‘The Martian’ author Andy Weir is convinced we’ll colonize the moon — but says colonizing Mars doesn’t make any sense
Im also interested in someone coming up with a good 'pulp' formula for hard SF. I think the lack of this is one of the key reasons why we are inundated with star trek and warp drive rather than futures we can actually realise with just engineering. Can't tell from the first chapter but this might be borrowing from the "hard boiled crime fiction" direction. I think The Expanse did a bit of the same. Maybe that is the pulp angle that we need to take credible-SF film and TV out of the one off novelty category.
There's a genre known as Tech Noir which is supposed to describe this style of fiction.Various movies come under it, like Blade Runner, The Terminator, Robocop, etc
Quote‘The Martian’ author Andy Weir is convinced we’ll colonize the moon — but says colonizing Mars doesn’t make any sensehttp://www.businessinsider.sg/andy-weir-artemis-book-moon-colony-reason-2017-11/
I mostly agree with his reasoning, but the Moon offers only 0.17g, so even if a tourism economy develops, employees are unlikely going to stay there for years.
I think that neither Musk nor anybody else seems to be considering, what economic reason is there to go to this other planet? So far, I’ve never heard an answer to that. It’s like, “We can put people on Mars!” And I’m like, “Why? So they’ll be there? Well, we can put people on Antarctica, why not do that?”
QuoteI think that neither Musk nor anybody else seems to be considering, what economic reason is there to go to this other planet? So far, I’ve never heard an answer to that. It’s like, “We can put people on Mars!” And I’m like, “Why? So they’ll be there? Well, we can put people on Antarctica, why not do that?”It's disappointing that the author seems to be unaware that we have put people on Antarctica, the population is between 1000 in winter and 5000 in summer, bigger than his hypothetical Moon city.
It's disappointing that the author seems to be unaware that we have put people on Antarctica, the population is between 1000 in winter and 5000 in summer, bigger than his hypothetical Moon city.
Quote from: su27k on 11/07/2017 12:50 pmQuoteI think that neither Musk nor anybody else seems to be considering, what economic reason is there to go to this other planet? So far, I’ve never heard an answer to that. It’s like, “We can put people on Mars!” And I’m like, “Why? So they’ll be there? Well, we can put people on Antarctica, why not do that?”It's disappointing that the author seems to be unaware that we have put people on Antarctica, the population is between 1000 in winter and 5000 in summer, bigger than his hypothetical Moon city.What's the economic reason for the scientific research bases on Antarctica?
Quote from: Blackstar on 11/07/2017 09:56 pmQuote from: su27k on 11/07/2017 12:50 pmQuoteI think that neither Musk nor anybody else seems to be considering, what economic reason is there to go to this other planet? So far, I’ve never heard an answer to that. It’s like, “We can put people on Mars!” And I’m like, “Why? So they’ll be there? Well, we can put people on Antarctica, why not do that?”It's disappointing that the author seems to be unaware that we have put people on Antarctica, the population is between 1000 in winter and 5000 in summer, bigger than his hypothetical Moon city.What's the economic reason for the scientific research bases on Antarctica?The reason is off topic, but basically, owning the land. The Antarctic treaty was put together so as to prevent an international conflict over the ownership of the territory. The original one stipulated that no claim would be made beyond that of the seven nations that had already made claims. So, basically, despite their scientific nature (which can be used to map possible riches of the continent) the bases are there to assure the possession of the land.
Quote from: Blackstar on 11/07/2017 09:56 pmQuote from: su27k on 11/07/2017 12:50 pmQuoteI think that neither Musk nor anybody else seems to be considering, what economic reason is there to go to this other planet? So far, I’ve never heard an answer to that. It’s like, “We can put people on Mars!” And I’m like, “Why? So they’ll be there? Well, we can put people on Antarctica, why not do that?”It's disappointing that the author seems to be unaware that we have put people on Antarctica, the population is between 1000 in winter and 5000 in summer, bigger than his hypothetical Moon city.What's the economic reason for the scientific research bases on Antarctica?There isn't one, at least not in the short term. Which is the point: The author's single minded focus on short term economic return is misleading, it is possible to sustain a base or small city without any immediate economic return.
I've heard Weir talk about the book a couple of times, and other than world building, he hasn't really said what it is about--like who is the protagonist and what's the plot. Those things are going to be key to it being made into a movie. I'd like to think that a studio bought the movie rights after reading a nearly complete manuscript. But it's also possible that they grabbed it simply based upon the success of "The Martian," and now some scriptwriter is looking at it and wondering how he's going to turn it into a real movie. (There are different types of story options, and it's possible that they bought it contingent upon their being able to successfully adapt it to the screen--meaning Weir gets a bigger paycheck once they start filming.) I hope it works, because we need more good hard sci-fi movies and less junk like "Transformers."
Quote from: su27k on 11/08/2017 01:11 amQuote from: Blackstar on 11/07/2017 09:56 pmQuote from: su27k on 11/07/2017 12:50 pmQuoteI think that neither Musk nor anybody else seems to be considering, what economic reason is there to go to this other planet? So far, I’ve never heard an answer to that. It’s like, “We can put people on Mars!” And I’m like, “Why? So they’ll be there? Well, we can put people on Antarctica, why not do that?”It's disappointing that the author seems to be unaware that we have put people on Antarctica, the population is between 1000 in winter and 5000 in summer, bigger than his hypothetical Moon city.What's the economic reason for the scientific research bases on Antarctica?There isn't one, at least not in the short term. Which is the point: The author's single minded focus on short term economic return is misleading, it is possible to sustain a base or small city without any immediate economic return.Interesting. What or who will pay to sustain a base or small city on Mars?