Modern Wisdom #357 - Christopher Mason - A 500-Year Plan To Reach Other Worlds
Aug 12, 2021
Christopher Mason, a Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine and author of "The Next 500 Years," discusses humanity's survival strategy beyond Earth. He outlines an ambitious 500-year roadmap for space exploration, emphasizing genetic enhancements to adapt to cosmic challenges. Mason explores the harsh realities of space travel, including the physical changes astronauts experience and the ethical dilemmas of long-term isolation. He even tackles provocative questions like zero-gravity childbirth and the responsibilities we hold as 'guardians' of life in the universe.
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Existential Threat
- Humanity faces an existential threat: the sun will eventually engulf Earth.
- To ensure long-term survival, we must become an interstellar species.
Guardians of the Galaxy
- Humans are unique as guardians of life, aware of extinction and capable of preventing it.
- This awareness creates a responsibility to protect all life on Earth.
Deontogenic Ethics
- Christopher Mason proposes a "deontogenic" ethical framework prioritizing the duty to existence itself.
- This precedes other ethical considerations, as ethical debates are impossible without life.
