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

[KellySt@aol.com]

In a message dated 7/4/97 12:35:17 PM, arocha@bsb.nutecnet.com.br (Antonio C
T Rocha) wrote:

>Timothy van der Linden wrote:
>
>> Antonio wrote:
>>
>> >This _is_, after all, still the first phase: exploration. It does
>> >require the funding and support (and submission to) a socially
>> powerful
>> >entity.
>>
>> Yes, and since so much effort is involved there may be little room for
>>
>> people that are truely adventurous.
>
>That is interesting. I have trouble envisioning a bunch of stolid,
>unadventurous humans undertaking to spend decades in space, in a small
>single-minded (or single-goal) community, traveling through unknown
>risks towards other unknown risks. Until today, most people going on
>such undertakings have gone for glory, plunder, novelty... or whatnot.
>Glory doesn't change much and the "plunder" might consist in the
>accumulation of new knowledge. If new worlds are found, that could also
>mean new opportunities in the future.Unless... would we have by then
>developed the capability of changing our personalities to meet our jobs?
>Even so, how interesting is it to have un-adventurous types fending for
>themselves alone, twenty+ light years from home?
>It seems that the trip would be one long Russian country-year: a long
>cooped-up pass-the-time-and-try-not-to-strangle-your-wife winter and a
>hectic short hard-working summer.

Good points!  Crewing such a trip would be very difficult.  Adrenaline types
wouldn't work, and the unimaginative wouldn't be worth sending.  Guess you
have to hire professional interested in advancing their fields.  
 	"Spend your career on a trip to the stars and rewrite the books when you
get back.  Leasurly low stress flight out.  Plenty of time for review and
study.  Low presure enviornment.  etc.. apply at.."

Hum, maybe lazy collage proffs should apply?

;)


>> >> BTW.  Writing this, I started wondering what would happen if people
>>
>> >> start a mutiny.
>> >
>> >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?
>>
>> Ah, yes I could have thought of that myself. I guess I was too
>> intrigued
>> (not inspired ;) by the idea itself.
>>
>> Timothy
>
>What if there are by then the psycho-physiological tools capable of
>ensuring that "mutinousity" is excised from the crew, would this
>capability be used, specially inside a research institution such as LIT?
>The Sponsors choice.
>
>Antonio C Rocha

Hum.  Well we could keep the access codes to the command and control
computers.  Don't want to play?  We lock the food lockets and depresurise the
access tunnels.  ;)

Kelly