Re: starship-design: What is safest?

[TLG.van.der.Linden@tip.nl (Timothy van der Linden)]

To Zenon,

>> I'd also not call it suicide, but I could imagine that the last years of
>> ones life would not be as comfortable as they would be on Earth. Certainly
>> not for those that survive the mayority of the crew.
>
>Certainly. But who says interstellar exploration
>must be a nice and cosy affair like munching potato chips
>on the couch before a TV-set?  ;-)

What? No potato chips... Well you can count me out ;)

>> Anyhow, this discussion is probably very close to the Earthly discussion
>> about euthanasia. Clearly there isn't a general concensus about that topic,
>> so it's no wonder that the discussion about one-way missions becomes a bit
>> heated every now and then.
> 
>Hmm, possibly, though I think your analogy is wrong -
>I do not see any correspondence between the two
>(except, possibly, that they both lead to heated discussions...).
>For that matter I am principally and unconditionally
>against euthanasia, while I would gladly go for a one-way
>mission to Alpha Centauri...

Euthanasia is ending your life prematurely when all that is left is an
unworthy way of living (ie. with pain, or without a mind).
Going on a one-way mission means that you likely have to die (or even want
to die) before your life becomes unworthy of living.

Timothy