Why Not Space?

FYI,

What we are up against.

"Why Not Space?"
Do the Math
Using physics and estimation to assess energy, growth
optionsby Tom Murphy
http://physics.ucsd.edu/do-the-math/2011/10/why-not-space

: Ask a random sampling of people if they think we will have
: colonized space in 500 years, and I expect it will be a while
: before you run into someone who says it's unlikely. Our migration
: from this planet is a seductive vision of the future that has been
: given almost tangible reality by our entertainment industry. We are
: attracted to the narrative that our primitive progenitors crawled
: out of the ocean, just as we'll crawl off our home planet (en
: masse) some day.

: I'm not going to claim that this vision is false: how could I know
: that? But I will point out a few of the unappreciated difficulties
: with this view. The subtext is that space fantasies can prevent us
: from tackling mundane problems whose denial could result in a
: backward slide. When driving, fixing your gaze on the gleaming
: horizon is likely to result in your crashing into a stopped car
: ahead of you, so that your car is no longer capable of reaching the
: promised land ahead. We have to pay attention to the stupid stuff
: right in front of us, as it might well stand between us and a smart
: future.

(continued at link above)

Mark Reiff