Re:Lunar bases may need to be quake-proof (2006)
by visarga on Saturday July 15, 2017 @04:34PM
(#14778780)
Why do you think you need to do that? You can import sperm and eggs.
Re:Lunar bases may need to be quake-proof (2006)
by mschuster91 on Saturday July 15, 2017 @04:59PM
(#14778899)
Because it's unsafe to depend on Earth providing said sperm and eggs - that a highly technologically advanced civilization as the Roman Empire could basically disappear with all their knowledge (e.g. running water, sewage channels, street building and other) in less than a hundred years should be a warning that this can also happen to Earth now. All it takes is an all-out nuclear war, an asteroid strike or a catastrophic volcano eruption.
And I'm not sure if it's wise to send sperm/eggs via space craft... while "inside a human" the cells are protected from radiation and especially they're (re)generated, not so much when they're frozen in space.
Oh, there was - look back in ancient history, with tribes using only what they needed in terms of resources and land (and for what its worth, some of these cultures still exist in remote places). The problem is capitalism and the imperialism that rose with it, beginning in Ancient Rome. By now, it's deeply ingrained into our societies, even those who call themselves "communist". I believe that only the natural constraints of a moon/Mars base, together with their initially small population, will force the settlers to cooperate on equal basis and thus lead to a small-scale sustainable economy.
The only problem is, small colonies won't be sustainable in genetic terms: there will be an "incest bottleneck", and the only way to solve this is to expand the population base - where the effects of a capitalist society will become apparent again more sooner than later...