Spread Life and Beautify the Universe
Two of the top three reasons for colonizing space are supremely practical, but first, here is a more esoteric motivation:
"Our job is to help life spread out from this planet and make the rest of the universe as beautiful and varied as the Earth," said Freeman Dyson, who has worked at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, for nearly 50 years. "Dead worlds may be beautiful, just as deserts may be beautiful, but worlds full of life will give birth to a far wider range of beauty."
In Dyson's view, once we let life loose, larger forces will take over.
"Once life spreads out and is free to spread further, it will continue to evolve, with or without our help. Like good midwives, we should set it free and leave it alone."
Such a lofty prospect would not be easy, of course. How do we breed plants and animals and create flourishing ecosystems on alien worlds?
Dyson calls these puzzles solvable, "problems of biology and not of physics."
And although the primary goal of many space enthusiasts is to set up human colonies, Dyson's idea might not even require our presence. Robots have already proven themselves capable of delivering payloads to other planets. And it won't be long before a probe from Earth,
"Whether humans go along to share the new habitats with other species is not predictable," Dyson says. "Each world where humans settle will have to deal with problems of immigration and overcrowding, just as we do on Earth."
The important job for us now, he says, is to enlarge the domain of life. Larger decisions can wait.
"We may leave to our descendants the decision whether or not to enlarge the domain of humanity," Dyson says. "It is enough that we give them the choice."
Next Page: Ensure the Survival of Our Species
advertisement
