[ExI] Why Pioneers Breed Like Rabbits

[BillK]

On Fri, Nov 11, 2011 at 7:56 AM, Eugen Leitl wrote:
>
> (same thing applies for edge of populated space)
>
> http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-pioneers-breed-like-rabbits&WT.mc_id=SA_WR_20111110
>
> Why Pioneers Breed Like Rabbits
>
> Families that colonized the Canadian frontier contributed more genetic
> material to the modern population than folks who stayed home, says a new
> study
>
>


I like this paper. It explains how human (and all life) expands into
unpopulated areas.

But it stops at space.  'Simple' evolutionary life expands to fill
niches where it can find life support. It doesn't expand into deadly,
barren environments. Only a few try it, most die, and few return to
tell their tales.

OK, so you might claim that advanced human descendants would take
their life support along with them plus all the technology to create
more life support for all their progeny.

But advanced civilisation is the opposite of breeding like rabbits.
Evolutionary expansion no longer applies. They *choose* their
environment and build it to suit themselves. They *choose* how many
progeny they want to create and for what purpose. If they have
thousand-year lifespans they will probably create very few offspring.
The idea of creating millions of entities and firing them off to
colonise the universe is an insane waste of resources originating in
primitive human evolutionary drives.


BillK