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Gerard K. O'Neill

Gerard K. O'Neill Biography

Physicist

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“Here is my advice as we begin the century that will lead to 2081. First, guard the freedom of ideas at all costs. Be alert that dictators have always played on the natural human tendency to blame others and to oversimplify. And don't regard yourself as a guardian of freedom unless you respect and preserve the rights of people you disagree with to free, public, unhampered expression.”

PeopleFirstsHumansIdeasNaturalFreedomRightsAdviceCenturyExpressionCostRespectRegardBlameTendenciesPreservesDisagreeDictatorGuardianBeginning
Author:Gerard K. O'Neill
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“Clearly our first task is to use the material wealth of space to solve the urgent problems we now face on Earth: to bring the poverty-stricken segments of the world up to a decent living standard, without recourse to war or punitive action against those already in material comfort; to provide for a maturing civilization the basic energy vital to its survival.”

WorldFirstsWarUseProblemActionEarthFacesEnergyWealthSpacePovertyMaterialsComfortCivilizationSurvivalStandardsTasksSolveDecentMatureUrgentRecourseMaterial Wealth
Author:Gerard K. O'Neill
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“It is the hope of those who work toward the breakout from planet Earth that the establishment of permanent, self-sustaining colonies of humans off-Earth will ... make human life forever unkillable, removing it from the endangered species list, where it now stands on a fragile Earth overarmed with nuclear weapons. Second, the opening of virtually unlimited new land areas in space will reduce territorial pressures and therefore diminish warfare on Earth itself.”

HumansSelfEarthSpaceForeverLandPlanetsWeaponsAreasPressureSpeciesListsNuclearOpeningPermanentHuman LifeFragileEstablishmentNuclear WeaponsWarfareUnlimitedDiminishColonyPlanet EarthSustainingTerritorialEndangered Species
Author:Gerard K. O'Neill
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“The fatalism of the limits-to-growth alternative is reasonable only if one ignores all the resources beyond our atmosphere, resources thousands of times greater than we could ever obtain from our beleaguered Earth. As expressed very beautifully in the language of House Concurrent Resolution 451, 'This tiny Earth is not humanity's prison, is not a closed and dwindling resource, but is in fact only part of a vast system rich in opportunities...'”

IfsFactsEarthHumanityOpportunityHouseLanguageGrowthSpaceRichGreaterLimitsResourcesPrisonTinyAlternativesAtmosphereReasonableResolutionVery BeautifulFatalism
Author:Gerard K. O'Neill
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