Is Musk In Touch With Reality?

[Atheist]

Does he really believe that making a go of Mars would be easier than making a go of Earth?

[Peter Pedant]

well he is certainly in touch with his bank account hur hur hur

[davebro3]

Could be an alternative to Rwanda...

[Cloverjo]

He might as well try. He's keeping a lot of people in work.

[Atheist]

So did Hitler when he recruited concentration camp guards.

[wolf63]

Maybe we could send him to Mars as an experiment😂

See how long he'll last.

He probably thinks that's where Mars Bars come from.

[douglas9401]

Top notch crowbarring, Atheist.

[Old_Geezer]

Sometimes it's nice to start again with a clean sheet.

[Atheist]

Douglas... I'm a simple soul, so I don't know if you're mocking me or smiling in agreement.

[Clone]

So did Hitler when he recruited concentration camp guards.

 

 

Pathetic.

 

[Hazi-Hammenuhoth]

What do you think, Atheist?  Doesn’t it take visionaries like Elon Musk to push the boundaries if humanity is going to adapt and change? Why shouldn’t Mars serve as a backup for humanity in case of disasters and overpopulation?

Financially speaking, perhaps Mars' resources could support industries and space travel, creating economic opportunities? Maybe the colonisation of Mars would inspire progress and mark a significant step toward becoming a multi-planetary species.  But don’t let all this get in the way of shoe-horning the name of Adolf Hitler into your thread, which does leave one dubious as to the innocence of your question and motive in asking it.

[Peter Pedant]

Douglas... I'm a simple soul, so I don't know if you're mocking me or smiling in agreement.

We know what it is like on Mars -  I have seen Total Recall

I think he is mocking

[youngmafbog]

There was no innocence in the question.

Atheist is one of the vile lefties who hates success.

My guess is he failed in life miserably, and probaly has a small appendage.

 

[youngmafbog]

As to the OP, I say go for it.  Who knows what will come off the back of it.

[Atheist]

Hazi: I think it possible that at some time in the future humans will leave Earth to colonise other planets, but there are some huge obstacles in the way.

1

[jackthehat]

I understand that there are concerns regarding the gestation and development of human beings outside of 'standard' gravity.

So, that would need to be properly addressed before we all decamp to the red planet.

[Atheist]

ooops!

1 Humans might well destroy their own civilisation (perhaps not the whole human race).

2 Mars is a hugely different environment and would require a lot of work to make it habitable. It seems to me that it would be more realistic to keep the Earth in good shape, rather than start from scratch.

3 Human space travel is fraught with danger; radiation, psychological problems during the journey as well as after arrival, physiological damage due to long periods of low gravity during the journey.

I don't think it will happen for many years, centuries even.

[Hazi-Hammenuhoth]

I expect you a right on all counts, Atheist.  But can't see any issue with research, development, exploration, looking at all options- and Musk is the right man for it, if anyone is.

[Spungle]

In answer to the original question, 8 names spring to mind.   Galileo, Gregor Mendel, Alfred Wegener, Barbara McClintock, Ludwig Boltzmann, George Zweig, Velikovsky and Fred Hoyle.  Don't wish to be patronising but a bit of research on any of the above will answer your question.  In a nutshell, all people who were regarded as "out of touch with reality" but ultimately proved right.  Musk may or may not live to see Mars populated- in fact, it's very unlikely he will.  That said, we need pioneers in all areas if humanity is to progress.

[Atheist]

Spungle; I'm not sure why Velikovsky is in your list.

Musk is not in the same league as the people in your list. He is an entrepreneur and his space work is engineering/technology, not breakthrough scientific discovery. Many great scientists had periods of being scoffed at when their work was first presented, but not everyone who is scoffed at is a great scientist.

 

[Spungle]

Yes, I do agree with you, Atheist.  Perhaps some better examples of technology pioneers who were similarly accused of being out of touch with reality but proved right could include Nikola Tesla, Alan Turing, Tim Berners-Lee, Steve Jobs, Marconi, Charles Babbage etc etc.  I'm not saying Musk is necessarily right or wrong, but the world always requires people who will strive to achieve the impossible, because everything is impossible until it is done.