[ExI] Alpha Centauri

[BillK]

On Wed, Oct 17, 2012 at 9:19 PM, David Lubkin wrote:
> Colonize the asteroid belt. One rock at a time. When you need
> elbow room, expand to the Kuiper Belt. From there to our Oort
> Cloud. From there to Alpha Centauri's Oort Cloud. And out to
> the rest of the accessible galaxy.
>
> One rock at a time outward, until we get there. No new rocket
> systems. No MNT. No uploading. Just the tech to survive without
> a nearby star and to reach the next rock. Civilization is always
> just a rock or three behind, so if your ship is on the fritz, you can
> call AAA.
>
> I'm not saying that's what I expect or want. I *am* claiming that
> it's a workable route to the stars with relatively small improvements
> in tech over today. And without a trillion-dollar project.
>

I think 'workable route' is not the best description.
Perhaps a better description is 'just within the realm of possibility,
if all other options fail'.

It is a very long-term option, so likely to be side-stepped by other
developments.

Our populations won't want to go and live on a bleak airless rock in
the asteroid belt. So there must be many other changes going on to
make this feasible. Selecting the future line which would make this
the best option appears to me to discount many other more likely
future paths for humanity.


BillK