The relative lack of interest in this topic is itself kid of interesting. Perhaps that's because potential cosmic disasters are so…cosmic. One's instinct is to shrug the shoulders because what can be done about them? Most of the possible solutions are predicated on an assessment of human nature that seems altogether too optimistic.
I don't want to give myself more work but there should really be some discussion of what are the international geo-political implications of trying to deal with these issues and how might some of the geopolitical issues that might occur in dealing with these problems can be overcome i.e. the current state of international law regarding space issues.
I would add one additional Threat From Space: first contact. Even if the aliens intended no harm, the shock of their arrival could well derange the human race. This, you’ll recall, was the rationale for the secrecy surrounding the discovery on the Moon of the enigmatic monolith in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” That argument seemed plausible to me when first I watched the movie, and it still does.
Aliens have been throwing rocks at us for 4+ billions of years. They keep missing, and their few hits keep not killing us, just damaging us. They're going to become an example of what happens when they try to kill the king and fail.
Separately, there's been quite a lot of gravitational and orbital (but I repeat myself) filtering of asteroids that can threaten us: most of what can have already been perturbed and either hit us or near-missed us on paths that make it unlikely they'll return.
The relative lack of interest in this topic is itself kid of interesting. Perhaps that's because potential cosmic disasters are so…cosmic. One's instinct is to shrug the shoulders because what can be done about them? Most of the possible solutions are predicated on an assessment of human nature that seems altogether too optimistic.
I don't want to give myself more work but there should really be some discussion of what are the international geo-political implications of trying to deal with these issues and how might some of the geopolitical issues that might occur in dealing with these problems can be overcome i.e. the current state of international law regarding space issues.
I would add one additional Threat From Space: first contact. Even if the aliens intended no harm, the shock of their arrival could well derange the human race. This, you’ll recall, was the rationale for the secrecy surrounding the discovery on the Moon of the enigmatic monolith in “2001: A Space Odyssey.” That argument seemed plausible to me when first I watched the movie, and it still does.
Perhaps, though I decided to confine my article to known threats. But one looking at how first contact scenarios could play out would be fascinating!
Before starting that discussion, participants should read Damon Knight’s short story, “To Serve Man.”
Aliens have been throwing rocks at us for 4+ billions of years. They keep missing, and their few hits keep not killing us, just damaging us. They're going to become an example of what happens when they try to kill the king and fail.
Separately, there's been quite a lot of gravitational and orbital (but I repeat myself) filtering of asteroids that can threaten us: most of what can have already been perturbed and either hit us or near-missed us on paths that make it unlikely they'll return.
Eric Hines
Astrophages are gonna be what do us in. And if anyone knows what those are, I'll give 'em a dollar.
Project Hail Mary really was excellent! I wish we had that sort of power source.
But here is your dollar: cha-ching!
I didn't much care for it, personally. Not nearly as good as The Martian.
"Bombs! Exploding lasers falling from the sky! Where's my umbrella?"