See, I'm already getting the hang of this space thing.

Your comment on cultural/collapse and diversity in space settlements was right on. I've always felt this was one of the most attractive long-term benefits of the space program. As the earth loses cultural diversity and becomes more and more homogeneous as to language, technology, etc. the sheer isolation of remote space settlements, perhaps colonized by different national groups, would give you some form of variation. Communication would still unify all the outposts to the metropole, but individual characteristics could arise and flourish. I don't think it would be good for humanity to be all the same, any more than if all individuals were similar physically and mentally.

Different cultures do see the world differently, and even with all the risks for conflict this implies, the multiple viewpoints allowed by different perspectives are essential. Cultures too long isolated from others tend to see the world only from their point of view. "The superstitions of their tribe are not the laws of physics."