You claimed that people ignore or outright oppose trying to accelerate the rate of technological advancement. Could it be instead that nobody has any idea how to do it?
Very, very possible.
An independent settlement seems quite beyond the possibilities of present and foreseeable technology.
I’m not saying its easy. I guess I calibrate my concept of foreseeable technology as sleeker, faster mobile devices being trivially predictable, fusion as possible, and general-purpose nanofactories as speculative.
On that scale, I would place permanent off-world settlements as closer than nanofactories, around the same proximity as fusion. Closer, since no new discoveries are required, only an enormous outpouring of resources into existing technologies.
If the permanent Martian settlements are to do their own manufacturing, it seems that they would need both fusion power and nanofactories, or something equivalent. The type of energy sources and resource ores we use on Earth for manufacturing would probably not be available in any sufficient amount.
Very, very possible.
I’m not saying its easy. I guess I calibrate my concept of foreseeable technology as sleeker, faster mobile devices being trivially predictable, fusion as possible, and general-purpose nanofactories as speculative.
On that scale, I would place permanent off-world settlements as closer than nanofactories, around the same proximity as fusion. Closer, since no new discoveries are required, only an enormous outpouring of resources into existing technologies.
If the permanent Martian settlements are to do their own manufacturing, it seems that they would need both fusion power and nanofactories, or something equivalent. The type of energy sources and resource ores we use on Earth for manufacturing would probably not be available in any sufficient amount.
You might be right. I hope not, though, because that means it will take even longer to escape from the planetary cycle of overshoot and collapse.
Then again, it’s good to be ready for the worst and be pleasantly surprised if things turn out better than expected.