One story to explain it: Space filled a psychological niche for people, which something else now fills. A logical thing for that to be would be the internet and computers. For some of us who are hard core futurists, we also have far-future aspirations like life extension and uploading to concern ourselves with. It’s not that we’ve given up on space, but it is less captivating because it competes with other interesting things now. With less enthusiasm for the topic on display it has subsided to one of many interests, of great concern for a few interested individuals but lesser concern for the population as a whole.
Interestingly, launch prices continue to go down and the specialists continue to accomplish amazing things. It is possible that a diminishment of far-mode thinking about the topic has actually lead to better business and pragmatic decisions than would otherwise happen. Instead of expensive moon shots, perhaps we will get there faster because we have private companies making millions by launching communications satellites and developing less expensive rockets.
One story to explain it: Space filled a psychological niche for people, which something else now fills. A logical thing for that to be would be the internet and computers. For some of us who are hard core futurists, we also have far-future aspirations like life extension and uploading to concern ourselves with. It’s not that we’ve given up on space, but it is less captivating because it competes with other interesting things now.
This.
Once upon a time the future meant space ships. “Go farther, faster.” The future was the flying car, flying farther. The Jetsons. That was before DNA, before nanotech, before life extension, before uploading, before the internet. Before the more interesting stuff we can do right here.
I think space travel has a special escapist appeal to it. There are massive intractable problems with human society on earth at the moment which lack easy solutions (poverty, aids, overpopulation, climate change, social order). Space allowed the last generation to write stories where those didn’t have to be dealt with because the protagonists could leave earth behind, but now we’ve realised we’re stuck here and have to fix things.
There are massive intractable problems with human society on earth at the moment which lack easy solutions (poverty, aids, overpopulation, climate change, social order).
Poverty—has always been with us. Many, many people are better off.
AIDS—We will solve this.
Overpopulation—Population will stabilize at 10 billion. See 2nd link.
Climate change—see below.
Social order—so long as we don’t extinguish ourselves, this will work itself out.
One story to explain it: Space filled a psychological niche for people, which something else now fills. A logical thing for that to be would be the internet and computers. For some of us who are hard core futurists, we also have far-future aspirations like life extension and uploading to concern ourselves with. It’s not that we’ve given up on space, but it is less captivating because it competes with other interesting things now. With less enthusiasm for the topic on display it has subsided to one of many interests, of great concern for a few interested individuals but lesser concern for the population as a whole.
Interestingly, launch prices continue to go down and the specialists continue to accomplish amazing things. It is possible that a diminishment of far-mode thinking about the topic has actually lead to better business and pragmatic decisions than would otherwise happen. Instead of expensive moon shots, perhaps we will get there faster because we have private companies making millions by launching communications satellites and developing less expensive rockets.
This.
Once upon a time the future meant space ships. “Go farther, faster.” The future was the flying car, flying farther. The Jetsons. That was before DNA, before nanotech, before life extension, before uploading, before the internet. Before the more interesting stuff we can do right here.
I think space travel has a special escapist appeal to it. There are massive intractable problems with human society on earth at the moment which lack easy solutions (poverty, aids, overpopulation, climate change, social order). Space allowed the last generation to write stories where those didn’t have to be dealt with because the protagonists could leave earth behind, but now we’ve realised we’re stuck here and have to fix things.
Poverty—has always been with us. Many, many people are better off. AIDS—We will solve this. Overpopulation—Population will stabilize at 10 billion. See 2nd link. Climate change—see below. Social order—so long as we don’t extinguish ourselves, this will work itself out.
http://www.gapminder.org/videos/hans-rosling-ted-2006-debunking-myths-about-the-third-world/
http://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth.html
We might be stuck in the solar system for the next century, but we’re certainly not stuck on Earth.
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2012/03/elon-musk-says-ticket-to-mars-will-cost-500000/