"in other news"
My 12 Jun 2010 reader post to NYTimes article about the "Singularity movement":
Call it the Singularity, Human 2.0, the animal/computer interface, whatever, there is a good chance that the way humans will enter space (and continue on Earth) will be some form of this.
Ironically, much of the human-in-space advocacy and other futures advocacy doesn't take this into account. I still advocate some form of human-in-space research but it will be so different from what is now thought by many doing significantly obsolete humans-in-space projects.
Humans still have a tendency to live in the past with what they know. Further ironically, it is quite possible that those leaping on the fad (more than the substantial reality) of the "Singularity" will make the same mistake.
I caution everyone to keep open to new ideas and to not get tied up in infatuation, almost a religious kind of thinking, with the celebrities of the Singularity movement. Whatever kinds of things being learned for $15,000 will be available online soon enough.
My 9 Feb 2010 reader post to the NY Times 8 Feb editorial, "A New Space Program", was highlighted among reader posts:
The NYTimes editorial calling for "clear goals" for the Obama space program overlooks that there are clear goals, although not as glamorous-sounding as clarion calls to go the Moon or Mars (the Times’ choice). When the goals of reestablishing the space program with its additional funding, its broader role for private industry, and its meeting of specific technological challenges are reached, we’ll be much closer to other "named" goals such as the Moon, Mars, outer solar system research, space solar power research, and human (and robot) factors in space research, and more.
What has diplomatically been avoided is saying in public that much of our space program has been stuck in 1960’s, 1970’s, and 1980’s thinking. Many of the old guard of the space program have become bureaucratic, as we older folks can sometimes become, and sometimes have been in the way of not just one but two generations of young space entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers.
Even this "new" space program is not out of the box enough in its thinking. Whether the times when computer technology, nanotechnology, and other threshold breakthroughs (sometimes called "singularities") occur in 10, 20 or 50 years, they are not far off and will make obsolete much of what even our young space engineers are doing. We must plan adaptively to not have our research dead-end, as it somewhat has, when these things happen.
Furthermore, if the NYTimes wants goals that are destinations, how many are likely to be considered for robots and then humans? Not many for quite a while besides the moon, Mars, nearby asteroids, some orbits, and (getting back to) Earth. We don’t need to give up any options, when indeed all of them somewhat await our first meeting the goals of new technologies. We don’t know yet which destinations will become most feasible or productive with advances in technology or what political or defense goals emerge when other countries makes space moves one way or another.
A bit earlier I emailed and shared on Facebook the Times’ articles currently discussing technology in the America’s Cup sailboat race. I’m a recreational sailboat racer and as good as our monohull boats are today, they aren’t technologically in the same league with a multi-hull with a fixed wing sail going 35 knots. That’s a good analogy for our space program, past and future. He might not want to say it this way but the President made a good management decision to turn much of our space program over to space entrepreneurs better ready to deal with new technologies and our space future.
May 5, 2009 Response to
southernfriedscience.com/
2009/05/03/save-the-planet-its-the-only-one-weve-got-or-is-it/#more-1450
As a political consultant, I agree that we need to think well out
of the box.
One topic in two focus groups with older "non-space persons I
moderated was Ray Kurzweil’s singularity (or something similar). The
oldsters got it - do you? - that things in future space will not be how
we see them today. How much of our research – and your thinking - takes
into account that space programs hundreds of years off won’t be about
humans in space suits or capsules that we work on today?
Engineering obstacles to space endeavors will be overcome. They will be delayed, however, by political and economic realities on Earth. For example, SPSP (space-based solar power) could provide all the energy we'd need but public interest now turns to shorter-term earth-based energy alternatives. Similar shorter-term political-economic patterns occur regarding agricultural and other needs.
Our space program and space industry are business-modeled on what they can do tomorrow to justify investing in them today. These efforts are needed but often don’t provide a long view. Hey, work for these programs but if you really want futuristic space endeavors, think realistically beyond them!
We must reach broader audiences with substantial space education to make the case for the advantages of space to be achieved sooner. Additionally, until we reprogram our thinking about space, much of the engineering will become obsolete before it can be used. We must commit to a future paradigm to make the big difference in the exciting lives in space our descendants can have.
Dec 30 2008
In response to NYTimes article, "The Fight Over NASA's future"
As a political consultant with an interest in space (http://www.SpaceSoc.com), two kudos:
1. Congrats to John Schwartz and the NY Times for putting space on the front page of the news where a space game plan should be discussed.
2. Congrats to the President-elect’s transition team for, as its spokesperson says, "preparing the full range of options for consideration by the incoming appointees."
I don’t think good "old" ideas (including what is now being done) are going to be thrown out the window but I welcome a fresh look. New blood is necessary for several reasons:
The dismal thinking of the Bush Administration in many areas impacted scientific programs in particular with an anti-intellectual warp. When this warp begins to be undone on Jan 20, we’ll see a refreshing release of ideas occur within the space programs.
Many first teamers of our space program have gotten older. As I’ve written, "The US space program is stuck in its decades old achievements. Been there, done that." It’s time for not just one new generation but for two new ones as space program leaders. The 40-50 yo’s will release new ideas they couldn’t before; the 20-30 yo’s will bring ideas and a new mindset.
Finally, space is no longer the domain principally of scientists and engineers – and some of them don’t get this. With its large budgets competing against other budgets, with private capital now in the mix, with many countries now entering space in individual and joint efforts, politics is unavoidably in play. This isn’t necessarily bad.J Indeed, with his ability to comprehend tough problems, carry out a complex plan, and bring a new mindset to the challenges of the future, President-elect Obama can be a huge boost to the space program. Give him time – space isn’t all he and we have on our plates.
Nov 24 2008
In response to
NYTimes
op-ed by Alan Stern about poorly managed NASA projects
"Problems with the space program (overruns) are a major reason why the public is so reluctant to support the space program."
Nov 2, 2008 Tom
Diffenbach YouTube
video
(excerpt below)
"US human spaceflight needs giant leaps forward. The US space program is stuck in decades old achievements. Been there, done that.
"Our thinking must be broader, beyond rockets and orbits and into
more research into humans in space. That will give critical realistic
visions and goals for humans in space."
April 15, 2008
NYTimes blog Dot Earth reply
(excepted)
It’s good news to see the advantages in (earth-based) solar energy discussed here. This shouldn’t have us think, however, that there isn’t a long-term need to have space-based solar power. The use of mirrors in space will ultimately be far more effective than the limitations inherent in earth-based solar systems.
This might be a fifty to one hundred years or more investment. It’s the old story that the best time to plant a tree for the future is today.
We don’t have space-based solar power as an option in the minds of
enough people. We don’t even have it on the minds of enough of our
political leadership because there is no immediate payoff at the polls.
....
All I ask here is that readers be open to discussion of space-based
solar power when they are considering our energy future. If someone says
coal, nuclear, earth-based solar, water, wind, etc., ask them to include
space-based solar in the energy discussion. Plant that tree called
space-based solar power. Thanks.
Tom Diffenbach
Jan 23 2008 post to (London)
Evening Standard
A significant aspect to this (Virgin Atlantic flights into space) is
that these flights and ones that go higher and farther than these will
become "every day enough" to not always be newsworthy. Just part of the
everyday fabric of life like the GPS, the computer, etc.
Once space ventures achieve this phase, the public will be ready to take
in stride space-based solar power and the use of raw materials from
asteroids and the moon.
Then the public will be more ready to comprehend as real, rather than as
science fiction, that our grandchildren or their grandchildren could
spend some of their lives living in space communities.
Then space will really take off!
- Tom Diffenbach
----------------
This site
is
always under construction.:)
SpaceSoc online school offers and hosts classes worldwide at SpaceSoc.supercoolschool.com
A new way to discuss and learn about
humans-in-space and future space communities - even your own -
is an extension of SpaceSoc.com's at SpaceSoc.supercoolschool.com.
At SpaceSoc.supercoolschool.com, you can participate in classes,
request classes and, if qualified, even teach them.
This school will have worldwide interaction, including
webcam, whiteboard, file uploading, chat and more. Yes, you can participate
without a webcam with the chat feature.
If you miss a SpaceSoc class, you can watch its recording and use,
when applicable, the Wiki that can come with a class.
Classes can be any length, stand alone or part of a course. Tailor
your use of SpaceSoc.supercoolschool.com to your space needs.
Read in the next column to the right about our upcoming
tournament to show and develop your space skills!)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Humans in space
discussed at 2nd Astrosociology Symposium
23 Feb 2010 - At the 2nd Symposium on Astrosociology
at Johns
Hopkins University/Applied Physics Laboratory, left to right: Tom
Diffenbach of SpaceSoc.com, Jim Pass of ARI (Astrosociological Research
Institute, and John Wilkes, professor of sociology at WPI (Worcester
Polytechnic Institute).
YESS A Team Wins
- Oluwabukola
Akinremi and Oluwakemisola Agoyi from Ota, Nigeria write answers in
a recent SpaceSoc.com competition.
___________________________________________________
YESS students in Nigeria lead the way in SpaceSoc contest
"How will space research be changed by a Kurzweilian
Singularity or similar game-changer?"
That question and others were answered by four high
school students from the YESS group in Nigeria who recently joined in
space research competition about social and political issues to be
resolved in future space communities.
YESS, for Young EarthSpace Scientists, is a project headed by
Ayodele Faiyetole, an International Space University alumnus who
recently won the school’s prestigious Todd B. Hawley award to an alumnus
who combines public service and space research.
The four students, from Ota, Nigeria included two young
men, Dara Folayan and Olusegun "Segun" Akintomiwa, who competed against
two young women, Oluwabukola "Bukola" Akinremi and Oluwakemisola "Kemi"
Agoyi.
Each team received a rating of excellent. The
women’s team was judged the winner in the evenly-matched contest.
The four and others from Nigeria will be forming teams
to participate in upcoming international competition sponsored by
SpaceSoc.com, a space project headed by a non-partisan political
consultant, Tom Diffenbach, from the USA.
SpaceSoc.com and YESS both recognize that science and
engineering are important to space and so are the social and political
issues that will exist in communities in outer space.
When YESS isn’t active in space studies, its members
might be applying space research to their
communities.
In their contest, the students answered sixteen
questions in live competition, including:
What traits are you looking for in space settlers? What
happens when cultural values of a space community change over
generations? How will humankind make living in space succeed – or mess
it up?
Diffenbach noted that these are students who figure out
their math and physics but know that to be a leader in space or on
Earth, they need to figure out humans, too.
Faiyetole said, "I see the Young EarthSpace Scientists
blazing the trail in their chosen fields in the future."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Getting with the realities
by Tom Diffenbach
Decades
ago I, a political consultant, met for 15-30 minutes with space
settlement pioneering thinker Gerard O’Neill. In those minutes we
connected solidly in a couple of ways: he had political smarts and
openness to ideas beyond his own. If those of you who knew him better
agree with my two impressions, please read on.
I think that for scientific and political reasons, Gerard O’Neill would have moved beyond his "High Frontier" thinking a long time ago. I think, if he were here today, he’d be incorporating new political realities and thinking about space, including, for examples, nanotechnology, cyborgs, and various singularities, into his work.
If he were here today, I wonder if he would be saying something like, "humans in space won’t happen simply with my 1970’s thinking so everyone should get with the realities."
A successful space future
should be tied to going thru our twentieth century space thinking and
bringing it up-to-date – getting with the realities. That’s part of the
2010 work at SpaceSoc.com.
_________________________________________________________________________________
.
Get real!
Leave a legacy to the future of
society in space
right now.
It takes just 45 minutes discussing space
society questions in an online chat to start your legacy
to the future of society in space.
You don't need to be a space expert. In fact, you don't have to know anything about space at all. What you have to be, whatever your space interest level, is real.
What we'll accomplish at SpaceSoc - and what we'll be known for hundreds and thousands of years from now - are the ideas, plans, and groundwork on which actual societies in space will be built.
We'll be founders, philosophers, leaders.
That's worth 45 minutes now, don't you think?
contact Tom Diffenbach at
diffenbach@comcast.net
__________________________________________________
.
SpaceSoc Lab Exercises
Lay Foundation
So, what will space
really be like? Well, even with all the space organizations, projects, and
contests, we can't say.
For our work here, tho, which will be preserved and
updated for the future, we can say that what you do here can be part of
the far-off future in space communities.
We're laying a foundation in which you can make a
difference, without a billion dollar budget and a cadre of space
scientists.
Take a look at how simple it is to work with SpaceSoc
Exercises. A brief piece about Exercise #1 is below and there are
two others at SpaceSocLabExercises.
------------------------------------------
SpaceSoc Lab Exercise #1
Game Plan for a space community
.
.
Lab Exercise SpaceSoc-1 is to
brainstorm a "game plan" for setting up a space
community of at least 1,000 persons.
You don't need to deal with the engineering
know-how that built the community for you. You need social and
political know-how to get the community going and then to keep it going.
For this exercise, we want you to be the CEO of a space
corporation. Imagine you have only 30 minutes to brainstorm two versions
of your game plan - one to present to your board of directors and one to
present to the 1,000 persons your company would be recruiting to live
there.
SpaceSoc-1 calls for a game plan with keys
to the game and with play-by-play dynamics. We're not looking for a
civics essay, a political speech, a technical report, references to science fiction, or a
full business plan.
Email
5-10 bulleted steps using a max of 150 words
for each version.
We'll reply to each entry and generally analyze the entries in an
online discussion.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SpaceSoc
preps
space societies
SpaceSocieties.com often shortened to SpaceSoc -
deals right now with political and societal issues of future space communities.
Space Soc is "skippered" -
led - by non-partisan political
consultant Tom Diffenbach,
who invites participation and ideas from any country, from any age,
from amateur or professional. SpaceSoc values ideas for
merit, not their authorship.
Some SpaceSoc work is
public. The work on this site is a contribution to the public domain altho we'd
like to get
proper credit for our work.
We
are a bridge connecting
the present and the future.
__________________________________________________
Spread
the word. Give/get a new book about space now.
For hundreds of books about the topics below, click on the links.
Buy $25 worth at low Amazon prices and get fast free shipping.
Space Exploration
SpaceSoc online school launches with tournament open to all comers
SpaceSoc.supercoolschool.com is running a tournament for teams of 2-4 members to compete online with their realistic space society ideas.
Form a team or be assigned to a team. Guidelines here.
Tournament matches vary, depending on the teams, from 60-90 minutes in length.
They involve telling about your space community and responding as a team to role-playing and simulating.
Winners, as determined by referees, advance in the winners' bracket; losers advance in the losers' bracket until they have lost twice.
There are three categories of competition: professional level, over 18 years old and up to 18 years old.
--------------------------------------------------------------
YESS students in Nigeria lead the way in SpaceSoc.com space contest
.
"How will space research change when there is a Kurzweilian Singularity or similar game-changer?"
That question and others were answered by four high
school students from the YESS group in Nigeria who recently joined in
space research competition about social and political issues to be
resolved in future space communities.
YESS, for Young EarthSpace Scientists, is a project headed by
Ayodele Faiyetole, an International Space University alumnus who
recently won the school’s prestigious Todd B. Hawley award to an alumnus
who combines public service and space research.
The four students, from Ota, Nigeria included two young
men, Dara Folayan and Olusegun "Segun" Akintomiwa, who competed against
two young women, Oluwabukola "Bukola" Akinremi and Oluwakemisola "Kemi"
Agoyi.
Each team received a rating of excellent. The
women’s team was judged the winner in the evenly-matched contest.
The four and others from Nigeria will be forming teams
to participate in upcoming international competition sponsored by
SpaceSoc.com, a space project headed by a non-partisan political
consultant, Tom Diffenbach, from the USA.
SpaceSoc.com and YESS both recognize that science and
engineering are important to space and so are the social and political
issues that will exist in communities in outer space.
When YESS isn’t active in space studies, its members
might be applying space research to their
communities.
In their contest, the students answered sixteen
questions in live competition, including:
What traits are you looking for in space settlers? What
happens when cultural values of a space community change over
generations? How will humankind make living in space succeed – or mess
it up?
Diffenbach noted that these are students who figure out
their math and physics but know that to be a leader in space or on
Earth, they need to figure out humans, too.
Faiyetole said, "I see the Young EarthSpace Scientists
blazing the trail in their chosen fields in the future."
_______________________
Are your "space realities" real?
If you wonder why
there isn't more support for space
activities - especially yours - read on.
(more)
--------------------------------------
Ack!
Do we need politics in space?
Should space venturists
think NOW about politics inside space communities? Yes, now. Here's
why!
(more)
------------------------------------
Ideas for communities
"Raft Ups" help to address personal belief systems
SpaceSoc communities
can be as different as their founders. Within communities, individual
crewmates differ, too, in many ways, including their beliefs.
SpaceSoc communities might want to deal with belief systems issues
thru Raft-Ups, newly in use on Earth.
__________________________________
A note to teachers
SpaceSoc can
arrange for classrooms a choice of web chat, web video, or email to suit needs of classes.
We will interact personally with each class.
Thus we will limit the number of
classes in our student program.
Students of all ages and interests in space
can benefit from this mature approach. SpaceCom wants to motivate
students to be learners as well as to teach them about space. Just think
of us as meat and potatoes space rather than as fast food space
with toys.:)
For a limited time, one free student class session per
school district is available.
SpaceSoc can give your science students an outlook
broader than science and engineering. Civics students
learn about civics on Earth and about the future in space.
SpaceSoc will adapt its teaching to your computer
capabilities: simple email, live video, or using this site. We won't let
your students down.
To apply for a free class session, email your needs
and contact info to
diffenbach@comcast.net.
-------------------------------
Globus:
"Paths to Space Settlement"
Al Globus, who chairs the space settlement committee of the
National Space Society, has posted on his website his ideas about "Paths
to Space Settlement".
Here's the abstract:
"A number of firms are developing commercial sub-orbital
launch vehicles to carry tourists into space. Let’s assume they attract many
customers and become profitable. The next, much more difficult, step is
to develop orbital tourist vehicles and space hotels to go with them.
These hotels will require maids, cooks, waiters, concierges and so
forth, some of which may decide to stay, becoming the first permanent
residents.in space. At some point a bright entrepreneur may notice the
large numbers of wealthy elderly people in
wheel chairs willing to pay well to get out of them. Add good
medical facilities to an orbital hotel and those people could be living
in the first zero-g retirement home.
"In the meantime, we could choose to solve, once and for all, our
energy and global warming problems by developing space solar power,
i.e., putting up enormous satellites to gather energy in space and beam
it to Earth with no atmospheric emissions at all. To supply a
substantial fraction of civilization’s 15 twa energy habit would
require huge numbers of launches, not to mention developing the ability
to build extremely large structures in orbit, and eventually tapping the
moon and asteroids for materials to avoid the environmental cost of
mining, manufacturing, and launch from Earth.
"The best asteroids to mine would be known if Earth’s people
realize we are in a cosmic shooting gallery and build telescopes to find
the thousands of deadly asteroids crossing Earth’s orbit. Most of these
won’t hit us for millions of years, but there could be one heading our
way at any time. Exploiting these Near Earth
Objects (NEOs) could be made even easier if we take the eminently
sensible step of changing the path of a few completely non-dangerous
NEOs, just for practice in case one is
found to be heading our way without much time to develop deflection
techniques.
"If we do all this, each step of which is justified in it’s own
right, we’ll have excellent launch, small orbital living facilities, the
ability to build large objects in orbit, and access to extra-terrestrial
materials – most of what we need to realize Gerard O’Neill’s space
settlement vision.(1, 2 ) At that point, expect some extremely
wealthy religious fanatics to build themselves a small orbital habitat
so they don’t have to live with any’unbelievers.’ Since the first space
settlement is by far the hardest to build, from there on it’s just a
matter of time until we have an orbital civilization with trillions of
inhabitants.
"These are paths to space settlement."
Read the entire article here.
If you have views on the path to space settlement
that are presented in the crisp way Al does his, send them along.
Thanks.
-------------------------------If your company or
organization wants to retain SpaceSoc for space society ideas, or
space-related political consulting, email
Tom Diffenbach at diffenbach@comcast.net.
Make 2010
your SpaceSoc.com year!
Next
SpaceSoc
Skype
discussion
Mon, 21 Jun 2010
10 PM EDT (USA)
These discussions will
now be held at the
SpaceSoc online
school
--------------------
see NYTImes.com article below
for discussion purposes
Staying Put on Earth,
Taking a Step to Mars
____________________
Welcome aboard!
Political
consultant Tom Diffenbach, SpaceSoc "skipper", also skippers
his sloop
Enterprise
In friendly sailboat races.
------------------------------------------
For books on space and
more,
click on links:
.
Space Exploration
.Astronomy
________________________________
In
a SpaceSoc focus group, we asked what
might not be anticipated by space community developers.
What do you think might not be anticipated?
(Email
your answer to be included in a follow-up to this column.)
One participant, Kathleen Kennedy, said one thing that
won't be anticipated is that
people change their minds.
This
is about more than that politicians change their minds or that public
mood changes. It's more than that technology changes.
In part it's about, e.g., a 35 yo single space
settler who'll in ten years in space become 45 yo. By then, s/he
might have married, had kids, and be concerned about personal matters
more than work.
The now-45-yo space settler might seem obsolete to a
just-arriving 25 yo settler with up-to-date know-how and the time and
energy to work 80 hours a week.
This example shows a problem I have with much space
settlement talk. This talk is of a "snapshot" in time rather than
a "video" that accounts for change.
I think it was Bill Gates' house that was wired for the
electronic future - but not for then-not-available wireless.
At SpaceSoc, account for change, including, as the wise
Kathleen Kennedy said, that
people change their minds.
-Tom Diffenbach
Focus On is SpaceCom's regular column about our focus groups.
More Focus On
columns.
What will it be like for a family living their lives in outer space?
Question for the sociologists:
Will some answers come first?
What will it be like living in space
for a lifetime?
Astrosociologists, who study human behaviors in life in space, are
only beginning their field.
Unlike sociologists studying societies on Earth,
astrosociologists don't have a society in space to examine. The
procedural rhetoric in computer games and even advanced modeling can
limit the realism of their studies.
The political dynamics of any step of space society
development can be a focus of custom SpaceSoc study .
Links to articles
on this site
SpaceSoc preps space societies
Lab exercise #1: "Game Plan"
Focus On: Minds in Change
Crews ready for tournament play
We ask: About space
realities
Question for Astrosociologists
Tom Diffenbach "in other news"
------------------------
A note to teachers
News about the SpaceSoc blog
News about online discussions
-------------------------
Retaining SpaceSoc services
Space news - Space links
-----------------------------
SpaceSoc
blog
& discussions
SpaceSoc has a blog but we use it
only for purposes related to special topic discussion, not for regular
postings and exchanges.
Use SpaceSoc
Discussion to join in discussions. Email
diffenbach@comcast.net to
make necessary RSVPs.
Discussions will be
one-topic, multi-topic or "open". Topic(s). Topical ones will
stay on the topics. All will stay on point and be
realistic.
------------------------------Non-partisan political
consultant Tom Diffenbach’s interests
include campaigns,
political dynamics,
individual performance (SailThruLife),
OWN© (only what’s
needed) communications,
world affairs, and human
society in space. (http://www.SpaceSoc.com).
--------------------------------