commence. If the native life is intelligent, you would want to make sure you maintain secrecy all throughout the hybridization and infiltration process until your numbers were sufficient and looked enough like the native beings to pass for one.

61 posted on 01/14/2016 3:36:05 AM PST by Sirius Lee (Cruz or Lose 2016)
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To: tenger
And regarding intelligent life outside of Earth? We assume that any kind of being is superior and more intelligent than us. What if they're dumber than a box of rocks? What then?

Are we superior and more intelligent than Socrates, Aristotle, Virgil, and Homer, despite our technology?

And we assume that any visitors will be wise and beneficent because of their technology. Well, maybe the creators of the technology. Not necessarily the users. Look at the Somali pirates -- they have USAGE of high technology they themselves don't really understand. We might just get visited by the interstellar equivalent of the Somalis.

62 posted on 01/14/2016 3:43:49 AM PST by PapaBear3625 (Big government is attractive to those who think that THEY will be in control of it.)
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To: dr_lew

I wrote a science fiction saga that had these themes:

1. The Universe is breathtakingly hostile to Life.
2. Life was never supposed to be here at all and exists in only one place.
3. Life exists on Earth only because it was seeded here four billion years ago by aliens from another, life friendly, universe.
4. That life was designed to evolve to create humans, but they will never be able to flit around in space.
5. Humans have a job to do.

Ties all the mysteries up in a neat bundle.


63 posted on 01/14/2016 3:46:48 AM PST by trenton1776
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To: tenger
What if they're dumber than a box of rocks? What then?

They'll be green carded, put on welfare, and turned into Democratic voters asap. I think this may already have happened, and it's being covered up.

64 posted on 01/14/2016 4:01:15 AM PST by sphinx
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To: LibWhacker

What, you mean the democrats haven’t already been there to register them to vote?!?


65 posted on 01/14/2016 4:10:27 AM PST by Caipirabob (Communists... Socialists... Democrats...Traitors... Who can tell the difference?)
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To: Windflier

Sorry but even at many times the speed of light it still would take millions of years to go anywhere we are stuck on on this rock get use to it


66 posted on 01/14/2016 4:11:53 AM PST by al baby (Hi Mom yes I know)
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To: LibWhacker

The laws of economics probably work the same way everywhere that they do here and that is probably the reason for the Fermi Paradox. The distances between main-sequence stars are so great as to prohibit physical interstellar travel. I.e., there is nothing you could possibly bring back from a trip to another main-sequence star system which would come close to justifying the cost of the trip. The ONLY thing you’d ever want from another star is information.


67 posted on 01/14/2016 4:48:31 AM PST by ganeemead
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To: LibWhacker

Either way what is required would be TIME. Either time to travel at lower speeds or time to develop better technology. Shorter term moon/mars colonies will assist in developing technology and working out some of the problems, but no one knows what to expect beyond the solar system for sure as the only thing that has made it past the heliosphere is voyager.


68 posted on 01/14/2016 5:08:33 AM PST by reed13k (w)
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To: LibWhacker

A long time


69 posted on 01/14/2016 5:09:47 AM PST by kanawa
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To: minnesota_bound

Instead of a Milky Way, I’d rather colonize a 3 Musketeers.


70 posted on 01/14/2016 5:23:07 AM PST by elcid1970 ("The Second Amendment is more important than Islam.")
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To: doorgunner69

Another possibility is that we find out how to turn the genetic trigger for old age off or the one for indefinite long life on. So if there aren’t any insurmountable mental problems we could perhaps operate on huge continuous time scales without having to rely on future generations to continue our really long term projects.

Freegards


71 posted on 01/14/2016 5:46:23 AM PST by Ransomed
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To: minnesota_bound

I prefer Payday.


72 posted on 01/14/2016 6:33:00 AM PST by Resolute Conservative
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To: LibWhacker

Well, Phillip was instantly transported in the New Testament book of Acts. So I think life as we know it will be very different after the return of Yeshua Meshiah.

Lots of fun to think about. Walking on water, calming storms, creating storms, living to be 500 (maybe the 120 yr curse will be lifted), all vegetarians (sorry bacon lovers) as are the animals, and no new war veterans since the angels and resurrected dead from the Great Tribulation will be around to protect and bad, bad, nations get no rain.

This is my Father’s universe and things will be very different.


73 posted on 01/14/2016 6:43:38 AM PST by huldah1776
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To: LibWhacker

First things first. Colonize the MOON, then Mars.


74 posted on 01/14/2016 6:46:56 AM PST by tet68 ( " We would not die in that man's company, that fears his fellowship to die with us...." Henry V.)
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To: LibWhacker

Maybe we should coax a UFO into telling us how they do it? /s


75 posted on 01/14/2016 8:24:29 AM PST by seeker7_dj (Things work out best for those who make the best of the way things work out)
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To: LibWhacker

Many 1000’s of years.


76 posted on 01/14/2016 8:26:49 AM PST by <1/1,000,000th%
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To: LibWhacker
What Will It Take for Humans to Colonize the Milky Way

1. Someone to DISprove Einstein's FACT that NOTHING can exceed the speed of light.
2. Someone to invent the Warp Drive

77 posted on 01/14/2016 8:39:32 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: r_barton
What Will It Take for Humans to Colonize the Milky Way?

I'd think that SOMEONE in the offices of SciAm would know that we already are 'colonizing' the Milky Way!


78 posted on 01/14/2016 8:42:06 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: WhiskeyX
Condemning generations of unborn innocent people to spend their lives in some nightmare, totalitarian prison ark is inhumane, unethical in the extreme.”

Are we not on an ark like this NOW?

79 posted on 01/14/2016 8:43:33 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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To: doug from upland

GMTA!


80 posted on 01/14/2016 8:43:47 AM PST by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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