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Comment by jxf | Hacker News Reader

All life seeks to explore, because adaptation is essential to continued survival. Mars is a laboratory for us to see if we can thrive outside our home world.

If there's two things the universe teaches us, it's that (1) our little corner is cosmologically not very special, and (2) extremely terrible and instantly fatal disasters are not rare on long enough timescales — rogue planets, asteroid impacts, gamma ray bursts, and so on.

These are all happening _somewhere_ and it's only a matter of time before it happens to us. It doesn't mean that terrestrial concerns (wage inequality, the housing crisis, racism, war, et cetera) aren't important to address. It means we need to take _both_ timescales into account.

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> If there's two things the universe teaches us, it's that (1) our little corner is cosmologically not very special, and (2) extremely terrible and instantly fatal disasters are not rare on long enough timescales — rogue planets, asteroid impacts, gamma ray bursts, and so on.

I hope you re-read this and see the contradiction. If instantly-fatal disasters are not rare, then our little corner isn't just special, it's incredibly, mind-blowing improbability special.

There may be a lot of stars with planets, but how many planets have such large satellites formed as a result of an immense planetary collision? What about ones with such an abundance of water? And a strong magnetic field? And ones that somehow dodged instantly fatal disasters for almost 3.5 billion years - and have such a mind-blowing variety of conditions to lead to increasingly complex life forms?

> Mars is a laboratory for us to see if we can thrive outside our home world.

Survive? Yes. Thrive. Never. Even on a geological scale. We don't even thrive on Earth outside of very narrow temperate bands and massive technological adaptations.

> And ones that somehow dodged instantly fatal disasters for almost 3.5 billion years

We didn't dodge them. We were hit by them repeatedly. Humans just weren't alive then to be killed by them.

GP still correct though. Unlike other planet, so far no life like earth, all those hits made earth better. There has been life on earth for millions years.

While I agree with the second point, I don’t agree with the first one completely right. Our little corner is very special in one way, which has resulted in life arising and existing for billions of years. Leave aside whether the human species will last or not. It’s still special considering the numerous factors that have enabled and protected the possibility of life (I’m not saying this from a divine or religious perspective).

(1) our little corner is cosmologically not very special,

Seems like a put down. It’s a special place. Same as mars or any other solar system. Existence is special.

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