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Re:Seven Dyson Sphere Candidates by stouset on Saturday May 18, 2024 @10:02PM (#40403591)
By the time you know whether or not another civilization is hostile, it’s probably too late. “Interstellar war” sounds like a long dragged-out set of engagements when it’s more likely that one random day without warning your planet intersects a sizable chunk of tungsten traveling at 0.9c.

Better to strike first than gamble.

Re:Seven Dyson Sphere Candidates by perilunar on Sunday May 19, 2024 @12:03AM (#40404184)
Another reason not to confine your civilisation to one planet, or to planets generally.

Much harder to wipe out a civilisation that's dispersed among hundreds or thousands of smaller space colonies. Especially if many of those colonies are hidden in an asteroid belt of millions of rocks.

Re:Seven Dyson Sphere Candidates by stouset on Sunday May 19, 2024 @12:07AM (#40404195)
Take out Earth, Mars, and Venus for good measure.

Whatever scattered remnants that are left of humanity hanging out in the asteroid belt are going to have a hell of a time finding food to eat or oxygen to breathe.

Re:Seven Dyson Sphere Candidates by perilunar on Sunday May 19, 2024 @12:31AM (#40404295)
Why?

Do you think they'll be reliant on planets for food an oxygen? That's daft — they will be growing their own food and mining their own oxygen.

Also, I doubt they will be "scattered remnants" — there's likely to eventually be a far larger population off-planet than on.

Re:Seven Dyson Sphere Candidates by deepsun on Sunday May 19, 2024 @01:26PM (#40408347)
Oxygen is highly toxic for most materials. I'd expect advanced civilizations to avoid oxygen.