If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post (even in Discussion), then it goes here.
Notes for future OT posters:
1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.
2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one. (Immediately before; refresh the list-of-threads page before posting.)
3. Open Threads should be posted in Discussion, and not Main.
4. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.
http://boingboing.net/2015/11/16/our-generation-ships-will-sink.html
Kim Stanley Robinson, author of the new scifi novel Aurora and back in the day the Mars trilogy, on how the notion of interstellar colonization and terraforming is really fantasy and we shouldnt let it color our perceptions of the actual reality we have, and the notion of diminishing returns on technology.
He doesnt condemn the genre but tries to provide a reality check for those who take their science fiction literally.
The thing that is somewhat frustrating to me is that I've been saying this for years. In our current form, it is quite pointless to attempt interstellar colonization. But once we start uploading, it becomes straightforward, even easy.