Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to One thing most older SF about multigenerational starships did not address

It takes a village.
ER — (archived)

Humans have spent thousands of years living in tiny villages tilling the same plot of ground for generations. A starship with about the same population and all the amenities will be a much more stimulating environment, but it will be more isolated. In fact, it's limited size and population will be so much like the traditional village that many people will find it oddly comforting, it seems to be an environment humans are wired for at the factory. But the village still has some contact with the surrounding culture.

A much bigger problem will be maintaining the skill level of the maintenance and navigation crew, plus the skills needed by the settlers when they get to their destination. Being a farmer is not easy, but a villager can still teach it to his sons. Keeping up the ship's complement of dentists and laser techs will not be so easy without the educational infrastructure a whole society can provide. Holodecks, robots and libraries will help, but we'll still have to plan ahead for these "social" requirements just as we do the engineering of the ship itself.

If we automate all these functions completely, we risk the crew reverting to savagery by the time their descendants reach their destination.

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