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If Earth was Beyond Hope and a New Home was found..

T

The Katatonic

Lieutenant
Red Shirt
And you were told you had to give your place on the new colony up for someone else....who would that be and why?

For me....since I have no children, it would be hands down my adopted niece and nephew...sorry mom and brother, but we're old and we serve no purpose anymore...I don't care if I am nowhere near 50 yet. In this day and age that may as well be close to useless.
 
Stipulating your conditions, probably my daughter's friend Brittany, and it wouldn't be a matter of having to be told to do so. Neither of my kids will reproduce (son is gay with no intention to adopt, daughter has no intention to have children and I think she really means it). So I think she has the best overall traits (intelligence, wisdom, charisma, general health, etc) of any of my "other kids". (My wife and I have been "Mom" and "Dad" to many of our kids' friends. It's unfortunate and sadly amazing how rubbish many of the parents in our generation have turned out.) And she intends to have kids. And not that it is paramount, but I believe we've had enough influence on her that I could feel like my family would be carried on through her in at least some small way, so there's that.
 
Firstly, it would figure. Secondly, one of my friends. I won't say who, but definitely her.
 
Good point, Katatonic (and welcome to the board! :) ) but I think it'd be dangerous to let only the young go on such a trip. Older people have a lot of experience and are good at combining facts and finding solutions, which is an advantage over young people's good memories. I think it takes both sorts to make a functioning world.

That said, I'd give my place up for a scientist or a poet (yes, I'm indeed convinced that a new world needs literature as a means of passing on moral values and virtues and a love for beautiful things) and while people set out to colonize (and presumably ruin) yet another world, I'll do my best to gather up the remaining life of this one and try to improve conditions here for everyone. In my experience there's no such thing as "beyond hope". There's always hope. Whether it's realistic is a different matter, entirely...
 
rhubarbodendron said:
I'll do my best to gather up the remaining life of this one and try to improve conditions here for everyone. In my experience there's no such thing as "beyond hope". There's always hope. Whether it's realistic is a different matter, entirely...
Click to expand...
This is why I said "stipulating your conditions". I don't believe in the no-win scenario. ;)
 
In that hypothetical situation, surely to give the best chance of survival people would have been pre-selected based on criteria such as skill set(s), genetic diversity etc... So the logic answer would be if that other would increase the chances of the mission succeding.
 
rhubarbodendron said:
Good point, Katatonic (and welcome to the board! :) ) but I think it'd be dangerous to let only the young go on such a trip. Older people have a lot of experience and are good at combining facts and finding solutions, which is an advantage over young people's good memories. I think it takes both sorts to make a functioning world.

That said, I'd give my place up for a scientist or a poet (yes, I'm indeed convinced that a new world needs literature as a means of passing on moral values and virtues and a love for beautiful things) and while people set out to colonize (and presumably ruin) yet another world, I'll do my best to gather up the remaining life of this one and try to improve conditions here for everyone. In my experience there's no such thing as "beyond hope". There's always hope. Whether it's realistic is a different matter, entirely...
Click to expand...
Oh, I don't disagree that there needs to be older people on board to guide the young, and i I had to choose that person, it would be my brother. He's a genius at most things, not the most affectionate person in the world (my family did used to call him Mr Spock for a darn good reason) and he'd probably scare the kids something silly, but he oddly, has a very good moral compass (albeit a very rigid one). Far more than me or most people I know. So, I would choose my brother to look after the rugrats (even though he would be very pained to do so..think Picard x 10 LOL)
 
MacLeod said:
In that hypothetical situation, surely to give the best chance of survival people would have been pre-selected based on criteria such as skill set(s), genetic diversity etc... So the logic answer would be if that other would increase the chances of the mission succeding.
Click to expand...
And that is why I know I'd never be selected to go, but I was curious as to others thoughts, I am quite pleased to see that no one is arguing that they would never not be selected, it is gratifying to see that.
 
I shouldn't say so, Randy. In my experience people with disadvantages in one sector have huge talents in another. For example, I am extremely shortsighted but I have an unusually acute sense of hearing and an almost photographic memory for places and routes.
A colleague of mine who was born deaf can identify each of us 140 co-workers in a dark corridor by the vibrations our respective ways of walking cause. He's also one of our 3 IT specialists and can tell by the vibration pattern if a server is working properly or not. It's most impressive.
Or look at Stephen Hawking - unable to walk but one of the smartest brains in the solar system. Or Thomas Quasthoff, one of Germany's greatest (no pun intended)classical singers.
I bet you, too, can do a lot of things others can't.
 
rhubarbodendron said:
I shouldn't say so, Randy. In my experience people with disadvantages in one sector have huge talents in another. For example, I am extremely shortsighted but I have an unusually acute sense of hearing and an almost photographic memory for places and routes.
A colleague of mine who was born deaf can identify each of us 140 co-workers in a dark corridor by the vibrations our respective ways of walking cause. He's also one of our 3 IT specialists and can tell by the vibration pattern if a server is working properly or not. It's most impressive.
Or look at Stephen Hawking - unable to walk but one of the smartest brains in the solar system. Or Thomas Quasthoff, one of Germany's greatest (no pun intended)classical singers.
I bet you, too, can do a lot of things others can't.
Click to expand...

Well we all have our strenghts and weaknesses. Like you once I've driven to a place once (or maybe twice) I can more or less remember the route to get there again. Oddly enough I'm also slighlty short-sighted but have fairly decent hearing and can often hear things that people closer to the noise than me didn't hear.
 
I would give my place to some unworthy slob.

Then I would slyly knock somebody else out and take their place. :shifty:

Kor
 
I think a lot of how spots would be chosen would be determined by how many spots there are, period. I mean, if we're talking about a large enough ship or ships that the bare essentials like a sufficient number for survivable breeding, colonization science specialists, teachers, farmers, etc, are all well taken care of, and we're moving on to trying to save people with, for example, *cultural* merit or special skills outside of the ones absolutely required for survival, then RandyS might make the cut. I dunno. I dunno if I would. I *do* know that I had *damned* sure better make the cut before they move on to trying to save our *politicians* - or I would certainly make sure that me and mine did, by whatever means required. ;)

But if we're talking about a smaller "we're not even sure if this colony will have the numbers to be viable or will survive the trip" sort of desperate attempt to save mankind, then I doubt RandyS would if his disability would be a, well, disability. And I know for a fact *I* wouldn't, and if they tried to add me to their number, I would decline them to the extent of hiding or actually doing violence to the selection committee, because I *know* what kind of genetic inclination toward mental illness, cancer, respiratory disease, and for that matter, bad teeth is hiding in *my* DNA. And I don't think there's anything wrong with that, or being self-aware enough to know that is the correct determination. Better than people who would selfishly try to get themselves inserted knowing their presence rather than that of a more viable candidate could screw the whole pooch. :)
 
I don't see what could be so great about that new world. they weren't will to take care of the one we have. Honestly, if it came to pass, I'd be very suspicious. grass isn't always greener on the other side. We can't get along and take care of each other here nor tend the land in a reusable way. I don't see what would be any different there except the planet wouldn't betray you in your lifetime due to misuse.
 
I would give my seat to the utmost skilled, clever, and cunning homicidal maniac I could get my hands on.
 
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