Questions Only VIII: Quizzical Quizzes

[RJDiogenes]

We now have an outline for a TV miniseries

And we have the advantage of not being on strike.

Where would our food come from? Are you assuming we have a Star Trek replicator?

We could have crops and livestock, but that's a lot of work. Probably best if we use Asteroid Dash or something.

**Isolation and Loneliness:**

No problem.

**Limited Access to Resources:**

Arrangements can be made.

**Security and Safety:**

Okay, I'm doomed.

**Psychological Challenges:**

No problem.

**Practical Skills:**

I'm very doomed.

**Physical Health:**

I would kind of worry about access to health care.

**Boredom and Mental Stimulation:**

I've got my books and DVDs. Also, my brain.

**Long-Term Sustainability:**

No problem.

**Legal and Regulatory Challenges:**

No problem.

**Cultural and Emotional Adjustment:**

Return?

**Financial Considerations:**

Well, this is a fantasy scenario, so....

**Limited Access to Amenities:**

Nah, I wouldn't miss any of that. Except healthcare.

Looks like the "no problems" outnumber the "dooms," but, unfortunately, I think one "doom" is all it takes.

The Green Acres Conundrum: You can only choose one or the other. Is farm living the life for you or is city life where you'd rather be?

[scottydog]

We could have crops and livestock, but that's a lot of work. Probably best if we use Asteroid Dash or something.

Why is it I have no doubt there will be an Asteroid Dash some day. I envision a George-Jetson-like flying car. But really, I think the food & water would be taken care of by recycling our own poop and urine. We'd just add some supplemental powder to our waste, put it in a magic bin, push a button, and viola! Dinner I know it sounds disgusting but that's pretty much what happens in Nature.

**Security and Safety:**

Okay, I'm doomed.

**Practical Skills:**

I'm very doomed.

Let's face it -- we'd need Gary. Maybe several Garies

The Green Acres Conundrum: You can only choose one or the other. Is farm living the life for you or is city life where you'd rather be?

I'm definitely a Suburbs Guy. So you've really got me struggling to choose here. If I had to choose, it would be the country. Like you, I'd need an internet connection, and a car. And farmhands to do all the work on the farm

Eva Gabor was quite beautiful, so I might need her as my wife, too, as long as she was either mute or had duct tape over her mouth And as for Eb and Mr. Haney, well, I'd have to set some strict boundaries with their behavior or else I might have to murder them Oh, and Mr. Drucker would have to increase the number and variety of chocolate candies in his drug store.

How about you?

[RJDiogenes]

But really, I think the food & water would be taken care of by recycling our own poop and urine. We'd just add some supplemental powder to our waste, put it in a magic bin, push a button, and viola! Dinner I know it sounds disgusting but that's pretty much what happens in Nature.

Bleah. But actually, you may not be far off, considering how sophisticated 3D printers will be by then. You could probably print out a turkey dinner indistinguishable from the real thing.

Let's face it -- we'd need Gary. Maybe several Garies

Maybe we can 3D print a staff of Garies.

How about you?

I would definitely prefer the country, but I'd also need the proverbial advanced technology that's indistinguishable from magic.

If you were going to live in a self-sufficient asteroid habitat, where would you want it to be? Near Earth? Somewhere in the Solar System? Zooming toward a distant star?

[scottydog]

You could probably print out a turkey dinner indistinguishable from the real thing.

Where would the 3D printer get the "material" for constructing a turkey dinner? I'm wondering if there are sources of carbon besides our human waste.

Maybe we can 3D print a staff of Garies.

Maybe we'd have access to AI Robots who look like Dawn Wells and Sophia Loren

If you were going to live in a self-sufficient asteroid habitat, where would you want it to be? Near Earth? Somewhere in the Solar System? Zooming toward a distant star?

I'd love to be shooting at high speed toward a distant star. Even if it took years to get to, it would still be fun. The question is, would I still be able to post to ReNext if I'm a lightyear or so away from Earth?

[RJDiogenes]

Where would the 3D printer get the "material" for constructing a turkey dinner? I'm wondering if there are sources of carbon besides our human waste.

I imagine that there would be giant "ink cartridges" of all needed chemicals and materials, which could be at least partially replenished by recycling.

Maybe we'd have access to AI Robots who look like Dawn Wells and Sophia Loren

If we have that technology, you are all officially uninvited from my asteroid paradise.

I'd love to be shooting at high speed toward a distant star. Even if it took years to get to, it would still be fun. The question is, would I still be able to post to ReNext if I'm a lightyear or so away from Earth?

That would depend on whether or not ReNextians are present on the asteroid, which would depend on the state of Robot Babe technology.

How would you feel about creating a robot duplicate of yourself to send to the stars if you yourself couldn't go?

[scottydog]

If we have that technology, you are all officially uninvited from my asteroid paradise.

If we have that technology, I'll either die a happy man or I'll die a grisly death at the hands of my wife

How would you feel about creating a robot duplicate of yourself to send to the stars if you yourself couldn't go?

So many questions. Would my robot duplicate need chocolate? If not, it's not my duplicate

If my robot duplicate committed a crime, would I be held responsible? Wouldn't I be guilty by association?

[RJDiogenes]

If we have that technology, I'll either die a happy man or I'll die a grisly death at the hands of my wife

She may be otherwise occupied herself.

If my robot duplicate committed a crime, would I be held responsible? Wouldn't I be guilty by association?

Unless you're online with your robot, it would be an independent entity, so I don't think you could be held responsible. People may look at you sideways afterward, but you wouldn't be prosecuted.

If you could use AI to reprogram your own brain, would you do it?

[scottydog]

I'd need more information. What exactly does it mean for Ai to reprogram my brain? Would I be smarter? Would I retain my personality, or my memories? What did you have in mind by "reprogramming"?

[RJDiogenes]

Any or all of the above. You could make yourself smarter, turn yourself into a superb cellist, or delete unwanted memories. Do you have any memories you'd want to delete?

[scottydog]

Any or all of the above. You could make yourself smarter, turn yourself into a superb cellist, or delete unwanted memories. Do you have any memories you'd want to delete?

Yes. Most of my childhood And maybe about a fourth of my adulthood.

So what you're proposing is that AI might be able to do alterations to our brains the way tailors custom alter pants or a dress. That's kind of cool.

But do you remember what happened to Gordon in that episode of The Orville when he began tampering with program of the woman in the holodeck he fell in love with? He discovered that she was no longer the same woman he fell in love with, and his tampering lessened her appeal. So if AI tampers with your brain, you may no longer be you. Is that a risk worth taking?

[RJDiogenes]

But do you remember what happened to Gordon in that episode of The Orville when he began tampering with program of the woman in the holodeck he fell in love with? He discovered that she was no longer the same woman he fell in love with, and his tampering lessened her appeal. So if AI tampers with your brain, you may no longer be you. Is that a risk worth taking?

That's exactly what I was thinking. Given the way that experiences build who we are and how memories are interconnected, it would be very dangerous to make changes. If I were to make any changes, it would be minor alterations to make myself sleep better or improve my productivity or something.

Why do you think it took humans 288,000 years to invent civilization?

[scottydog]

Good question. It's fascinating that we spent many tens of thousands of years as hunter-gatherers with virtually no progress at all. Imagine countless generations, one after another, living the exact same lifestyles. We're so used to one extraordinary innovation after another, living in such a climate of accelerated innovation. The idea of stagnation for us is incomprehensible.

The fascinating thing for me is that slowly but surely, there were teeny tiny bits of progress. Somehow, something triggered the transition from hunting-gathering to systemized agriculture. Imagine that transition! The early adopters started cultivating crops while those slow to evolve were still hunter-gathers who were probably annoyed and pushed out of lands that they used to hunt and gather on.

So I imagine that the answer to your question lies in that transition to agriculture. A heroic innovator one day said to himself, "Hey, why pick wild berries when we can grow rows of berries over this entire landscape!" There's no doubt that these early farms produced massive amounts of food that led a spike in births, and then towns and cities that required civilization in the form of rules, laws, and government. Would you agree?

[RJDiogenes]

So I imagine that the answer to your question lies in that transition to agriculture. A heroic innovator one day said to himself, "Hey, why pick wild berries when we can grow rows of berries over this entire landscape!" There's no doubt that these early farms produced massive amounts of food that led a spike in births, and then towns and cities that required civilization in the form of rules, laws, and government. Would you agree?

That's pretty much how it happened, although even then it took several thousand years. But was the invention of agriculture inevitable? What if that innovator had died as a child? Would it have taken another 200,000 years for somebody else to invent the idea? Or would it have maybe never happened?

Ancient civilizations had some pretty advanced technology, like steam engines and automata-- why do you think it was only Western Civilization that had an Industrial Revolution?

[scottydog]

But was the invention of agriculture inevitable? What if that innovator had died as a child? Would it have taken another 200,000 years for somebody else to invent the idea? Or would it have maybe never happened?

I'm of the opinion that given enough time, all great ideas that can be thought of will be thought of. Kind of like all the monkeys pounding the typewriters generating all the works of Shakespeare. If Einstein hadn't discovered relativity theory, someone else would have a few years or a few decades later. And yes, I think that means that if the heroic innovator was killed during a mastodon hunt, it's possible that agriculture could have been delayed by 200,000 years -- in which case, you and I wouldn't even exist.

Ancient civilizations had some pretty advanced technology, like steam engines and automata-- why do you think it was only Western Civilization that had an Industrial Revolution?

I don't know. Maybe for a few reasons. Europe had a variety of economic systems, including capitalism and mercantilism, which incentivized investment in technology and industry. I don't think Asia and the Americas had these systems. Plus Europe experienced a Scientific Revolution that challenged traditional beliefs and led to the development of the scientific method. This shift in thinking laid the foundation for technological progress. Also, European countries were engaged in colonial expansion and exploration during this period. This led to the acquisition of resources and knowledge from around the world, which were critical for technological development.

I've often thought about how easy it was for European explorers and settlers to conquer the indigenous peoples of North America, Australia, and elsewhere. Just having gunpowder was a huge advantage. Did these indigenous people not have access to the active ingredients for gunpowder?

If Gene Roddenberry was erased from history, would someone else have stepped in by now and invented something close to Star Trek?

[RJDiogenes]

I don't know. Maybe for a few reasons. Europe had a variety of economic systems, including capitalism and mercantilism, which incentivized investment in technology and industry. I don't think Asia and the Americas had these systems. Plus Europe experienced a Scientific Revolution that challenged traditional beliefs and led to the development of the scientific method. This shift in thinking laid the foundation for technological progress. Also, European countries were engaged in colonial expansion and exploration during this period. This led to the acquisition of resources and knowledge from around the world, which were critical for technological development.

Also, Europe and America were the only civilizations to outlaw slavery-- it's probably no coincidence that the Industrial Revolution occurred only a few decades later.

I've often thought about how easy it was for European explorers and settlers to conquer the indigenous peoples of North America, Australia, and elsewhere. Just having gunpowder was a huge advantage. Did these indigenous people not have access to the active ingredients for gunpowder?

They had the ingredients, but never invented it (and didn't really have the machining capability to make use of it if they had). The only people to ever invent gunpowder were the Chinese, with Europe acquiring it through trade over the Silk Road. Other parts of the world were totally disconnected from that until the Age of Exploration.

If Gene Roddenberry was erased from history, would someone else have stepped in by now and invented something close to Star Trek?

Good question. Star Trek was a pretty unique and personal vision, and had a hard road getting to TV-- the only shows similar to it at all were Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, so I doubt if it would have happened.

TNG was so successful that they spun off DS9. If the original series had been that successful, what do you think the spin off would have been?