Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!LIN@MIT-ML
From: LIN%MIT-ML@sri-unix.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Interstellar space travel -- is it possible?
Message-ID: <15042@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 3-Jan-84 23:35:00 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.15042
Posted: Tue Jan  3 23:35:00 1984
Date-Received: Thu, 5-Jan-84 00:57:20 EST
Lines: 40

From:  Herb Lin <LIN @ MIT-ML>


    From: dietz%usc-cse%USC-ECL at SRI-NIC
    To:   space at mit-mc
    cc:   lin
    Re:   Interstellar space travel -- is it possible?

    I don't recall seeing Lin's message in this digest, (was it a private
    message to REM?) but I'll respond anyway.

        Date: 2 January 1984 15:34 EST
        From: Herb Lin <LIN @ MIT-ML>
        on survival, i think that the odds are essentially zero that we will
        contribute to the genetic pool in 10^11 years, regardless of nuclear
        war, because I don't believe that interstellar space travel will ever
        be possible.

    Herb, I don't see how you can make this prediction.  Similar
    predictions were made for heavier-than-air flying vehicles, for
    sattelites, for manned spacecraft.  These predictions, like yours, were
    made AFTER all the fundamental discoveries/inventions necessary had
    already been made.  Many different schemes have been outlined for
    interstellar space travel that look feasible.

I didn't realize that my submission would go to SPACE, but I don't mind.

The reason I don't think I.S. travel will be possible is not for lack
of technology, but for lack of motivation.  Previous earth-bound
explorers were at least motivated by the hope that they would be able
to establish some kind of reasonable two-way interchange between
whatever they found and where they came from.  If you believe in
relativity, there is no way that two way interchange can take place on
time scales shorter than years (at the most optimistic prediction).
That doesn't qualify as reasonable two-way interchange.

Unmanned space probes are a different matter, and I suspect that it
will someday be possible to send robots throughout the galaxy.  But
why would we do such a thing?  To get back information, OK.  To spread
our gene pool?  Why?