Human Survival's March to Mars
You may have read over the last week that the Mars One Mission announced its 100 finalists to become the first humans on the red planet. Fifty men and fifty women have been selected to proceed to round three of the selection process. This once again reminds me of what an amazing animal us human beings are.
The need to know more, to explore, to go where humans have never gone is so strong across humanity when taken as a whole - as a system. As individuals we may not all share the same level of interest in climbing Everest, diving into the Mariana Trench, walking on the Moon or, now, taking a one way trip to Mars. As a group of seven billion we are remarkably adventurous however and have that inquisitive minority to thank for much of the progress, and leaps, we have made to date.
Even if many of the discoveries stemming from these adventures can be used by those less interested in the greater good it still is true that, on the whole, they build human knowledge and therefore increase our species chances of survival. Ultimately we are programmed to do what we can to survive - to find a way even if the steps being taken do not necessarily seem related to survival.
I was discussing this with a neighbour last week and he made a great point. He said that he hopes that those who finally get picked to go to Mars leave their books of scripture behind. As humanity attempts its first colonization of another planet hopefully we have learned that blind faith can lead to ignorance, to a follower mentality and to acts taken in the name of something or someone that is not of the actor's.
Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!
The need to know more, to explore, to go where humans have never gone is so strong across humanity when taken as a whole - as a system. As individuals we may not all share the same level of interest in climbing Everest, diving into the Mariana Trench, walking on the Moon or, now, taking a one way trip to Mars. As a group of seven billion we are remarkably adventurous however and have that inquisitive minority to thank for much of the progress, and leaps, we have made to date.
Even if many of the discoveries stemming from these adventures can be used by those less interested in the greater good it still is true that, on the whole, they build human knowledge and therefore increase our species chances of survival. Ultimately we are programmed to do what we can to survive - to find a way even if the steps being taken do not necessarily seem related to survival.
I was discussing this with a neighbour last week and he made a great point. He said that he hopes that those who finally get picked to go to Mars leave their books of scripture behind. As humanity attempts its first colonization of another planet hopefully we have learned that blind faith can lead to ignorance, to a follower mentality and to acts taken in the name of something or someone that is not of the actor's.
Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!
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