Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

Even if everybody eats twice as many animals as they do now and moves further away from their workplaces, Earth will remain a more livable place than Titan. Maybe that isn't true if we kick off a nuclear war, but it probably still is.

Global warming? Titan's atmosphere is literally not breathable, and the outside temperature is colder than any place on Earth.

Food scarcity? Nothing grows on Titan. If you're growing it indoors you might as well grow it in your underground bunker on Earth.

The only way in which a colony on Titan could be less dangerous than Earth is from other humans trying to kill you -- the argument basically turns into "Let's escape the assholes trying to kill us." Even then, it'd be easier to make an Atlantis underwater (or any number of less far-fetched ideas) than to get to Titan.

Never mind how elitist and utopian and short-sighted the "get to Titan to escape stupid people" argument is...



You are only focusing on the drawbacks of titan, and not on its significant benefits.

Titan has practically limitless amounts of fuel in the form of oceans of flowing hydrocarbons.

Titan should be though of as a resource, not necessarily as a sprawling multi-billion person supporting planet.


> You are only focusing on the drawbacks of titan, and not on its significant benefits.

I only talked about the (meagre) utility of Titan as a life-raft in the foreseeable future because that's what this thread is about. I didn't argue against visiting or colonising it because that would have been off-topic.


Hydrocarbons are useless without an oxydant.


> Even if everybody eats twice as many animals as they do now and moves further away from their workplaces, Earth will remain a more livable place than Titan. Maybe that isn't true if we kick off a nuclear war, but it probably still is.

Sure, but colonizing Titan will ensure that we develop the technologies we need to sustain the species under those conditions, rather than having to "do it live" when a nuclear war / asteroid impact / what have you happens.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2026 batch! Applications are open till July 27.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: