Re: starship-design: Re: Why go to the stars?

[Antonio C T Rocha <arocha@bsb.nutecnet.com.br>]

Timothy van der Linden wrote:

> Antonio wrote,
>
> >  For the same reasons medieval Russian peasants fled to the woods?
> >  (Maybe this falls under .1.)
> >       -  To get as far away as possible form: the Boyars orders,
> >foremen and henchmen; from the Csars Tax Collectors and press gangs,
> and
> >from the Zealots bonfires.... (and keep whatever honey I find,
> whatever
> >furs I trap, enjoy whatever I build, feed on whatever I hunt or raise
>
> >and sing whatever I feel like, when I feel like it).
> >  Sure its optimistic, but its a reason too.
> >  In other words: to open up frontiers.
> >  I dont know about you, but earth seems too crowded for my taste,
> and
> >more crowded by the minute.
>
> Indeed you'd open frontiers, but the difference with previous
> frontiers is
> that this one is sponsored and thus regulated before it starts.
>

You are right, of course, and I agree - intellectually. I was probably
distracted by visions of Phoenicians reaching South America and the Gulf
of Mexico in the Iron Age, of Vikings reaching North America in the
Middle Ages (maybe following fleeing Irish Monks) and of Settlers,
exilees, and Indentured Servants seeting foot on the edge of a new
world.Yes, these were only made possible _after_ chartered explorers had
made the discoveries, usually at the Crowns service.
This _is_, after all, still the first phase: exploration. It does
require the funding and support (and submission to) a socially powerful
entity.
Sorry, I jumped the gun. :-)

> BTW.  Writing this, I started wondering what would happen if people
> start
>       a mutiny.
>
> Timothy

Ask any naval officer. ?Probably the same that would have happened
before the 1800s: starvation adrift or survivors marooned on some barren
rock. With discipline and order, and luck and nearby infrastructure,
maybe - just maybe - they could go "pirate". Does humanity change?

Of course, by 2050 psychology and knowledge of
neurology/physiology/genetics might be capable of identifying "mutinous
types" and exclude them from the proj., maybe even inducing "correct"
behaviour in the rest (does humanity change?). This might be in the
sponsors interest to resonably ensure their investment. It would
probably be called something neutral, like "profile typing, selection,
and orientation". Then again, long (two to five year) periods of
hibernation might already be feasible, making it easier to ensure order
without too much mind-bending.

Therefore, selection based on 21st century psych profiles will probably
avert any possibility of a "real" mutiny - unless the sponsor is willing
to take chances.

How are volunteers for service in the Poles chosen? Conditions could be
similar?

   Antonio C Rocha