Vesta
Coming of Age
Quotes within the Story
Vesta - Coming of Age has multiple messages and theme delivery styles,
one of which is identified through quotes:
Observations by Science Fiction Writers and Futurists
Engineering Observations by Hyman Rickover
Behavioral, Cultural and Historical Notes
Vesta - Coming of Age has multiple messages and theme delivery styles,
one of which is identified through quotes:
Wisdom from the Ages
“Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.”
Niels Bohr
“The future you shall know when it has come; before then, forget it.”
Aeschylus
“There is no grief which time does not lessen and soften.”
Cicero
“I can't imagine a person becoming a success
who doesn't give this game of life everything he's got.”
Walter Cronkite
“Man does not weave this web of life. He is merely a strand of it.
Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.”
Chief Seattle
“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”
Benjamin Franklin
“Good character is not formed in a week or a month.
It is created little by little, day by day.
Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.”
Heraclitus
“Whoever walks with the wise will become wise,
but the companion of fools suffers harm.”
Solomon
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer.
Always remember, you have within you the strength,
the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars
to change the world."
Harriet Tubman
“Do the difficult things while they are easy
and do the great things while they are small.
A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.”
Lao Tzu
“The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.”
Tacitius
“Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy.”
Isaac Newton
“Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need.”
Voltaire
“Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise.”
Proverbs
“To be fond of learning is to be near to knowledge.”
Tze Tze
"Excellence is the best deterrent to racism or sexism."
Oprah Winfrey
“Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway.”
John Wayne
"Just because you do not take an interest in politics
doesn't mean politics won't take an interest in you.”
Pericles:
“We cannot teach people anything;
we can only help them discover it within themselves.”
Galileo
“Make the best use of what's in your power
and take the rest as it happens.”
Epictetus
“Women, like men, should try to do the impossible.
And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others."
Amelia Earhart
“Any crusade requires optimism and the ambition to aim high.”
Paul Allen
“We are part of this universe; we are in this universe,
but perhaps more important than both of those facts,
is that the universe is in us.”
Tyson DeGrasse
“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them,
glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.”
Thucydides
"
"Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself, but talent instantly recognizes genius."
Arthur Conan Doyle
“The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog.”
Mark Twain
"Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it."
Descartes
“If we’re not foolish young, we’re foolish old.”
Chaucer
“Better to be wise by the misfortunes of others than by your own.”
Aesop
"A successful Civilization rely upon the
Extraordinary Capabilities
that are contained in the Common Person"
Authors
“Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks.”
Herodotus
“People readily believe what they want to believe.”
Julius Caesar
“As I hurtled through space, one thought kept crossing my mind –
every part of this rocket was supplied by the lowest bidder.”
John Glenn
“Knowledge, if it does not determine action, is dead to us.”
Plotinus
“If a man wishes to separate from a woman who has borne him children,
or from his wife who has borne him children: then he shall give that wife her dowry,
and a part of the product of field, garden, and property,
so that she can rear her children.
When she has brought up her children,
a portion of all that is given to the children,
equal as that of one son, shall be given to her.
She may then marry the man of her heart.”
CODE of Hammurabi
“I am not very impressed by what you have been doing,
when one does a theoretical calculation, you know, there are two ways of doing it,
either you have a clear physical model in mind,
or you should have a rigorous mathematical basis, you have neither.”
So that was it, in about two sentences he had disposed of the whole subject.
-Conversation with Enrico Fermi, recalled by Freeman Dyson, regarding a year’s long research project
“We can only see a short distance ahead,
but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.”
Alan Turing
“Be still my heart; thou hast known worse than this.”
Homer
“When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project,
all your thoughts break their bonds.”
Patanjali
“Necessity is the mother of invention.”
Plato
“War is not an independent phenomenon,
but the continuation of politics by different means.”
von Clausewitz possible oort?
"In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity."
Sun Tzu
“No man ever steps in the same river twice,
for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
Heraclitus:
“They can conquer who believe they can.”
Virgil
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Seneca
“All things share the same breath - the beast, the tree, the man...
the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports.”
Chief Seattle
“Don't look back. Something might be gaining on you.”
Satchel Paige
“Take only memories, leave nothing but footprints.”
Chief Seattle
“One of the only ways to get out of a tight box is to invent your way out.”
Jeff Bezos
“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises.”
Demosthenes
“An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes
that can be made in his subject, and how to avoid them.”
Heisenberg
“Therefore, when I considered this carefully,
the contempt which I had to fear
because of the novelty and apparent absurdity of my view,
nearly induced me to abandon utterly the work I had begun.”
Copernicus
“Why worry about doing something you love? Figure out what the opportunity is.
Find a thing, get good at it, learn to love it later.”
Mike Rowe
“I learned very early the difference between
knowing the name of something and knowing something.”
Richard Feynman
“Know how to listen and you will profit even from those who have difficulty expressing themselves.”
Plutarch
“Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.”
Marcus Aurelius,
“A good disposition is a virtue in itself.”
Ovid
“War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it.
The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over.”
Tecumseh Sherman
Vesta - Coming of Age has multiple messages and theme delivery styles,
one of which is identified through quotes:
Observations by
Science Fiction Writers and Futurists
“The dinosaurs became extinct because they didn't have a space program.
And if we become extinct because we don't have a space program,
it'll serve us right!”
– Larry Niven
“Science, my lad, is made up of mistakes, but they are mistakes which it is useful to make, because they lead little by little to the truth.“
– Jules Verne
"Looking at these stars suddenly dwarfed my own troubles
and all the gravities of terrestrial life."
- H.G. Wells
“Being like everybody is the same as being nobody.”
Rod Serling
“Stuff your eyes with wonder, …. live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.“
– Ray Bradbury
“That’s the greatest thing about wikis:
they combine the best features of democracy and autocracy.
Everybody has an equal say. But some got bigger says than others.”
Paul Di Filippo
“We get too soon old and too late smart.”
- Kelly Freas
“The capacity to learn is a gift; The ability to learn is a skill;
The willingness to learn is a choice.
- Brian Herbert
“Home is People”
- Robin Hobb
“We're not freaks…. We're normal. We may not be gorgeous,
but at least we're not hyped-up Barbie dolls.”
- Scott Westerfeld
“The kid is scary.”
Orson Scott Card
“It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
- J. K. Rowling
“Sometimes I think I must have a Guardian Idiot.
A little invisible spirit just behind my shoulder,
looking out for me...only he's an imbecile.”
- Spider Robinson
"I, for one, bet on science as helping us. I have yet to see
how it fundamentally endangers us, even with the H-bomb lurking about.
Science has given us more lives than it has taken; we must remember that.“
- Philip K. Dick
“Arrogance and Conceit are the mother and father of a closed mind.”
- Richard Nance
"We are what we pretend to be,
so we must be careful about what we pretend to be."
- Kurt Vonnegut
“First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable.
Habit will sustain you whether you're inspired or not. Habit will help you finish.”
- Octavia E. Butler
“Trust no one," …., "especially Teachers.”
- A.J. Arias
“You meet a new person;
you go with him and suddenly you get a whole new city...
you go down new streets, you see houses you never saw before,
pass places you didn't even know were there. Everything changes.”
- Samuel Delany
“Don’t quit.”
Isaac Asimov – conversation with author
“Seek freedom and become captive of your desires.
Seek discipline and find your liberty.”
- Frank Herbert
“I don't mind you thinking I'm stupid, but don't talk to me like I'm stupid.”
- Harlan Ellison
“There is absolutely no single aspect of one’s personality
that is more important to develop than empathy,
which is not a skill at which men typically are asked to excel.”
- Chris Ware
“Take time to do it right.”
Arthur C Clarke - conversation with authors
“The future is here. It’s just not widely distributed yet.”
- William Gibson
“Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting.”
- Alan Dean Foster
“It's odd how violence and humor so often go together, isn't it?”
- Dan Simmons
“He looks a bit mad!’ I remarked.
‘Or perhaps ready to embark on some shady diversion.’
Holmes turned to me in amusement. ‘Possibly. One never knows with an artist.”
- Bonnie MacBird
“Dogs could mellow a wild boy, or open up a shy one.”
- Greg Bear
“Loneliness becomes an acid that eats away at you.”
- Haruki Murakami
“Anyway, that's what life is, just one learning experience after another,
and when you're through with all the learning experiences
you graduate and what you get for a diploma is, you die.”
- Frederik Pohl
“One should never regret one's excesses, only one's failures of nerve.”
- Iain M. Banks
“Reputation is what other people know about you.
Honor is what you know about yourself.”
- Lois McMaster
“History does not always repeat itself. Sometimes it just yells”
- John W. Campbell Jr
“When it comes to privacy and accountability,
people always demand the former for themselves
and the latter for everyone else.”
- David Brin
“Whenever serious and competent people need to get things done in the real world,
all considerations of tradition and protocol fly out the window.”
- Neal Stephenson
“All secrets are deep. All secrets become dark. That's in the nature of secrets.”
- Cory Doctorow
“I've yet to see any problem, however complicated,
which when you looked at it the right way didn't become still more complicated.”
- Poul Anderson
“All the repetitions in the pattern were superficial; the moment was always new.
It had to be lived, and then the next moment embraced as it arrived.”
- Kim Stanley Robinson
“A man either lives life as it happens to him, meets it head-on and licks it,
or he turns his back on it and starts to wither away.”
- Gene Roddenberry
“We all know interspecies romance is weird.”
- Tim Burton
“Weakness and ignorance are not barriers to survival, but arrogance is.”
- liu Cixin
“Either get busy living or get busy dying.”
- Stephen King
“Do what you haven't done is the key, I think.”
- Ridley Scott
“A trap is only a trap if you don't know about it.
If you know about it, it's a challenge.”
- China Miéville
“I didn't mind getting old when I was young.
It's the being old now that's getting to me.”
John Scalzi
“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.
Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories,
instead of theories to suit facts.”
- Arthur Conan Doyle
“Knowledge is like an endless resource;
a well of water that satisfies the innate thirst of the growing human soul.
Therefore, never stop learning...
because the day you do, you will also stop maturing.”
- Chidi Okonkwo
“Never own more than you can carry in both hands at a dead run.”
- Robert Heinlein
“There is no time for fear. It's much too interesting.”
- Cordwainer Smith
“If I had followed my better judgment always,
my life would have been a very dull one.”
- Edgar Rice Burroughs
“When it came to my art, I went my own way and did not follow the trends.”
- Frank Frazetta
“Do you see things in black and white, or are there shades of gray for you?"
"I hope there's gray...Black and white make things easier,
but only if you don't want to think.”
- Harry Turtledove
Bran thought about it. 'Can a man still be brave if he's afraid?'
'That is the only time a man can be brave,' his father told him.
- George R.R. Martin
“True peace required the presence of justice, not just the absence of conflict.”
― N.K. Jemisin
“It is a known fact that the sheep that give us steel wool
have no natural enemies.”
― Gary Larson
“I have tried at times to place humans in perspective
against the vastness of universal time and space.
When I talk of the purpose of life,
I am thinking not only of human life, but of all life on Earth
and of the life which must exist upon other planets throughout the universe.
It is only of life on Earth, however, that one can speak with any certainty.
It seems to me that all life on Earth,
the sum total of life upon the Earth, has purpose.”
- Clifford D Simak
“Everybody thought I was a bit of an eccentric
for wanting to be out there looking at the stars, but I still do.”
- Brian May – Lead Guitarist for Queen, Astrophysicist,
and a friend to our friend Kelly Freas
“Space isn't remote at all.
It's only an hour's drive away if your car could go straight upwards.”
- Fred Hoyle
“It is good to have an end to journey toward,
but it is the journey that matters in the end.”
- Ursula le Guin
“A year of ending and beginning, a year of loss and finding...
and all of you were with me through the storm.”
- C J Cherryh
“Nuff said!”
- Stan Lee
“Her people, like all the other people on earth,
were too self-centered, too introspective.”
- Vonda McIntyre
“I may not have gone where I intended to go,
but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”
- Douglas Adams
“The very winds whispered in soothing accents,
and maternal Nature bade me weep no more.”
- Mary Shelly
“Don’t wake me for the end of the world
unless it has very good special effects.”
- Roger Zelazny
Vesta - Coming of Age has multiple messages and theme delivery styles,
one of which is identified through quotes:
Universal Hope concepts
-
Understanding
-
Morals
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Purpose
-
Hope
-
Roadmap
A program proposed to usher us through the upcoming years
In Our Uncertain Times,
There are no Guarantees,
But if We Work Hard Together,
We have a Chance, and that,
Is Reason for REAL HOPE
Vesta - Coming of Age has multiple messages and theme delivery styles,
one of which is identified through quotes:
Universal Hope concepts
-
Greater Understanding
Greater Understanding
-
Building upon the efforts of Our Ancestors and the Discoveries of the last 50 years,
Our Understanding of the root causes of Behavior
and of the underlying mechanisms of Society
Is Greater than any time before in History.
Truth and Understanding can be divided into Three Systems
1. Universal Truths
-
Stars Exist without the intervention of Mankind
2. Personal Truths
-
That each of us individually perceive through our senses and believe to be true.
3. Modeled Truths
-
Are the best available descriptions of Universal Truths
that have been independently examined, developed by consensus, and shared.
The Universe Exists without Mankind.
-
The stars in other Galaxies would exist whether Mankind existed or not.
The Universe Exists Within Mankind
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Life is Part of the Universe
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Mankind is part of Life
Life has Value
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A Universe with Life is Better than a Universe without Life
-
Life is more important than cold rock
-
People are part of Life
-
People are Important
“I think, therefore, I am.”
-
The ability to articulate this idea is unique in Mankind.
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You are Important, I am important, we both have worth.
The Stars and Universal Truths exist
Mankind and Personal Truth exist.
Modeled Truths describe Universal Truths.
The Bare Philosophy
A natural world, Earth, exists, and you exist in this world.
If you were the only one left in the world, who is responsible for your survival?
What you do, or don’t do, is your responsibility,
and only you are responsible for your own survival.
A Cultural Philosophy
Your environment is overwhelmingly occupied by people.
The culture people create affects your life.
You are responsible for your culture.
The Orca Corundum:
Orcas are Life, Orcas have Merit, Orcas eat Life, that is Life.
Mankind is Life, People have Merit.
The Ethical Challenge
Producers, Predators, and Parasites all exist in Nature.
They all have an equal value in the Universe.
The tree, the cow, the lion, and the human,
have the same weight ethically.
Tiger Tales
Tigers and Lions are the same under the skin.
The behavior of tigers and lions is dissimilar,
and not caused by cultural and environmental differences.
Much of people’s behavior has a strong genetic genesis.
Much of human culture reflects our genetic heritage.
The Cooperation Postulate:
Within the natural world, life has formed many types of cooperative groups.
It has been shown that the individual is more successful as a member of a group.
Since before the time of recorded history, Mankind has formed many types of cooperative groups.
The Ethical Challenge
Producers, Predators, and Parasites all exist in Nature.
They all have an equal value in the Universe.
The tree, the cow, the lion, and the human, have the same weight ethically.
Groups are subject to Predation and must protect themselves.
Predation is ethical for the individual.
Human Behavior and Social Groups
Animal and Pack
Tribal and Civil
The Pecking Order Group (POG)
Human Genetics creates a suite of impulses
that includes a desire for association, and also for status.
Left alone, these instincts and emotions
tend to culminate in basic and beneficial social groups.
This genetically derived formed society is best described as a
Pecking Order Group (POG) (or Pack).
For Mankind to Survive,
We must continue to
Improve and Protect Civilization
Vesta - Coming of Age has multiple messages and theme delivery styles,
one of which is identified through quotes:
Universal Hope concepts
-
Better Morals
-
We are subject to our society, for it surrounds us.
-
We are responsible for our society.
-
All people must be treated equally by our society.
-
We are obligated to treat each other
with respect and kindness
Universal Hope Guides
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Life is a gift, be thankful
-
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You are responsible
-
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Marriage is stronger than facing the Universe alone
-
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Families are the foundation of society and life
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Be responsible for society, for society will nurture you
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Do not be a predator upon society
-
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Do not be a parasite upon society
-
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Reject pleasures for pleasure sake, they are false and short lived
-
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Do not be tempted by status
-
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God
Life is a gift, be thankful
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Prepare yourself with understanding, effort, commitment and compromise,
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Do not demand to be blessed for your effort.
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Reject anger and resentment because they are harmful, blind, self-centered and incapable of learning
You are responsible
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You have a responsibility and a right to life and liberty
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Work hard for your sustenance, your marriage, your family, and for your society
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Remove yourself from the world’s responsibilities periodically so to sustain your life’s effort
Marriage is stronger than facing the Universe alone
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“I” died the day “WE” got married, commit yourself to the marriage
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Do not allow your mother, father, children, friends, or neighbors to break the marriage bond
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Thou shalt not commit adultery from within or into a committed relationship
Families are the foundation of society and life and all partners shall
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Support the common need before their personal goals
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Nurture the next generation,
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Understand and respect their ancestors, for they survived
Be responsible for society, for society will nurture you
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All people are created with equal value
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Respect and Care for your neighbors, do onto others as you would have them do unto you
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Contribute to your society
Do not be a predator upon society
-
Do not commit murder
-
Do not commit assault
-
Do not commit rape
Do not be a parasite upon society
-
Do not steal
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Do not deceive nor bear false witness
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Do not take advantage of other’s misfortunes
Reject pleasures for pleasure sake, they are false and short lived
-
Avoid unrealistic expectations, for they cause women to go crazy and men to become mad
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Do not have intercourse unless in a committed relationship, do not voluntarily become a single parent
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Avoid drugs and alcohol except during common celebration, and then only in moderation
Do not be tempted by status
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The pursuit of fame is a false god
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Do not be a bully or belittle others
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Do not covet or be envious of others
God
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Maintain your personal relationship with God as you will
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Do not interfere with another person’s relationship with God, theirs is as important as yours,
-
God is Responsible for heaven, we are responsible for society
Vesta - Coming of Age has multiple messages and theme delivery styles,
one of which is identified through quotes:
Universal Hope concepts
-
Genuine Purpose
-
Genuine Purpose – Protect Life and Mankind
-
Dedicated to the protection of Life, Humanity,
and the Colonization of the Solar System
-
Our biosphere is both robust and fragile at the same time.
We neither have the knowledge nor
the wisdom to be certain of our actions.
Vesta - Coming of Age has multiple messages and theme delivery styles,
one of which is identified through quotes:
Universal Hope concepts
-
REAL HOPE
The story of our planet indicates that life and humanity,
against all odds, have risen from small beginnings.
Our life, and the gift of our soul, then, is an opportunity unsurpassed.
Everything seems to fall apart over time.
Observations show that cooperation within groups
somehow overcomes this seemingly inevitable weathering.
The slings and arrows of nature drives us to fear the unknown.
Fear becomes a poison of our mind and in our soul.
Purpose, HOPE and FAITH can conquer FEAR
History shows life and mankind
have overcome enormous obstacles,
and those facts underpin and gives us the
REASON to believe we have a Chance.
Real Purpose and HOPE is the poultice that cures our fears,
Creates inner peace and allows us to continue to Strive against the Tides of the Universe.
You ARE Important
I AM Important
We do have a Real Chance.
Pragmatic Optimist:
-
A person who uses Reasonable Hope
-
To Create Inner Peace
-
and External Accomplishment
Universal HOPE
Greater Understanding
Better Morals
Genuine Purpose
Reason for REAL Hope
In Our Uncertain Times,
There are no Guarantees,
But if We Work Hard Together,
We have a Chance, and that,
Is Reason for REAL HOPE
Vesta - Coming of Age has multiple messages and theme delivery styles,
one of which is identified through quotes:
Universal Hope concepts
-
Roadmap
How we achieve our Goals
Develop a Roadmap
Improve and Protect Society
Technical Innovation
Generate Ownership of the Future for the Next Generation
ROADMAP
A successful colonization of the solar system
will take many generations, perhaps millennia.
ROADMAP
The Space Colonization Effort will be more arduous than speculated;
Over ten thousand distinct industries and
One-hundred-million people must be engaged.
ROADMAP
The centuries required by the Space Colonization Effort
will necessitate a stable and robust civilization,
Demanding a Greater Understanding of
Human Behavior and Culture consistent with Reality.
ROADMAP
A Movement shall be created
Bringing together interested and concerned people and
Engaging the next generation
By giving them ownership of their future
ROADMAP
Each Generation is Responsible for their Survival.
The Colonization Movement will require
many paths to be pursued in parallel
This multitasking will require
social, technological, and economic approaches.
ROADMAP
The Cultural approach would focus on engaging the younger generation.
They can be inspired with Real hope, and Real Action.
Books, movies, gaming systems can dial in on real locations in the solar system.
SimCity survivors can create a similar playfield for the solar system.
Participants can crowd source actual launches to the asteroid belt
and acquire ownership in their own future.
ROADMAP
The effort required to Colonize the Solar System
will be more than humanity has ever done together.
It will be so difficult, that it is very possible it will be a complete failure, forever.
As such, minimizing wasted effort will be tantamount,
and a primary technical focus should be the asteroids.
Reducing the energy requirements of the deep gravity wells
will free up significant resources for other goals.
ROADMAP
A technical solution for the inability of the human body
to survive long periods of weightlessness (See the Engineering note 3),
The PHILIPS’ Bolo Habitats are not only solutions
for the lack of gravity, but also create
a practical, effective engineering solution and
reduce the enormous cost of logistical support.
The Space Program
Our Present to the Future
Why colonize space?
Because, like public education,
the space program has been NET Sum Positive.
This means, by investing in our future, our benefits
are greater than our costs.
Why colonize space?
Because our descendants may depend upon it.
Pragmatic Optimist:
A person who uses Reason to create Hope.
Vesta - Coming of Age has multiple messages and theme delivery styles,
one of which is identified through quotes:
Engineering Observations
by Hyman Rickover, father of modern and safe nuclear power
“I believe it is the duty of each of us to act as if the fate of the world depended on him.
Admittedly, one man by himself cannot do the job.
However, one man can make a difference...
We must live for the future of the human race,
and not for our own comfort or success.”
“Responsibility is a unique concept...
You may share it with others, but your portion is not diminished.
You may delegate it, but it is still with you...
If responsibility is rightfully yours, no evasion, or ignorance or passing the blame can shift the burden to someone else.
Unless you can point your finger at the man who is responsible when something goes wrong,
then you have never had anyone really responsible.”
“Everything new endangers something old. A new machine replaces human hands;
a new source of power threatens old businesses;
a new trade route wipes out the supremacy of old ports and brings prosperity to new ones.
This is the price that must be paid for progress and it is worth it”
"In Greek mythology, Antaeus was a giant who was strong
as long as he had contact with the Earth.
When he was lifted from the Earth, he lost strength. So, it is with engineers.
They must not become isolated from the real world."
“It isn't what you know, it is what you do with what you know."
"A man, by working 24 hours a day, could multiply himself 3 times.
To multiply himself more than 3 times,
the only recourse is to train others to take over some of his work."
"There are one-hundred-and-sixty-eight hours in the week.
What are you going to do with the 140 hours you are awake? "
Hyman Rickover, conversation with author
Vesta - Coming of Age has multiple messages and theme delivery styles, one of which is identified through quotes:
Historical Observations
Behavioral Observations
Cultural Observations