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Old August 3rd 03, 06:34 PM
John Maxson
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Default Malthusian Theory and Travel Beyond Earth Orbit

John Ordover wrote in message
om...
"John Maxson" wrote in message

...

Does a newer space ship offer us a timely chance to beat the
Malthusian outcome (i.e., will it help us find natural resources
on another celestial body and also lead to colonization)?


If not, should we start resigning ourselves to that now, by
investing more heavily in plans for preventing our extinction?


You're misunderstanding Malthusian theory.


I think not. My first exposure to Malthus was in my freshman
Air Force ROTC class (1955). I received a Phi Beta Kappa
invitation at the end of the semester.

Our AF instructor simplified the text by saying, "If you get too
many fish in a pond, they'll float to the surface belly up." He
never mentioned survival rates, and I don't recall seeing that
discussed in the text.

First, it doesn't predict extinction


I did not say that it did; you simply assume that I meant to.
However, feel free to cite any survival rates which you think
are pertinent to the questions I have asked.

--
John Thomas Maxson, Retired Engineer (Aerospace)
Author, The Betrayal of Mission 51-L (www.mission51l.com)