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Where Are They? Implications of Ancient and Future Migrations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2017

Eric M. Jones*
Affiliation:
Earth and Space Science Division, MS F665, Los Alamos National Laboratory, P. O. Box 1663, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545

Extract

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Some of my more strident space-enthusiast friends wear T-shirts that say, “The meek shall inherit the Earth…the rest of us are going to the stars!” That may strike some as being overly optimistic at best, but I believe there is a grain of truth to it. Whenever I talk about space colonization or one-way voyages to the stars someone usually asks, “Who would want to go?” Usually someone else will the chime in, “I'll go!” Not only do people come in various sizes and shapes and colors, they look at the world in many different ways. I grew up in the suburbs of New York and knew people who had literally never been west of the Hudson River and had no intention of ever going. New York was comfortable. There is nothing wrong with that attitude. It is just that for many people such a life is not right for them. I went west as soon as I had the chance. I do not regret having left and am much more comfortable where I am now. As I have gotten older, I have found myself settling in and, although I like to travel, I am beginning to understand how those sedentary New Yorkers felt. The only difference is that I settled down a little later in life and in a different place from where I started. But some people never lose that need for adventure, that wanderlust, that need for a radical change, and new places. These are the people who will blaze the trail to the stars.

Type
Section VII. The Fermi Paradox and Alternative Search Strategies
Copyright
Copyright © Reidel 1985 

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