Future article idea re. Fermi Paradox....my hypothesis is that there is a "political great filter" in addition to biological/tech great filters. Some political systems may be just better to get to space than others.
For all we know, there are human-like aliens 300 light years way but they have been frozen in time at the level of Middle Ages feudalism because of constant warlord warfare (like 6th-century Europe or the Chinese warring states period)
What is the optimal political system to get us to Alpha Centauri and beyond?
1962 USA could get us to Mars, but not post-1992 USA.
1938 Germany or 17th-century France were great at getting national projects done, but having a "cult of personality" political system means that the future of your civilization literally depends on 4 people who may be psychopaths and/or incompetent.
Without cohesive leadership and civilization-level will, humans are just a swam of ants.
For all we know, North Korea's Juche may be the most efficient form of government. (hope not, but it is amazing what North Korea has done with literally near nothing beyond human will, cohesion and coercion).
Excellent comment! Those are some really good points. While there has to be some sort of competent and centralized power structure to get us into space, it doesn't happen without competition. I think it's our moral and ethical duty to expand off-world, which is something I'll touch on in future posts. But what you've described could make for a great series of short stories or novels, kind of like how Stargate SG-1 visited a bunch of different societies. Sci-fi is always good for exploring contemporary themes.
Maybe they're out there, some time in the last second took a good look at our planet before hopping in their spaceship for a jaunt around our galaxy, saw what was happening & decided this was a neighborhood to avoid. I know I would. 🤷
Y'know, I wonder just how interesting we are. I may be a bit biased as a human, but I think we're pretty fascinating. Imagine seeing hairless apes go from throwing sharp sticks at each other to using nukes and flying around in just a couple thousand years. IMO if we can get through the next ~10-20 years peacefully we'll come out the other side in far better shape to get ourselves at least into near space colonization.
There's a half dozen geckos in my office that act as both company and natural pest control. I like them. Oh, and re: birds — there's an electric blue kingfisher in my neighborhood that I swear I'll get a photo of someday, but he's really fast so it's a challenge
Can I ask where you learned writing or what you studied? I find your style of writing intriguing. I definitely have a drive for philosophy but don't really know where to start. Where does one find a good teacher
Pardon the late reply — this one fell through the cracks. I studied International Relations but had to unlearn a lot I learned from academic writing. Spent the last few years writing web content in a bunch of different sectors so just had lots of practice. A good editor can be a wonderful way to improve your writing as long as you can keep your ego from getting hurt by being edited. For me, that's the difference between a professional and an amateur writer: The amateur gets butthurt by being edited, while the professional says thanks for the edits. I definitely got butthurt sometimes when I was first starting out
great article!
Future article idea re. Fermi Paradox....my hypothesis is that there is a "political great filter" in addition to biological/tech great filters. Some political systems may be just better to get to space than others.
For all we know, there are human-like aliens 300 light years way but they have been frozen in time at the level of Middle Ages feudalism because of constant warlord warfare (like 6th-century Europe or the Chinese warring states period)
What is the optimal political system to get us to Alpha Centauri and beyond?
1962 USA could get us to Mars, but not post-1992 USA.
1938 Germany or 17th-century France were great at getting national projects done, but having a "cult of personality" political system means that the future of your civilization literally depends on 4 people who may be psychopaths and/or incompetent.
Without cohesive leadership and civilization-level will, humans are just a swam of ants.
For all we know, North Korea's Juche may be the most efficient form of government. (hope not, but it is amazing what North Korea has done with literally near nothing beyond human will, cohesion and coercion).
Excellent comment! Those are some really good points. While there has to be some sort of competent and centralized power structure to get us into space, it doesn't happen without competition. I think it's our moral and ethical duty to expand off-world, which is something I'll touch on in future posts. But what you've described could make for a great series of short stories or novels, kind of like how Stargate SG-1 visited a bunch of different societies. Sci-fi is always good for exploring contemporary themes.
COSMIC ANCESTRY Life comes from space because life comes from life
https://www.panspermia.org/index.htm
https://www.panspermia.org/SETI-Paper.pdf
The Octopus specifically is discussed at length, which brought me here.
This idea goes back to Fred Hoyle, today carried on by Chandra Wickramasinghe.
See his report on the origins of COVID for a real shock.
Thanks for the share, I'll check it out!
Maybe they're out there, some time in the last second took a good look at our planet before hopping in their spaceship for a jaunt around our galaxy, saw what was happening & decided this was a neighborhood to avoid. I know I would. 🤷
Y'know, I wonder just how interesting we are. I may be a bit biased as a human, but I think we're pretty fascinating. Imagine seeing hairless apes go from throwing sharp sticks at each other to using nukes and flying around in just a couple thousand years. IMO if we can get through the next ~10-20 years peacefully we'll come out the other side in far better shape to get ourselves at least into near space colonization.
I think you're a bit biased as a human.
I find horses, dogs & especially birds much more interesting than humans. Tiny winged dinosaurs fascinate me 😁
There's a half dozen geckos in my office that act as both company and natural pest control. I like them. Oh, and re: birds — there's an electric blue kingfisher in my neighborhood that I swear I'll get a photo of someday, but he's really fast so it's a challenge
Can I ask where you learned writing or what you studied? I find your style of writing intriguing. I definitely have a drive for philosophy but don't really know where to start. Where does one find a good teacher
Pardon the late reply — this one fell through the cracks. I studied International Relations but had to unlearn a lot I learned from academic writing. Spent the last few years writing web content in a bunch of different sectors so just had lots of practice. A good editor can be a wonderful way to improve your writing as long as you can keep your ego from getting hurt by being edited. For me, that's the difference between a professional and an amateur writer: The amateur gets butthurt by being edited, while the professional says thanks for the edits. I definitely got butthurt sometimes when I was first starting out
That's basically the plot of Mass Effect, isn't it?