Front Page

Content

Authors

Game Index

Forums

Site Tools

Submissions

About

KK
Kevin Klemme
March 09, 2020
35142 2
Hot
KK
Kevin Klemme
January 27, 2020
20816 0
Hot
KK
Kevin Klemme
August 12, 2019
7404 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
December 19, 2023
3965 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
December 14, 2023
3491 0
Hot

Mycelia Board Game Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
December 12, 2023
2074 0
O
oliverkinne
December 07, 2023
2582 0

River Wild Board Game Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
December 05, 2023
2250 0
O
oliverkinne
November 30, 2023
2494 0
J
Jackwraith
November 29, 2023
3009 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
November 28, 2023
1971 0
S
Spitfireixa
October 24, 2023
3692 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
October 17, 2023
2619 0
O
oliverkinne
October 10, 2023
2461 0
O
oliverkinne
October 09, 2023
2289 0
O
oliverkinne
October 06, 2023
2505 0

Outback Crossing Review

Board Game Reviews
×
Bugs: Recent Topics Paging, Uploading Images & Preview (11 Dec 2020)

Recent Topics paging, uploading images and preview bugs require a patch which has not yet been released.

× A place to talk about stuff that doesn't belong anywhere else.

Would you colonize Mars?

More
13 Jan 2017 16:31 #242386 by Gregarius
With Terraforming Mars such a big hit lately, and more Mars-related games on the way, this could be an interesting topic.

Shellhead wrote:

Mad Dog wrote: I didn't care for Signs but in defense of the ending, we want to go colonize Mars and the entire airless planet is death to us.


Unless we someday terraform the hell out of Mars, only a scientist should want to live there. It would be like living in Antarctica, only colder and without oxygen.


There are different schools of thought about how Mars should be colonized. Just for the sake of this thread, let's assume that anyone who went would not be coming back. You are like the Pilgrims on the Mayflower. You've given up everything you have for a chance to make a new start in a hostile environment. Succeed or fail, you cannot return. Would you do it?

For me, personally, I would love to go to Mars. There's something amazing about that idea, and it wouldn't bother me if my only epitaph is "First idiot to Die on Mars." Of course, I have no skills that would be of value to a fledgling colony, so I guess Elon Musk won't be asking me along. Unless they need an Entertainment Director like Julie on Love Boat. I'd be happy to pick games and movies for the crew to enjoy. Maybe start up a dodgeball league.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Nodens

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
13 Jan 2017 16:45 #242389 by ChristopherMD
There's plenty of adventure for me on my own planet.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
13 Jan 2017 16:49 #242390 by Black Barney
We have a perfectly good planet here that many people seem to hold little interest in saving or fixing. It's a gift having this planet. I like Elon Musk but I really think money being spent to explore colonization of Mars is really dumb. Let's make the most of this planet and make sure it stays healthy and home for us for as long as possible.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Varys

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
13 Jan 2017 17:05 #242393 by Gregarius
Replied by Gregarius on topic Would you colonize Mars?
It's not just about adventure. It's about doing something that's never been done before. Seeing things no one has ever seen. Being one brick in the road to the future.

There are absolutely amazing places I could visit on Earth. There are some incredibly important causes that could use more monetary support. But this is about creating a new reality, chasing a dream, expanding the human sphere.

I'm probably just crazy, but I think doing something fantastic is almost a reward in itself. The complaints the two of you bring up were probably said by millions during the race for the moon. But I'm glad we did it anyway. I'm proud of that achievement, even though I had nothing to do with it. That's why I'd like to have something to do with Mars, so that 100 years from now, some kid could be proud of something I was a part of.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Hex Sinister

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
13 Jan 2017 18:38 #242399 by Shellhead
Replied by Shellhead on topic Would you colonize Mars?

Black Barney wrote: We have a perfectly good planet here that many people seem to hold little interest in saving or fixing. It's a gift having this planet. I like Elon Musk but I really think money being spent to explore colonization of Mars is really dumb. Let's make the most of this planet and make sure it stays healthy and home for us for as long as possible.


I agree that we need to take much better care of Earth, precisely because we don't have any other place to live. As the Tick once said, "You can't devour the Earth, that's where I keep all my stuff." But both goals are important... we should take care of Earth and we should try to set up a viable and self-sufficient colony on at least one other planet.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
13 Jan 2017 21:26 #242405 by engineer Al
The human race is bred for expansion, and without any place to go we will just keep expanding on top of eachother. It's not for ME perhaps (I won't even get on a plane), but I do believe it is important that SOMEBODY goes. Maybe post some cool selfies on Facebook and such. . .

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
14 Jan 2017 05:32 #242410 by Nodens
Replied by Nodens on topic Would you colonize Mars?
Reminds me of an early episode of the Shut Up and Sit Down podcast where they answer a listeners' question: 'in the world of which boardgame would you like to live?'.
They start out with praise, what a great question, what a great thought experiment and the more they talk and think about it, all those worlds are either utterly mad or boring or way too dangerous.
Hooray Greg, we need people to go out and push the frontiers and I would in a way envy all those pioneers, but I already made some other plans, the kids will be home any second now and I think I should have a look at why there is smoke emanating from the kitchen.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
14 Jan 2017 06:52 #242412 by DukeofChutney
because we can create a portal to hell there and exploit it for its power and heavy metal.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Hex Sinister, wadenels

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
14 Jan 2017 07:48 #242414 by Erik Twice
Replied by Erik Twice on topic Would you colonize Mars?
Other than it being cool, I don't think it would serve any practical purporse and it takes away attention, skills and funding from more important endeavours. I would rather have people not go hungry or being able to be vaccinated than going to Mars.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Black Barney

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
14 Jan 2017 09:36 #242415 by Shellhead
Replied by Shellhead on topic Would you colonize Mars?
At our current level of technology, it takes great resources just to lift a few people out of the gravity well and keep them alive for a year in space. The cost to colonize Mars would be staggering. It wouldn't be enough to just send some people there. They would need to be self-sufficient in producing their own food and recycling and reusing their own oxygen and water. And there would need to be a lot of people there to provide a diverse set of genetics to avoid eventual in-breeding.

We're not ready to do this, and probably still won't be ready in 50 to 100 years. Meanwhile, the population of our planet more than doubled in the last 50 years, and will likely double at least one more time, pushing our ecosystem to the brink of ruin. That's assuming that some nasty plague doesn't wipe out a lot of us first. Or that climate change makes it too hard to continue to reliably feed everybody. Or that there is some sort of nuclear war, with enough nukes to ensure a nuclear winter for the planet afterwards. I doubt that the human race is going to pull our shit together during the limited window of opportunity when we have both sufficient technology and sufficient resources to move out into space. We will probably leave tentative foot prints on most worlds of our own solar system before falling back into the primordial ooze that spawned us. And maybe that is a good thing, to protect the universe at large from our petty greed and destruction.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
14 Jan 2017 10:07 #242416 by Black Barney
A lifeless planet isn't the answer anyway. Technology should advance first so we can find other worlds outside of our system that can support life. In the meantime, let's take care of our planet and each other. There's nothing wrong with Earth or our sun.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
14 Jan 2017 11:13 - 14 Jan 2017 11:24 #242420 by SuperflyPete
Signs (the film) wasn't about aliens. It was about demons. I saw it immediately but MNS confirmed it, making me feel smarter:http://www.somethingawful.com/news/wrestling-twister-an/

Now, hell yeh I'd colonize Mars. If I was President I'd assign half the military budget to that cause. I'd hire Elon Musk as Special Advisor for Science and Technology. He'd run that and NASA.

We need to spread out.
Last edit: 14 Jan 2017 11:24 by SuperflyPete.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Gregarius, Vlad

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
14 Jan 2017 12:14 - 14 Jan 2017 12:19 #242422 by MacDirk Diggler
Shellhead wrote:

We're not ready to do this, and probably still won't be ready in 50 to 100 years. Meanwhile, the population of our planet more than doubled in the last 50 years, and will likely double at least one more time, pushing our ecosystem to the brink of ruin. That's assuming that some nasty plague doesn't wipe out a lot of us first. Or that climate change makes it too hard to continue to reliably feed everybody. Or that there is some sort of nuclear war, with enough nukes to ensure a nuclear winter for the planet afterwards. I doubt that the human race is going to pull our shit together during the limited window of opportunity when we have both sufficient technology and sufficient resources to move out into space. We will probably leave tentative foot prints on most worlds of our own solar system before falling back into the primordial ooze that spawned us. And maybe that is a good thing, to protect the universe at large from our petty greed and destruction.

At first glance this seemed to be a bit too dire an overstatement of the conditions our planet is in. Then I realized Donald Trump is about to be leader of the free world, and that's surely a sign of impending apocalypse. Where can I sign up to go to Mars?
Last edit: 14 Jan 2017 12:19 by MacDirk Diggler.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
14 Jan 2017 13:07 - 14 Jan 2017 13:40 #242425 by ChristopherMD
We've already explored our planet, expanded our civilization, and exploited our resources. As soon as our species colonizes Mars then the Earth will be expendable. The rich and powerful will survive off-world so won't give a shit about treating the entire planet like a third-world country. Also imagine if during the Cold War the US or Russians had another planet to live on. Let the nukes fly, comrade!
Last edit: 14 Jan 2017 13:40 by ChristopherMD.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
14 Jan 2017 13:54 - 14 Jan 2017 14:43 #242429 by Vlad
Replied by Vlad on topic Would you colonize Mars?
I am 100% with Superfly (those aliens from Signs were definitely demons).

Space is the way to go. If we stay on Earth we are doomed as a species. And not just from physical perspective, but also intellectually. Our confinement to Earth - which is pretty much explored and vastly exploited - makes us deeply provincial. Stuff like racism, religious and ideological disputes are all petty grievances, because we are like a big a family locked in one house.

Also, from resources perspective - there are virtually infinite resources up there, but we need to find a way to exploit them.

And it is not the matter of us not being ready, like Shellhead says. US was more capable of launching space missions 30 years ago than it is today. If nothing is done, we will never be ready, so it is more a matter of assigning priorities (and budgets).

My big hope is not for Mars, though. I think the only way to boost the space exploration is if the private space programs find something out there that's very valuable down here - like a fucking huge gold or diamond deposit on the moon or something.
Last edit: 14 Jan 2017 14:43 by Vlad.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Gregarius, Nodens

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Moderators: Gary Sax
Time to create page: 0.239 seconds