this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2024
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What right do we have? It's our imperative to spread not just ourselves, but life itself throughout the cosmos. Anything less would betray our base genetic instincts.
So you're saying that life doesn't already exist in the cosmos?
That's the thing - we don't know.
It's highly probable that we aren't the only life in the universe. The only thing that makes it impossible is we aren't smart enough to know yet, but most signs point to that we can't be the only life in the universe
We only have one data point. Until we have conclusive evidence of life beyond this world, we need to operate as if we're the only ones.
Why?
Because that's what we know! Now you're just arguing for argument's sake.
No I'm not. Just say you don't have an answer for that haha
My answer is that we have to work with the best evidence available because informed decisions lead to better outcomes...
Is that so? And what does "informed decision" mean to you?
Making a decision based on the best evidence available... I feel like I'm repeating myself. Oh, I see. You're trolling.
Is everyone who challenges your ideas a troll? Sorry. I'm still not trolling you OR arguing just to argue.
And let's talk about the best decisions. Did Vlad The Impaler think it was the best decision? What about Ghengis Khan? Kubla Khan? Nobunaga Oda? Mitsuhede? Washington? King George? The list goes on and on... So who's right, and who's wrong?
They all had the best evidence available, yet thought that the best way was to oppose a different idea
Then what are you saying? That we paralyze ourselves?
What I'm saying is the best evidence available might not be the right evidence
So when do we make decisions?
All the time, but every aspect should be considered. For example, there was one commenter in this chain that mentioned the potential of bacterium on Mars. If they exist and we land on Mars then we inadvertently impact said bacterium and potentially impact Mars on a scale that we can't comprehend or at the very least understand. Is that right or wrong?
Sure, we should consider the possibility of life on Mars. But we've already impacted possible organisms by sending spacecraft there. Even if you sterilize your craft in an autoclave and send it through the vacuum of space for months to years, there's no guarantee that all terran organisms will be inert. Samples taken from an asteroid during the recent Hayabus-2 mission were found to have terrain organisms on them. If you want to completely cordon off martian ecology, you should've convinced NASA and the Soviets back in the 70s.
Bottom line is, we've already irreversibly changed the course of martian ecology, if there is any. What remains? Check if there's actually anything alive over there. The best way to do that is with boots on the ground. The best places to look for life on Mars are:
All of which are much easier to explore with humans.