space exploration, change we don't need

Your logic fails. Humans are geared to explore, and youre telling us not to. FFS! You are a human. Do you not look tot he night sky and feel a calling? We have to go, once you realize this, youll be happier, because you seem REALLY effing cynical.

We don't explore, we conquer and consume.
Take a look on our history, after each explorer came an invasion with an army. North America is an example, but it happened everywhere on this globe. Where man had the tools he did not stop at exploring but started taking, grabbing the native land of others.

You see explorers are peaceful, but were not just explorers and history provides such evidence.

We need a new Prime Directive Mr. Spock.

Anyone else think it was kind of odd to call Spock, the 2nd in command, a simple mister? No Doctorate or PHD, no ultra graduate of consummate logic? Nothing more than mister? Of course he felt no offense, BUT STILL!

reply to post by XxRagingxPandaxX


You may find this video clip from a recent showing of "Wonders of the Universe" interesting, as it discusses the very same photograph and even includes a video sequence of the photos taken from Voyager 1. Skip to time index 10:30 for the section discussing the Voyager 1 photos and the perspective they provide.

It is amazing that we worry about "saving the planet" when in actuality it is doomed along with the rest of the solar system and even the galaxy. I suppose it is human nature to almost think that we, whether that be ourselves, or our very species, will be around forever, and thus need to come up with how we will survive the next challenge.

It takes something like the photo you posted, and realizing what a tiny insignificant speck our world is,even from the view of just our own solar system, much less the galaxy and universe as a whole. We are so tiny and insignificant, and yet so unique and special.

Because of the nature of our consciousness we tend to think that the time we have been here, including our known history, and our foreseen future, is a long time, but consider something said earlier in the video, that, assuming that our so far proven theories of how the universe works holds true, and our calculations of how and when the universe will finally completely die hold true, that the ENTIRE EXISTENCE OF MAN, THE TIME UNTIL OUR FIRST RECORDED HISTORY UNTIL OUR PLANET IS CONSUMED BY OUR SUN WHEN IT BECOMES A RED GIANT, THIS PERIOD OF TIME, AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE LIFE OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE, IS

"one thousandth, of a billion-billion-billionth, of a billion-billion-billionth, of a billion-billion-billionth, of a percent".

So, really think about that for a minute. Don't just read it and scroll on, Let that soak in. Look at that picture of the earth from afar, a tiny speck, realize that all of our existence, not just your own life, not just the life of your mother, grandmother, your children, grandchildren, ALL LIFE THAT EVER WAS AND EVER WILL BE, is nothing but a fleeting instant in the life span of the universe.

Depending on your outlook, that can be either incredibly depressing or completely amazing.

There is nothing to destroy or kill in space. As far as we know, all space bodies are a lifeless desert. These places can be only enriched by human presence.

The Earth HATES life it HATES it. The Earth just wants to be a barren rock without plants or animals invading it. That is why the Earth shoots out massive amounts of Lava in the form of Volcano's to attempt to kill all life infecting it. "Die life Die!" -Sincerely, The Earth

It is humankinds nature too explore. To see what is around the next bend. It is a hunger to have a stiff breeze behind your back; filling your sails to discover new lands or planets.
Outer space, beckons humankind, like Captain Ahab beckoned his crew to go after the Great White Whale, in the story: Moby Dick.
Remember, we are all made up of stardust and water. What better way could their be, than by getting back to our roots by exploring outer space?

Personally, I think that ocean exploration should come before space exploration. There is SO much on this planet that we havent seen yet.

I do think that exploring space has merit though. Who's to say the cure for cancer isnt out there in some alien organic form? Whats to say we wont learn where we came from by exploring other planets?

Not to mention, like it or not, there is something to be said for the fact that space exploration is a race, and not participating in that race could weaken nations.

Originally posted by XxRagingxPandaxX
reply to post by Silcone Synapse

 

The sun giving out is gonna be billions of years from now and if we don't save the Earth we won't make it till the sun gives out. And there are no comets even near us. Not only that looking from the Earths stand point if a disaster did happen it would be like wiping out a skin disease. But the point is we have more to fear from ourselves than comets and the sun giving out in billions of years.

I hear what you say.
We have more to fear from our own species than any space based threat.
But that is only at this moment in time.
The planet could at any time shake us off like the parasites we have become.
And we could learn and change maybe...

My arguement is that even if we all learn how to put back what we take,and make a perfect earth-we could still be hit by any natural event-maybe not even from space,could be the earth enters another unstable stage/part of the cosmos, or whatever.

However well we look after the planet,there is always the chance of a wild card natural event which we probably have not foreseen happening IMO.

That is why I believe we should pursue space travel/habitats and the like.
We are built to expand it appears.
Sure we have problems so far,but we are young and we can learn,
We will have to I think.

reply to post by XxRagingxPandaxX


these aren't comets, how about asteroids? all the asteroids discovered from 1980-2010. green are asteroids that are highly unlikely to ever come close to earth, yellow more likely and red, well....red are bad.




If for no other reason asteroids will be the one thing that gets us off the earth and further into the solar system and eventually beyond. We're a species of unlimited potential, we've proved it by gaining supremacy on this planet and our swift technological incline. We've made mistakes, many of them are hard to undue and take a lot of time and resources. That doesn't mean we're unworthy , or that we should be glad to be eradicated.

Space exploration, even the limited amount we've done, brings and has brought to us many technological advances that are to the benefit of the planet and humanity as a whole. Perhaps when we start colonizing other worlds it'll bring other benefits, more space for the various "tribes" of humanity , more resources via planets and asteroid mining, greater understanding of the universe and it's underlying structures and principles...etc.

The self loathing(in regards to humanity) that i see in threads like these from time to time is both saddening and sickening. That's what it is when people like the OP start talking about how we deserve to be wiped from the earth or how we aren't worthy of exploring this wonderful universe we were lucky enough to be brought into.

There are many things about humanity that will be a long time coming in changing (war one among them) that doesn't mean we shouldn't strive for the stars, in fact i think we need to strive harder and farther than ever before. There's so much to learn and see in this universe and we haven't even been past our moon. If that doesn't excite you, then you have never really looked at how big and wondrous our universe really is.