[Q&A+] Things I Changed My Mind About After 27 Years of Space Journalism

Frank Herbert or Dan Simmons?

Ty so much for ur dedication to new/interesting astronomy questions always on here!!

As a nón-whíte watched Duen and Arrakis is Iraq and Spice is Crude Oil, lost my interest immediately. Sorry. I'll see if I can watch "For all mankind" though trailers were probably not well done, like most of Apple TV's productions., won't hold against it lol

DEAR FRASER: I've read a few books by Mary Roach. One of them, "Packing for Mars" is a potted history of the manned space program and all the things we had to learn in order to keep humans alive during spaceflight. It was a fascinating and well-researched read, and Ms. Roach is an entertaining writer. Since your views about Mars colonization have evolved, I think you may wish to interview Mary Roach for Universe Today. It would be a great discussion. By the way, I agree with you about "Dune" by Frank Herbert. I've been reading science fiction since elementary school, and I still consider "Dune" the greatest novel of them all.

As much as I would like to see humans exploring space but I doubt it will happen. We are nearing the end of the 6th earth.

I enjoyed Frank Herbert's Dune sequels. It seemed to me that Herbert intended to write 2 trilogies with a transitional book between them, namely God Emperor of Dune. Unfortunately, he never completed that second trilogy. Chapter House Dune ends on a kind of cliffhanger, which was kind of frustrating. I did eventually read the sequels written by Brian Herbert, and I didn't think they were very good. They did make clear why Brian wrote prequel books before the sequels, since characters from the Butlerian Jihad play a prominent role. That's non-spoilery, right?

How do we know yellow dwarf suns burn hotter as they age?

I read every book in the Dune series by Frank Herbert, including all the books by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. The books take you all the way back before the Butlerian Jihad, when humanity was enslaved by thinking machines, and covers the machine wars. I personally enjoyed all the series. The series delves into what happened that made House Harkonnen and House Atreides mortal enemies. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole series of books. Highly recommend.

I've been feeling pretty strongly for a while about the fact that we not only shouldn't live on Mars but we shouldn't visit either because of the whole contamination issue. It would be such a crime if we were to find E. coli on Mars after having visited and we would never know if native life had existed before we got there, if it was asteroid contamination or if it was us dirty dirty humans.

Hi Fraser, First time for a while since I watched one of the videos. health getting in the way sadly, been busy doing stuff though. Nice to get your take on things. Got to agree with you on many things. The colonisation of Mars is unrealistic at the moment, putting boots on the ground, very achievable, but colonisation is a nother level and we are simply not their yet as a society, technologically or emotionally. I have been doing some work, whilst ill, on the life in the universe topic that you may find of interest...may ping you a message at some point.

I need the medias!!!!!! Lol

I greatly enjoy reading the Dune series. God Emperor is perhaps my favorite, acknowledging that is a VERY conceptually challenging book. Frank is exploring the consequences of his ideas, and the ride with him is great.

Great reveal on the Q&A. Really love your channel (especially the interviews), you're pretty much the only one I watch anymore. I still believe after fifty-some years of following NASA and the others, that we still need a presence on the moon and other planets or feasibly habitable moons out there, as some of us dreamers and explorers will never let go of the idea. Having been a SciFi fan since my Jr Hi days (1967) I've probably read (and been influenced by) everything by all the old masters and some of the new writers publish. They've even inspired me to explore venues of writing, and film, myself. Though the author I have read the most has been RA Heinlein especially the alternative universe book to "Number of the Beast" and recently its parallel "The Pursuit of the Pankera." Some readers can not follow his story-lines and so criticize my level of fandom. However, as I have found one needs to have "grown-up" with Mr H's books - fiction and factual - to really understand where he is coming from. As for movies I've recently watched an odd but enjoyable one "Cowboys and Aliens" an Action/SciFi/Thriller/Western, with a bit of humor; also I took you up on your suggestion and am watching the series "Firefly." In my search for the former I found "The Nevers" also by Joss Whedon, both dark yet enjoyable. Thanks for doing what you do!

Funnily enough, just a while earlier today, I was watching a YouTube short by Neil DeGrasse Tyson in which he makes the case for not sending people to Mars (at least, not as a "in case something happens to people on Earth". Look for the short "ikW3EFcNI00": Neil DeGrasse Tyson on Mars: "don't pretend that's an escape plan!" (I'd put the link here but I don't know if that works on Patreon.)

We need to 'colonise' the Earth - properly. It's time for all of mankind to learn to live in peace, before we move out and peacefully colonise beyond.

"Built up their believes without a pillar of evidence" Well said. I may borrow this :)

Dune gets better with God Emperor, but I'd stick with Frank's books, not the others...