barb@oliven.UUCP (Barbara Jernigan) (02/27/86)
[First I want to apologize for a glitch in our site's new net interface (the Software Perversities have been waging a full scale attack on me) -- the helio/geo musing was SENT from my TERMINAL as MAIL, because it was a MUSING -- if I'd meant to post it, I would have checked the OED first. (I have since reverted to the old interface.)] Now, an aside on the exploitation of space issue, paraphrased from the Grab Bag section of this last Sunday's San Francisco Chronicle. The question was why the English succeeded in the new world where the Spanish and French failed. Answer? The English brought their families. Now, of course the issues then were hardly so simple (or were they???); but the comment points out a -- to me -- interesting juxtaposition of ideologies: Exploitation vs. Colonization. A man is *less* (I said *less*) likely to despoil his own yard. Besides, I think the doorway to space, to be a *doorway* and not a dead-end, must open on Colonization. At some point we (at least *some* of us ;-) need to leave the nest -- without thought of return. Otherwise our sojourns into space will remain curiosities. Comment anyone? Barb (P.S. Visited NASA Ames yesterday -- second only to the prototype aircraft for my personal entertainment were the artists' renditions of SPACE STATIONS -- colony-style -- hanging in the Tour Facility. The dream is alive and kicking!)
aglew@ccvaxa.UUCP (03/02/86)
>Why did the English succeed in the new world, where the French and Spanish >failed? Funny, it seems to me that most of the western hemisphere speaks Spanish, or would do if they wanted to advance beyond their native village. Also, there are 6 million Quebecers - roughly as many French speaking people in one particular part of the new world as there are people in Sweden. Or is Sweden a failure too? (a moment of silence for Olof Palme, please. I didn't agree with all of his politics, but he was a great man from a small country). But you are probably right about one thing: no space colony will succeed if its best and brightest have to go back to Earth to advance their careers. This was the big trouble in French Canada - the seigneurial class always went back to France for university and advancement - while the British colonies established their own universities, not just glorified seminaries.