Emigrating Beyond Earth
Human Adaptation and Space Colonization
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Beschreibung
For four million years humankind has been actively expanding geographically and in doing so has adapted to a wide variety of hostile environments. Now we are looking towards the ultimate adaptation - the colonization of space. Emigrating Beyond Earth illustrates that this is not a technocratic endeavor, but a natural continuation of human evolution; a journey not just for the engineer and rocket scientist, but for everyman. Based on the most current understanding of our universe, human adaptation and evolution, the authors explain why space colonization must be planned as an adaptation to, rather than the conquest of, space.
Emigrating Beyond Earth argues that space colonization is an insurance policy for our species, and that it isn't about rockets and robots, it's about humans doing what we've been doing for four million years: finding new places and new ways to live.
Applying a unique anthropological approach, the authors outline a framework for continued human space exploration and offer a glimpse of a possible human future involving interstellar travel and settlement of worlds beyond our own.
Emigrating Beyond Earth puts space colonization into the context of human evolution. Rather than focusing on the technologies and strategies needed to colonize space, the authors examine the human and societal reasons for space colonization. They make space colonization seems like a natural step by demonstrating that if will continue the human species' 4 million-year-old legacy of adaptation to difficult new environments. The authors present many examples from the history of human expansion into new environments, including two amazing tales of human colonization - the prehistoric settlement of the upper Arctic around 5,000 years ago and the colonization of the Pacific islands around 3,000 years ago - which show that space exploration is no more about rockets and robots that Arctic exploration was about boating!
Focuses on the anthropological reasons for space colonization, essentially the human need to spread out into new environments to protect against extinction Shows how space colonization is a natural continuation of humanity's 4-million-year history of migration and adaptation Uses the stories of the colonization of the Arctic and the Pacific islands as models of migration behavior Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Autor*in
Cameron M Smith
Themen in »Emigrating Beyond Earth«
Adaptive radiations Extraterrestrial adaptation Human space colonization Space colonization Space exploration
Stimmen zu »Emigrating Beyond Earth«
From the book reviews:
“This book would be a good introduction to the idea of space colonization for those who otherwise might consider it as an utopian idea while reading about the technologies necessary for transporting hundreds of people to distant locations in the Solar System and possibly terraforming a planet. ‘Emigrating Beyond Earth’ shows it all more in a way that’s easily understandable and logical without too much previous knowledge.” (Kadri Tinn, Astromadness.com, September, 2014)
“A basic premise of this work is that ‘human migration into space will be the continuation of the natural process of evolution.’ … the authors examine the pros and cons of colonization and conclude that it both can and should be attempted. To support their case, they note some potential catastrophes that could lead to the extinction of humans, and believe that space colonization may be necessary for the survival of the human species. … Summing Up: Recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates and general readers.” (T. Barker, Choice, Vol. 50 (6), February, 2013)
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