Interesting People mailing list archives
Re: An interesting question for IP?
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Wed, 9 Jan 2008 11:37:43 -0500
Begin forwarded message: From: Jonathan Smith <jms () cis upenn edu> Date: January 9, 2008 10:38:18 AM EST To: dave () farber net Cc: Jonathan Smith <jms () central cis upenn edu> Subject: Re: [IP] Re: An interesting question for IP? Dave: This has been a great discussion. Coincidentally, I was just rereadingOlaf Stapledon's "Last and First Men" (written in the 1930s!) - IP readers
may find it inspiring ("Star Maker" is fun, too!): http://www.amazon.com/Last-First-Men-Star-Maker/dp/0486219623/ref=pd_sim_b_njs_title_3/002-0903434-1778409 Best, -JMS On Jan 9, 2008, at 9:59 AM, David Farber wrote:
________________________________________ From: George Dyson [gdyson () gmail com] Sent: Wednesday, January 09, 2008 9:35 AM To: David Farber Subject: Re: [IP] Re: An interesting question for IP? It would certainly be a good idea to keep some kind of backup copy nearby to reboot our own planet in the event of a serious but recoverable crash. But even doing this isn't easy, and does not solve any of the near-term problems facing us. Leaving our own solar system with enough people to resettle elsewhere (assuming you can find an elsewhere) is really tough. In September 1959, Freeman Dyson looked at this question, given currently available technology and resources, taking as a minimal example a hydrogen-bomb driven interstellar ship that “could get a colony of several thousand people to Alpha Centauri, about 4 light years away, in about 150 years.” The good news: it would only require 25 million hydrogen bombs to get there. The bad news: it would require 25 million more bombs if you wanted to stop. ------------------------------------------- Archives: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
Jonathan M. Smith, Olga and Alberico Pompa Professor, University of Pennsylvania, T: 215.898.9509, E: jms () cis upenn edu ------------------------------------------- Archives: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now RSS Feed: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/ Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com
Current thread:
- An interesting question for IP? David Farber (Jan 08)
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- Re: An interesting question for IP? David Farber (Jan 08)
- Re: An interesting question for IP? David Farber (Jan 08)
- Re: An interesting question for IP? David Farber (Jan 09)
- Re: An interesting question for IP? David Farber (Jan 09)