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NASA are idiots. They want to send canned meat to Mars!”…

“NASA are idiots. They want to send canned meat to Mars!” Manfred swallows a mouthful of beer, aggressively plonks his glass on the table. “Mars is just dumb mass at the bottom of a gravity well; there isn’t even a biosphere there. They should be working on uploading and solving the nanoassembly…” quote by Charles Stross
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““NASA are idiots. They want to send canned meat to Mars!” Manfred swallows a mouthful of beer, aggressively plonks his glass on the table. “Mars is just dumb mass at the bottom of a gravity well; there isn’t even a biosphere there. They should be working on uploading and solving the nanoassembly conformational problem instead. Then we could turn all the available dumb matter into computronium and use it for processing our thoughts. Long-term, it’s the only way to go. The solar system is a dead loss right now – dumb all over! Just measure the MIPS per milligram. If it isn’t thinking, it isn’t working.””

Charles Stross

About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Advocates focusing on advanced computing and nanotech over traditional space colonization, seeing matter as raw computational substrate.

In simple terms: Prioritize turning matter into computronium for thought processing.

Key Takeaway

Invest in nanotech and computational efficiency.

Themes

technology future resource allocation

Mood

skeptical optimistic

Type

philosophical speculative

When to use this quote

  • space exploration
  • AI development
  • resource management
  • long‑term planning

Key Concepts

computronium nanoassembly gravity well

Questions to Reflect On

  • Can computational substrates replace biological minds?
  • What are the risks of neglecting planetary exploration?
A Different Perspective

Assumes nanotech will solve consciousness, which is unproven.

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