The end of one year and the beginning of the next invariably tunes in a philosophical mood and makes you think about the essence of what is happening and the prospects for the future, as well as the meaning of being in general. On such days, such thoughts visit the heads of not only individuals claiming intelligence, but also a significant number of ordinary people who are preoccupied with the problem of survival, and on New Year's Eve - with our salad, or hysterical Christmas shopping with the so-called developed democrats.
We will leave various kinds of usual philistine astrological forecasts and reasoning on the topic of how the “monkey” that left last year differs from the “rooster” that came this year, as well as other similar nonsense. Let's try to look at the escalating global social problems from the point of view of objective, positive science, which, it seems, will soon slide into margins under the pressure of all sorts of pseudoscientific nonsense.
Moreover, at such moments as the onset of the New Year, other representatives of real real science, so to speak, not the last minds of our time, also like to speculate, expressing their views on what is happening, with which you can agree or not, but you should listen to them.
On the eve of 2017, the famous British physicist and popularizer of science Stephen Hawking shared his views on the aggravation of global social contradictions and the increasingly clear dead end of civilization in the media. Hawking's thoughts had a certain resonance in the information space, but they did not cause much excitement, which was expected for a number of reasons, primarily because of the progressive philistine stupidity.
In addition, with all due respect to Mr. Hawking, in the completely fair assessments he expressed, the necessary depth and integrity is still lacking, perhaps because the scientist expressed them spontaneously, without much preparation.
According to the author of these lines, the most interesting thing is that similar thoughts on the deepening dead end of civilization and possible ways out of it at different times in different interpretations were expressed by all the best minds of their era. In particular, something similar to Hawking's considerations was expressed 50, even 60 years ago by the famous Soviet paleontologist and geologist, writer, futurologist and representative of the system of views known as cosmism, Ivan Efremov. Criticism of the commodity-money and hedonistic model of earthly civilization - and we simply do not know another model! - is given by Efremov very deeply and holistically. Equally deeply and holistically, Efremov sketched out the outlines of a possible future, that model of the global social structure and the real motivations of mankind, of course,if this humanity intends to preserve its only habitat for the time being in the form of planet Earth, in general to survive and not just survive and exist, but to realize its highest purpose.
Criticism of civilization in the only understanding we know, as well as the proposed model of the future, are contained in a number of wonderful books by Ivan Efremov. First of all, this is "Razor Blade", "Hour of the Bull" and, of course, "Andromeda Nebula" - a book about the communist future of the planet, the construction of which was mediocre and criminally failed, which became one of the most important reasons for the current "dead end of civilization". what an impasse has everyone suddenly started talking about lately, although it was obvious for a long time. It was the Andromeda Nebula that made Efremov a world famous thinker at one time, having withstood tens and hundreds of translations around the world in many languages in millions of copies. I wonder what exactly this book about the failed, sorry for the rudeness,The ten-volume Masterpieces of World Science Fiction, published in 1970 in France, began in the "fucking" communist and cosmic future of the planet. It is in 2017 that 60 years have passed since the first journal publication of this book.
"Thoughts of Efremov, even in a very weakened editorial office, so to speak adapted for the mass user of smartphones, now, six decades later, is being repeated by Stephen Hawking."
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Finally, it is the thoughts of Efremov, albeit in a very weakened edition, so to speak adapted for the mass user of smartphones, that Stephen Hawking is repeating now, six decades later. And this is another confirmation of the fact that all brilliant minds in global issues one way or another converge on one point.
Mr. Hawking and his considerations
Stephen Hawking does not need special advertising, therefore, we will give only the most brief information about this outstanding figure of our time, so to speak, for the sake of integrity.
Stephen William Hawking (Stephen William Hawking) was born on January 8, 1942, where his parents moved from London, fearing the bombing of Hitler's aircraft. Thus, on January 8, 2017, Mr. Hawking will be 75 years old, with which he can be congratulated. The future prominent British theoretical physicist and popularizer of science studied at Oxford, then at Cambridge, where he became a professor of mathematics.
Hawking's main area of research and scientific interests is cosmology and quantum gravity. Hawking's most important scientific achievements are the application of thermodynamics to the description of "black holes" in space. In 1971, Hawking, within the framework of the Big Bang theory, proposed the concept of small black holes, the mass of which could be billions of tons and at the same time occupy the volume of a proton. These objects are at the junction of the theory of relativity (due to the huge mass and gravity) and quantum mechanics (due to their small size). In 1975 he developed a theory that black holes "evaporate" due to a phenomenon called Hawking radiation.
Hawking is one of the founders of quantum cosmology.
In 2016, the scientist called microscopic black holes a source of practically unlimited energy.
Hawking is known to be almost completely paralyzed due to a number of health problems, including almost speechless. To the general public, he is known for sitting in the famous wheelchair, equipped with the latest technology with special computers, speech synthesizers and so on. All this "machinery" is designed so that the scientist can communicate with the outside world.
Hawking is also widely known as a popularizer of science and an ardent supporter of scientific views. In the latter capacity, he was one of the signatories of the so-called "Steve Project", directed in support of the theory of evolution and against the teaching of creationism in US public schools.
"Hawking is quite right in the belief that space travel is critical to the future of humanity."
Hawking holds a perfectly fair view that space travel is critical to the future of humanity, as life on Earth is in an ever-growing danger of being destroyed by global problems such as nuclear war, genetically modified viruses, or the other dangers we are talking about. have not thought about it yet.
On our own, we note that we do not even have a close idea of the complexity of deep space flights and even a complete list of all the dangers that lie in wait for a person in space. This is a separate topic, but for now.
By the way, something similar was expressed shortly before his death by another brilliant Western mind, who, however, did not have any complete education, the American science fiction and futurist Ray Bradbury.
However, Hawking's approach seems, though more than correct, but overly utilitarian. The same Bradbury emphasized the cognitive and transformative sense of the advancement of humanity into space, which advancement should make a person truly human. Thus, we are talking not only about physical salvation, but also about the salvation of the soul in the biblical sense.
The ideas of Bradbury and Hawking about the cosmic meaning of human existence are consonant with the thoughts of Ivan Efremov, as well as the views of a scientific movement of predominantly Russian-Soviet origin, known as cosmism. But more on that below.
In the last days of 2016, the British newspaper The Guardian published Hawking's article "This is the most dangerous time for our planet".
In it, Hawking argues that the reasons for Trump's victory in the US presidential election, as well as the results of the referendum on Britain's exit from the European Union, that is, the so-called Brexit, are massive fears associated with the economic consequences of globalization and the acceleration of scientific and technological progress. Hawking emphasizes that automation in factories has already led to job losses in traditional manufacturing, and the wider adoption of artificial intelligence is likely to lead to further job losses, affecting already the middle class.
"The Internet and the platforms existing thanks to it will allow a very small group of people to receive super profits"
In turn, it will accelerate the already growing economic inequality around the world. The Internet and the platforms that exist thanks to it will allow a very small group of people to receive super-profits by employing a very small number of people. According to Hawking, this is inevitable, this is progress, but socially, such progress is destructive.
Let's add on our own, this is also a regression. Actually, here Hawking casually touches on the long-known question that the course of civilization thus contains not only progressive, but also regressive-degrading tendencies, and it is difficult to say which ultimately outweighs. Nietzsche, Dostoevsky, Herzen, Berdyaev, Danilevsky Spengler spoke about this at different times in different terms. Engels wrote about this very interestingly in his textbook bestseller The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State. Erich Fromm wrote about this very deeply and comprehensively … The list is far from complete, but contains only those who first came to mind.
Hawking names the world financial crisis as one of the main reasons for the explosive growth of global social problems. In his fair opinion, the financial collapse showed that very few people in the financial sector can receive increasing rewards, while everyone else ensures that success and pays the bills. In today's world, financial inequality is not diminishing, but growing. At the same time, many not only the living standards of the overwhelming majority of the population of even the so-called developed countries are falling, but the opportunity to earn a living in general disappears, as a result of which the electorate is looking for salvation from the gaping abyss, including in Trump and Braxit.
In addition, as Hawking rightly pointed out, the unanticipated consequence of the global spread of the Internet and social media is that the harsh nature of these inequalities is much more evident than in the past. This means that the life of the richest people in the most prosperous parts of the world is, to their great regret, in full view of everyone who has access to the phone (regardless of the level of wealth). And since the telephone is now more affordable for people in sub-Saharan Africa than clean water, this will soon mean that on our increasingly overpopulated planet, almost no one can escape the problem of inequality, Hawking notes with dark humor.
The scientist rightly points to the global demographic consequences of inequality. The poor from the rural areas, driven by hope, are drawn to the big cities, to the poor slums. And then often, realizing that the nirvana (rather, dolce vita - Auth.), Which they saw on Instagram, is unattainable in these slums, they, in search of a better life, begin to look for it abroad, joining the growing ranks of economic migrants. These migrants, in turn, pose increasing problems for the infrastructure and economies of the countries they come to, which contributes to a decrease in tolerance and further fuels political populism.
Hawking draws attention to the fact that not only jobs are disappearing, but entire businesses and industries are disappearing.
Hawking draws attention to the fact that not only jobs are disappearing, but entire enterprises and industries, therefore, it is necessary to help people retrain, teach them to live in a new reality, and while they do this, support them financially. If communities and states do not cope with today's level of migration, we must actively support global development, as this is the only way to convince millions of migrants to look for perspectives in their countries. For some reason, Hawking does not think about the fact that such assistance is fraught with the spread of mass dependency, which already has a lot of examples in the so-called developed countries.
Hawking says that now more than ever before, humankind needs to work together to overcome the dire environmental challenges of climate change, food production, overpopulation, extinction, epidemics, and ocean acidification. The scientist believes that we are at the most dangerous stage in the development of mankind, since we already have the technical means capable of destroying the planet we live on, but we have not yet figured out ways to avoid this. Correlating the present with possible scenarios for the future, Hawking notes that perhaps in a couple of hundred years we will create human colonies in interstellar space, but now we have only one planet, and we must interact to protect it.
To do this, in his opinion, we need not to build barriers within countries and between them, but to break them, for which world leaders must admit that they have missed many such opportunities and continue to miss. The scientist rightly notes that the resources of the planet are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small group of people, and it is necessary to learn how to share to a much greater extent than at the present time.
With all due respect to Mr. Hawking, such slogans are nothing more than fine-hearted calls "for all good and against all bad."
Plus, it's even more complicated than he thinks. Those with whom they share will not appreciate and dirtiest what they have received. Hawking misses the most important thing: the growth of mass consciousness is necessary, the emergence of a fundamentally new mass psychology - and this is the most difficult, almost impossible. At least, it is still difficult to offer even rough recipes of how to implement this, even at the level of the emergence of the so-called "active minority", as the famous French sociologist Serge Moskovichi called it.
By the way, Efremov is free from such a shortcoming in the sense that he pays a lot of attention to the psychological portrait of the new person of the supposed perfect society of the future, which this portrait should become in order for the future society to really become perfect.
The real communist Ivan Efremov and the failed project of the future
Let's turn to the creative legacy of Ivan Efremov (1908-1972), who went, perhaps, the farthest in modeling the future perfect society.
Efremov was a paleontologist, graduated from the Faculty of Biology, had a doctorate in biology, and also had a geology degree and was engaged in prospecting and exploration of minerals. He traveled with expeditions the vast expanses of Eurasia, for the first time mapped many "white spots" of Siberia and the Far East, predicted the presence of diamonds in Yakutia. He opened the deposits of amphibians and reptiles in the Urals, Tien Shan and Mongolia, thereby proving his hypothesis about a "dinosaur cemetery" in the territory from the north of the European part of Russia through the Urals and Central Asia to China and Mongolia. Efremov developed "taphonomy" - a branch of knowledge about the laws governing the preservation of fossil organisms in sedimentary rocks.
Based on knowledge from geology and paleontology, professing the idea of the unity of living and inanimate matter, Efremov builds an original system of cosmology. He suggests that there is life in the Cosmos (except for the Earth), substantiates the anthropomorphic hypothesis, according to which evolution leads to the fact that any life forms at a certain stage should become humanoid. In the books On the Edge of the Oycumene (1946), The Razor's Edge (1963), and Thais of Athens (1971), Efremov shows himself as an outstanding historian, ethnographer, psychologist and anthropologist.
But Efremov, we repeat, received worldwide fame as the author of the project of the communist future in the book "The Andromeda Nebula". Of course, this is utopia. But I want the utopia portrayed by Efremov to at least partially become a reality.
The word "communism" now causes a "gnashing of teeth" among the newly-minted "liberals", "shitcrats" and "lumpen-patriots". Let's say this is forgivable for the young generation, which does not understand this issue, as they say, “not an ear or a snout”! But the ostentatious anti-communism of the former owners of party cards of the CPSU, among whom often come across retired workers of party organs and even teachers of Marxism-Leninism in Soviet universities, is especially "pinning"!
"The social nightmares of the twentieth century led to the fact that now the word" communism "is considered a curse, although until recently it was synonymous with a" bright future"
Indeed, the social nightmares of the twentieth century led to the fact that now the word "communism" is considered a curse, although until recently it was synonymous with "a bright future." But acquaintance with liberal, national-patriotic, conservative and other nonsense (which, after the collapse of the USSR, replaced the stupid agitprop of the ideological department of the Central Committee of the CPSU, which has little in common with a real communist idea), as well as a view of what is really happening in the world, forces us to completely agree with Efremov: either there will be an all-planetary communist society, or there will be none, but there will be a dead planet, because civilization in its current form will inevitably either blow itself up or drown in its own feces.
Commodity-money relations, hedonism, mercantilism, hysterical mass culture and consumerism, thirst for power, prestige and fame, dull aggressiveness of social and / or ethno-national origin, etc. will inevitably lead the earthly civilization into the abyss or into the trash heap. In order to “be saved” (in the biblical and in the most literal sense), humanity is obliged to take asceticism to comprehend the infinite Truth and preserve the planet Earth as the only habitat so far, to redirect its energy from the stupefying and / or aggressive social swamp created by people themselves into Space.
Hence the real ideal of communism: a perfect society, where a person will no longer depend on the irrational forces of society, but will devote himself to creative knowledge and rational transformation of the world, advancement into infinite Space.
If someone here does not like the word "communism", then you can write another, if only the essence remains. Indeed, the ideals of communism were perverted by the performers, the ideals are not to blame for this. As for the current moronic "bans on communism" imposed by useful idiots and outright scum who profited from the plundering of the country, it should be recalled that the communist idea in one form or another is rooted in the depths of centuries. Therefore, as Ostap Bender advised, one should spit saliva on such “bans” and corresponding “laws”. In addition, I remember that Yanukovych and the company also adopted “laws”, but they had to “do their feet”, and they were still lucky, since Gaddafi did not have time to escape. This should be remembered by those who are now drafting laws, including those on the "ban on communism." We repeat once again that this idea is as old as the world,and therefore laws of this kind are nothing more than the well-known "bunch into Eternity".
By the way, in that Europe, when talking about which many homegrown Euro-optimists flow tears of tenderness and snot of delight, communism as an idea, as a direction of social thought and as a political trend, no one even thought to ban. We will not go into details about how modern ideas about communism, including in Europe, correspond to this idea itself in its true understanding. It is in poverty-stricken Ukraine, plundered by oligarchs and various "democrats" at the expense of taxpayers, various "institutions of memory" has not paid attention for a long time. And in Europe they condemned all forms of totalitarianism, including Hitlerism and Stalinism, and decided that this was more than enough. Besides,socialism and communism in their current understanding are, first of all, a European product, and nowadays a significant part of social schools in the West are based on Marxism, which Russian "experts" and the power-oligarchic agitprop prefer to keep quiet about.
Efremov depicts the dead end of civilization in its current form very accurately, even if adjusted for the realities and formulations of 60 years ago.
"Efremov sees a dead end, a regression of civilization in the fact that the basic law of evolution is violated - the interconnection and parallelism of scientific, technical and moral development"
In particular, Efremov sees a dead end, a regression of civilization in the fact that the basic law of evolution is violated - the interconnectedness and parallelism of scientific, technical and moral development. The writer warns of the impending social, environmental and moral catastrophe, emphasizes that the fall of civilization is primarily determined by moral deterioration, spiritual and emotional impoverishment.
Since the time of Efremov, the situation in this sense has deteriorated sharply. In the late 1950s and 1960s, there was enthusiasm and genuine interest caused by unprecedented achievements, the first space flights, and the presence of the prospects for a "bright future."
Today, first of all, there are no prospects, which is confirmed by the mood of the crowd, the whole course of events and the statements of the same Hawking. Unlike the 1950s-1960s, cognition of the secrets of the Earth and Space is not popular today, consumerism, opportunism and mass culture are in vogue, which sooner or later turn into aggression driven by destructive impulses. The 2008 crisis and the subsequent aggravation of global contradictions led to a surge in migration, terrorism and national chauvinism, to a series of local conflicts, including in Syria and the Donbass. And in general, why look, after Efremov, for real "dragon bones" in the Gobi Desert, if "Jurassic Park" is being played on TV ?! Heroes today are not pioneers, scientists, thinkers, astronauts, but clerks, bandits, prostitutes, oligarchs and politicians,which is overwhelmed not by the thirst for knowledge of the Universe, but by greed, hedonism and various foul-smelling passions. And this applies not only to the post-Soviet space, but also to the so-called developed democrats, it is enough to read some Zyuskind …
Efremov attributed the decisive importance in the formation of the character of society to the direction of psychic energy. The focus on creation and knowledge leads to progress, the realization by a person of his purpose. Hedonism, laziness, consumerism, chatter, virtualization and imitation instead of real life, oppression and perversion of creativity leads to regression, destroys the psyche and the world around it.
Efremov caustically writes: “The delusion of discussions has spread throughout the world … Words, words, concern for the future. In the name of him and future generations, man increases radiation, pollutes water, destroys forests and soil, competing in military power … Three pillars of our modern civilization: envy, chatter in all its forms and the purchase of countless things … how will descendants appreciate it! But in the 60 years since then, the descendants have become even worse, and the passion for prestige, idle chatter (information society!) And consumption has become even more pathological!
About the mass pathology of “civilized” city life, Efremov says: “On the streets there is a frenzy of cars … In a hurry, nameless and faceless crowds scurry about, huge houses filled with people crowded in low stuffy rooms, hunched over tables and machines in monotonous and tedious work. And in the evening, the pursuit of entertainment will begin, there will be a roar of howling and pounding rhythmic music, ghosts of movies, TV screens oozing with blue poison (add computers with the Internet! - Auth.) And booze after booze, hundreds of thousands of people are soaked in alcohol (add also drugs and virtual computer world! - Auth), tempering the nervous spasm of impatience, expectation of something better that does not come, and cannot come. And imperceptibly life deteriorates and becomes impoverished, a person striving for success sees that he is deceived. The apartment … turns out to be a cheap (?! - Auth.) Cage,earnings still do not ensure the fulfillment of even modest desires, children become not joy and support, but a burden and resentment. And then a colossal question mark appears before a person - why?"
In a conscious, and more often subconscious attempt to give an answer to this, perhaps, the most terrible existential question facing every individual and civilization as a whole, the escalation of social pathology begins. Aggressive bourgeoisie leads to the acquisition of an ever-increasing number of larger and larger cars, huge mansions, meaningless jewelry, jewelry, fashion, etc. There are many mental shifts, and in countries with a high standard of living, these shifts are more developed. This refutes the conventional cliche that being determines consciousness, and in fact rejects one of the most widespread trends in psychology, known as "behaviorism", ie. behavior. In reality, the direct connection between being and consciousness is far from always obvious, it is very complex and confusing, and often it is consciousness,or rather, the mass psyche determines social being. By the way, there is a weak link in classical Marxism, caused by the lack of psychological knowledge in the time of Marx, but this is a separate topic.
Drunkenness and drug addiction arise as attempts to give rest to the overloaded nervous system, to escape the pressure of living conditions, to lower the level of perception of the world to the stupidity of an animal. Then wild explosions of hooliganism and xenophobia, the growth of destructiveness and cruelty, often for no reason, without a reasonable explanation, as a result of the weakening of the inhibitory centers of the brain and, above all, self-discipline. This is how the fashionable nowadays preaching of innate evil, increasing abnormality, perversion and sadism, supposedly characteristic of man and endlessly chewed by the current so-called art, appears, although in reality it is a massive mental defect. So there is what in the West is called "escapism" (from the English. "Escape" - flight) - the desire to go anywhere from unbearable anxiety. (At this point, Efremov's thoughts are in tune with the ideas of Erich Fromm, with whom Efremov,seems to have been a sign, which is surprising in the light of the Iron Curtain). They are saved by "pop music", computers, the Internet, games, TV, mobile phones, parties and so on.
However, such methods of sublimating aggression and destructiveness cease to work, and now we are already seeing outbreaks of terrorism and violence around the world, as well as an exacerbation of bloody conflicts.
A more subtle kind of escapism is going into fruitless dreams about other worlds, magic, "pounded Harry Potters" and other "fantasy" with plots sucked out of the finger. It has deep archetypal roots in the idea of a primitive paradise, permeating dreams, religion, even science. True, there was no primitive paradise - human life was always accompanied by struggle and difficulties. But the idea of paradise is ambivalent, that is, it can serve as a guiding thread to a higher destination, but it can lead to degradation in the form of virtual and empty dreams.
"Science and art are deviating more and more from their higher purpose towards particulars and virtualities"
Science and art are increasingly deviating from their higher purpose to particulars and virtualities: from broad thoughts and emotions - to private details, from the vastness of the sky and the sea - to their reflection in a puddle, from the vastness of the planet - to a flower pot like "Ekibana" among concrete and asphalt, from feeling - to scenery, from people - to dolls (they came up with the idea to sell dolls-substitutes in sex shops!), from boundless reality - to simulated virtuality. Efremov caustically remarks that "human knowledge tends to learn more and more about less and less." In this world of whimsical and unrealizable illusions, a psycho-shift towards irrationality, rejection of reality and its distortion is obtained.
In "The Blade of the Razor," an Indian yogi tells his student: "Never cross … neither the threshold of meaninglessness, nor knowledge, which turns into a dull heap of facts, nor other thresholds that we often cross in everyday life, chasing cheap, food, vulgar pleasure laughter, useless mental play … You will have to fight the ever-spreading influence of idlers, who think with a clever trick, a trick, an invention that astonishes tasteless fools, to replace real art … They will declare every technique they find, a separate combination of two colors, a set of strokes or a successfully found chiaroscuro as a discovery, call it an element of the world, not realizing that there is nothing simple in our perception of nature and life. That everywhere and in everything - the most complex pattern …"
On the one hand, Efremov was a "poet of scientific and technological progress." But on the other hand, to the writer, as a person of figurative and not abstract thinking, the development of scientific and technical civilization rightly seemed like a wave rising to a gigantic, ominous height. The human psyche is not prepared for such a pace, which leads to mass psychoses. Standardization, unification, reduction of everything to abstract mathematical logic creates a tendency towards a paranoid psyche. Stephen Hawking says something similar, as mentioned above.
An attempt in the twentieth century to find a way out of the dead end of civilization by "building communism" led to total tragedies and was doomed to failure precisely because of the unpreparedness of the mass psyche to realize the highest destiny of man. The real communist Ivan Efremov (by the way, never a member of the so-called Communist Party) sincerely believed in the ideals of communism, but, intuitively anticipating the collapse, he warns of the main reasons: higher forms of society can be created only by educated, conscious and disciplined people; upbringing, education and psychological training should become elements of the "basis", and not something "superstructure", as was commonly believed.
Without many-sided interests, a person quickly becomes indifferent to everything as an egoist, which was known in ancient Rome under the Greek name "acedia". “A person who suppresses himself without knowledge is the same evil as if he surrendered to evil,” says ancient Indian wisdom, and this fully corresponds to the laws of psychophysiology. Another ancient formula says: "Unfulfilled desires destroy from within." According to Efremov, conformism that is widespread today is a stop or a delay in development; Fromm expressed the same idea. An internal dialectical struggle is the basis of every order of life. In our time, there is a huge increase in labor productivity, which seems to be a blessing. But dialectics makes you pay for everything: people are freed more and more from endless and monotonous labor, but,instead of setting broader and more serious tasks, they get a psychological failure - aimless idleness, which is filled with games, drugs, alcohol, television, computers … But the main problem of life is to keep a person in alert state, collected physically and spiritually, otherwise he will inevitably degrade.
"Efremov proposes the only correct path for the progress of civilization: cognition and rational transformation of the infinite Universe, the advancement of people into Space"
Efremov proposes the only correct path for the progress of civilization: cognition and intelligent transformation of the infinite Universe, the advancement of people into Space. But this should not be an escape from the Earth, where man could not arrange life. This should not be a departure to search for better worlds or to robbery in order to return to Earth as a rich pirate, as is often portrayed in "literature" and "film masterpieces" such as "fantasy and action". According to Efremov, there is only one real path into Space - from excess of strength, from an arranged planet in search of alien intelligence and culture. To do this, a person must stand firmly on Earth with both feet in order to be capable of the titanic efforts that will be required to conquer interstellar spaces.
Stephen Hawking says something similar after 60 years, although Efremov's position, we repeat, seems to a significant extent deeper and more complete, perhaps because Hawking, unlike Efremov, purposefully did not engage in social philosophy and futurology.
The Strugatsky brothers, whom Efremov, even before his disgrace, supported during the persecution, wrote: "Happiness is in the continuous knowledge of the unknown, and the meaning of life is in the same." This should be the meaning of life - since ancient times the most important philosophical category, which, as it is believed, is difficult to define. But it turns out that it is easy to define it, but it is really extremely difficult to realize and implement it en masse, today it is almost impossible.
Alexander Karpets, Informat
