Subterranean Civilizations (Narration Only)
Science & Futurism with Isaac Arthur
Isaac Arthur
4.9 • 782 Ratings
🗓️ 17 January 2019
⏱️ 31 minutes
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| 0:00.0 | Hello, SFIA audio listeners. In this month's Nebula exclusive, big alien theory, |
| 0:05.2 | we're asked at the reason alien civilizations might be rare is because most aliens are huge. |
| 0:10.5 | To hear it and every episode early and ad-free, plus hours of bonus content, |
| 0:15.1 | check out go.nebola.tv slash Isaac Arthur and use my code, Isaac Arthur. |
| 0:20.4 | This episode is brought you by Brilliant. |
| 0:23.7 | Humans have always needed protection from the elements, but nature provided limited shelter, |
| 0:28.8 | and, until we could build our own dwellings, the earth itself provided some of the best |
| 0:33.4 | sanctuary, perhaps it will again in the future too. |
| 0:39.9 | Living underground or in caves is nothing new to humanity, as the Flintstones can |
| 0:44.3 | attest, and today we're going to be exploring both how we could build expansive subterranean |
| 0:49.2 | colonies in the future and why we'd want to. |
| 0:53.2 | That's an important first point though, we aren't breaking new ground here, but exploring |
| 0:57.8 | new ways to employ existing technology and methods. |
| 1:01.9 | Even ignoring trivial examples like basements or mine shafts, most large cities have large |
| 1:07.4 | subterranean networks such as subways, sewers, piping, and cables, along with |
| 1:12.7 | their maintenance causeways, and a few even have underground commercial districts. |
| 1:18.1 | There's a lot of reasons why we don't typically house people and offices underground. |
| 1:22.8 | First, there's the cost issue. |
| 1:24.8 | Most buildings are only at ground level, and where they exceed |
| 1:28.1 | that, it's usually a second floor, an attic, and a single basement. Those mostly exist |
| 1:33.5 | because you have to dig down to make sure your foundation is solid, and you're usually |
| 1:37.9 | only digging into dirt and clay, not bedrock. Cost of excavation is huge, far more than building up to an equal height is, |
... |
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