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From: jef@LBL-RTSG.ARPA
Newsgroups: net.space
Subject: Re: Long-Term Viability
Message-ID: <37378.509789512@lbl-rtsg.arpa>
Date: Wed, 26-Feb-86 03:11:52 EST
Article-I.D.: lbl-rtsg.37378.509789512
Posted: Wed Feb 26 03:11:52 1986
Date-Received: Fri, 28-Feb-86 21:45:19 EST
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 41

In regard to Mr. Gene Ward Smith's flaming response to my essay
on long-term viability...

Mr. Smith repeatedly and completely misses the entire point about
colonizing the stars.  He seems to think that all of humanity will
move en masse from Sol system to some other star, then settle in as
a single-planet species again.  I'm not going to bother pointing out
what a silly idea this is.

Mr. Smith says I'm wrong about the Earth going into an irreversable
inorganic greenhouse effect in only 100 million years.  Well, if
Mr. Smith's message had been about differences of scientific opinion,
then I would have been happy to supply references supporting my view.
Unfortunately, Mr. Smith's message was about flaming.

Mr. Smith says he is confused about whether I have a high faith in
science and technology, or a low one.  My message did not contain
anything about faith, since I have none in anything.  I submit that
Mr. Smith is merely confused.

Mr. Smith also advises me to learn some astronomy.  Well Mr. Smith,
I took my first astronomy course in 1973.  I was teaching astronomy
a year later.  What were you doing in 1973, Mr. Smith?

If I was into giving advice, I might advise Mr. Smith to learn some
manners.  A little spelling and punctuation practice wouldn't hurt
either - ambulence?  thats?

I might also advise Mr. Smith that it's considered polite to give
proper credit for quotes.  The quote Mr. Smith closed his message
with, "There are no differences but differences of degree between
degrees of difference and no difference", was penned by William Blake
after a trip on nitrous oxide.  I'm not sure what Mr. Smith was
trying to tell us with this quote - maybe that he wrote his message
while on drugs?  I would not be surprised.

Mr. Smith and I agree on one thing - that net.space contains a lot
of bull.  But he picked the wrong message to use as an example.  He
should have looked closer to home...
---
Jef