Re: Hard Sci-fi?

::: FWIW, historical evidence suggests that societies with widespread
::: intertwining of monolithic religion with government can make rapid
::: technological advances, and sup****t widespread exploration and
::: colonization with said advances.  I don't see much evidence the
::: ananlogy wouldn't work for space exploration/colonization. 

:: Can you cite some examples?  I'm not disputing what you're saying,
:: I'm honestly curious to see your evidence. 

: Michael Ash <mike@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
: Europe, circa 1500-1800. 

Yeah, that's the example I had in mind, pretty much.  I think one could
argue
similar things about china, but eh, the one example seems to suffice,
since
it's quite extensive.

I mean, even as they were gaoling Galileo and burning Bruno, they *were*
making huge technological and scientific strides, and they used it in
large-ish intercontinental colonization efforts.  And it wasn't until
the late 1700s before there *was* any noticeable disentangling of
government from religion (right?).


Wayne Throop   throopw@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
   http://sheol.org/throopw