A Safe Haven for Humanity?

On Mon, 6 Mar 2017 23:55:09 -0800 (PST), RichA
wrote:

On Thursday, 23 February 2017 11:29:59 UTC-5, Quadibloc wrote:
While it appears extremely unlikely that Proxima Centauri b has an atmosphere, and
thus unlikely there is existing life on it...

according to Wikipedia, Proxima Centauri has an expected lifespan of four
*trillion* years... and at the end of its life, it will go straight to being a
white dwarf without becoming a red giant.

Also, it's 15,000 astronomical units away from Alpha Centauri A, a star which is a
lot like our Sun. So when *that* star becomes a red giant, that might be just an
interesting celestial spectacle from Proxima Centauri, rather than a threat to
people living on Proxima Centauri b.

Thus, we may be extremely fortunate in having a long-term safe home for humanity
nearby, just as we were fortunate in having the Moon to help us take our first
steps into space.

John Savard

What is the downside physiological of living off a red dwarf as opposed to a yellow main sequence star? Will our vision change to a different frequency span, something like that?

I would assume that if we had the technology to travel to different
stars, we would not allow ourselves to be subject to natural
selection, but would modify ourselves as necessary to take advantage
of our environment.

It is reasonable to assume that organisms that evolved naturally on a
planet orbiting a red dwarf would have visual systems utilizing
different pigments in order to best utilize the color of available
light.

On Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at 12:55:10 AM UTC-7, RichA wrote:
Will our vision change to a different frequency span, something like that?

If we had evolved around such a star, that is possible. Given, though, the
invention of the electric light bulb by Thomas A. Edison, I wouldn't expect that
to happen particularly quickly to colonists of such a planet.

John Savard

On Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at 7:28:43 AM UTC-7, Chris L Peterson wrote:

I would assume that if we had the technology to travel to different
stars, we would not allow ourselves to be subject to natural
selection, but would modify ourselves as necessary to take advantage
of our environment.

Unless we prefer to modify the environment to suit ourselves.

John Savard

On Tue, 7 Mar 2017 08:01:39 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
wrote:

On Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at 7:28:43 AM UTC-7, Chris L Peterson wrote:

I would assume that if we had the technology to travel to different
stars, we would not allow ourselves to be subject to natural
selection, but would modify ourselves as necessary to take advantage
of our environment.

Unless we prefer to modify the environment to suit ourselves.

I'm sure we'd do that, as well. But we're not going to change the
spectrum of light coming from a star we settle around.

On Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at 9:08:44 AM UTC-7, Chris L Peterson wrote:

I'm sure we'd do that, as well. But we're not going to change the
spectrum of light coming from a star we settle around.

That's true. What with Proxima Centauri being a flare star, though, likely we
would begin by living underground. While sunlight concentrated by mirrors would be
probably the main source of light, artificial light is quite possible too.

Genetic modification of plants we eat, though, would be quite likely.

John Savard

On Tue, 7 Mar 2017 09:24:36 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
wrote:

On Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at 9:08:44 AM UTC-7, Chris L Peterson wrote:

I'm sure we'd do that, as well. But we're not going to change the
spectrum of light coming from a star we settle around.

That's true. What with Proxima Centauri being a flare star, though, likely we
would begin by living underground. While sunlight concentrated by mirrors would be
probably the main source of light, artificial light is quite possible too.

Genetic modification of plants we eat, though, would be quite likely.

I imagine that if we ever make it to Proxima Centauri we will have
already modified ourselves. And we might not be eating plants at all
(or at the least, they may not constitute a significant component of
our diet).

On Tuesday, 7 March 2017 19:22:39 UTC+1, Chris L Peterson wrote:
On Tue, 7 Mar 2017 09:24:36 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
wrote:

On Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at 9:08:44 AM UTC-7, Chris L Peterson wrote:

I'm sure we'd do that, as well. But we're not going to change the
spectrum of light coming from a star we settle around.

That's true. What with Proxima Centauri being a flare star, though, likely we
would begin by living underground. While sunlight concentrated by mirrors would be
probably the main source of light, artificial light is quite possible too.

Genetic modification of plants we eat, though, would be quite likely.

I imagine that if we ever make it to Proxima Centauri we will have
already modified ourselves. And we might not be eating plants at all
(or at the least, they may not constitute a significant component of
our diet).

How do you convince a virtual human brain that it is NOT living in a VR simulation of space travel?
You cant.
You download entire human brain patterns to the bots.
Load the bots onto the ship.
Give the rocket a good shove in the right direction.
Then sit back at home and watch the sparks fly.
They'll fight tooth and claw all the way.
But they'll be designed to be indestructible.
One small step for man.
One giant leap for Mr and Captain Android!
Calling Earth!
We made it!
Did you miss us?

On Tue, 7 Mar 2017 10:47:41 -0800 (PST), "Chris.B"
wrote:

You download entire human brain patterns to the bots.
Load the bots onto the ship.

The human mind has too many defects. Any AIs we develop to explore the
Universe will be far more competent than we are. We certainly wouldn't
want to duplicate human brain patterns!

In article ,
Chris L Peterson wrote:

On Tue, 7 Mar 2017 09:24:36 -0800 (PST), Quadibloc
wrote:

On Tuesday, March 7, 2017 at 9:08:44 AM UTC-7, Chris L Peterson wrote:

I'm sure we'd do that, as well. But we're not going to change the
spectrum of light coming from a star we settle around.

That's true. What with Proxima Centauri being a flare star, though, likely
we
would begin by living underground. While sunlight concentrated by mirrors
would be
probably the main source of light, artificial light is quite possible too.

Genetic modification of plants we eat, though, would be quite likely.

I imagine that if we ever make it to Proxima Centauri we will have
already modified ourselves. And we might not be eating plants at all
(or at the least, they may not constitute a significant component of
our diet).

If we get there, we'll just do what they did in Twilight Zone: To Serve
Centaurians.

In article ,
Chris L Peterson wrote:

On Tue, 7 Mar 2017 10:47:41 -0800 (PST), "Chris.B"
wrote:

You download entire human brain patterns to the bots.
Load the bots onto the ship.

The human mind has too many defects. Any AIs we develop to explore the
Universe will be far more competent than we are. We certainly wouldn't
want to duplicate human brain patterns!

But isn't that exactly what our distant ancestors did before fleeing to
Earth on the Galactica? Let's not make that same mistake again!