I alluded to one reason we share that brings us into common focus on trying to do something about such seeming insurmountable "existential risks" and that is a consequence of the positive aspect of living longer. If we are to live longer then we must prepare to meet such challenges head on.
Living longer will not take place with greater complacency about the world around us, it will not be caused by seeing life as less meaningful and it will not in itself cause us to see life as less meaningful. Quite to the contrary I suspect it will promote a new awareness of what transpires around us in this world and a greater desire to influence events towards more positive outcomes that we live to share.
For us to succeed we must act as leaders by example and demonstrate concern, good will, and make honest efforts to remedy that which has confounded human progress throughout the ages but we are not the first generation nor hopefully the last to come upon such recognition and I suggest that the history books are still valuable in this respect by providing a better understanding of the foundations upon which we build.
However we are the bearers of a new message of hope and it is one worth living for; one that says to everyone listening that there is a real chance to build a better world in our lifetime and live to preserve and protect it, but more importantly to enjoy it.
Living longer simply forces a measure of life by very different standards than are generally understood and such a difference contributes to radically altered perspectives on what constitutes risk but it also irrevocably alters the measure of reward.
The baubles that passed for profit in the past may no longer appear as anything more than childish trinkets in a world where worth is measured by the quality of lives shared in an Eden of our own creation, or where the real risk is eternity in a hell of our making.
Death is life's whip but it makes slaves of us all and what we are about is the liberation of the human spirit from the bondage of mortality. This cannot be accomplished by a single-minded fixation on risk as all risks must be measured in costs, capabilities, and the potential for reward. This is how we turn life's lemons into lemonade.
For example I have argued numerous times that we need to focus on capturing asteroids because the
rewards are very tangible and immediate. It would also provide a technology in place that can meet an unforeseen challenge someday to prevent the next KT event. It is not pie in the sky chart speculation.
I am not as concerned about Cosmic Heat Death as I am about Solar Storms and real terrestrial climate because it is what I must address at the moment and even this borders on an irrationally optimistic goal. Getting fixated on building shelters against Cosmic Ray Bursts is a little like building dikes in the desert against the threat of flooding caused by global warming, I suggest there exists a better first line of defense.
I am not complacent about resource depletion, climate, about polarizing politics and stratified economics. I think a lot can be done that we aren't in terms of building collective protection but the greatest threat most people everywhere face is street crime, not even epidemics. The greatest threat they daily cope with is the loss of income from unstable and exploitive market practices and famine still kills more people on Earth today than even war so lets not get too sanguine about technology because it only works were it is affordable and even then some costs are measured beyond money.
But in building a collective protection who are we? How do we learn to trust one another and build on our individual strengths and overcome our weaknesses?
One pragmatic approach when feasible is to try and sort out tasks so as to tackle them one at a time in a manner intended to lend a symmetry to the effort such that success in one builds aptitude and resources for dealing with a greater threat. This is the reason I have recommended altering the focus of the space program from going to the planets immediately to capturing asteroids because I see this as such an avenue of opportunity, not merely because I fear a strike.
I said "when feasible" because life rarely gives us the luxury of tackling one problem at a time and for this reason juggling should be required study for any politician, not too mention it would improve their general showmanship.
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