[ExI] Interstellar Travel is really hard

[Ben Zaiboc]

On 11/01/2022 00:04, BillK wrote:
> If we can achieve the nanotech capability that you describe........
> well, that gives us God-like power to do almost anything!
> So, I doubt whether that will be possible.

Hmm, I'm not sure that I agree with that conclusion (no, actually, I am 
sure that I don't agree with it). I don't think the consequences of an 
ability affects the chances of it being possible.

One reason for interstellar colonisation that hasn't been mentioned is 
maximising your chances of surviving an existential threat (nearby 
supernovae, dense molecular clouds, your own star misbehaving badly, 
etc.). If you spread your civilisation (or it's descendant 
civilisations) all over the galaxy, there's less chance of becoming 
extinct. If your star turns into a red giant and swallows your planet, 
then it makes no difference if you take the form of biological critters 
swarming on the surface, or tinkerbells living as software in a 
supercomputer buried in the ocean sediment, you're still toast.

Ben