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belikeron t1_jdy7jrv wrote

I mean that's true, but it's not worth losing sleep over either. Yes a disruptive technology based on scalability will always make decades of research look like a waste of time to the lay person.

It also would be impossible without the insights gained from those decades of research. It is the same with galactic travel.

The first mission to the nearest star will not be the first ones to get there. We will have a colony waiting on them to arrive at the objectively slow almost the speed of light. The technology the colonists used to get there in 20 minutes wouldn't have happened without all of the advances made just to get that first lemon into space.

That's my two cents.

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cheddacheese148 t1_jdyo5w5 wrote

Ignoring literally everything else about what you said, it’s insanely cool to think about the first colonists in another solar system being the like 10th group to make the journey. If this isn’t already a movie, it needs to be!

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sdmat t1_jdyzb37 wrote

Not a movie, but it's definitely SF:

> "Far Centaurus" (1944) by A. E. van Vogt: This classic science fiction story tells the tale of a group of colonists who embark on a centuries-long voyage to the distant star system Centaurus. Upon arrival, they discover that Earth has developed faster-than-light travel during their journey, and a thriving human civilization already exists in Centaurus. > > "The Songs of Distant Earth" (1986) by Arthur C. Clarke: The novel features the crew of a slower-than-light colony ship, Magellan, who arrive at their destination planet Thalassa, only to discover that faster-than-light ships have already colonized other planets in the meantime. The story explores the consequences of different levels of technology and adaptation for the human settlers. > > "Tau Zero" (1970) by Poul Anderson: In this novel, a group of colonists aboard the starship Leonora Christine set out to explore a distant star system. During their journey, they encounter a series of technical malfunctions that cause their ship to accelerate uncontrollably. As a result, they experience time dilation, and the rest of the universe rapidly advances around them. They must navigate their own obsolescence and search for a new home as other expeditions overtake them.

Being able to find anything with a few vague words about content is one of my favourite GPT4 capabilities!

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belikeron t1_jdz9h8x wrote

I prefer my version where they match their speed, knock on the window like Matthew McConaughey and say, "You losers getting in? We're going colonizing!"

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