As we have seen in Poul Anderson's sf, a "Martian" can be either an indigenous inhabitant of Mars or an extraplanetary colonist, whether from Earth or from outside the Solar System.
In "The Snows of Ganymede," Anderson tells us that Martians, meaning human colonials, are large-chested and slender because of the thin air and low gravity. This reminded me of an argument in Evolving The Alien. Jack Cohen asks what an indigenous Martian would look like. Speculative answer:
tall and thin because of low gravity;
large-chested because of thin air;
fur-covered because of the cold.
Cohen's verdict: wrong. We have imagined a Terrestrial organism adapted to Martian conditions, not an organism that had evolved on Mars. Start again from the beginning. To remember what came after that, I would have to reread the book.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
And I think Cohen would be partly wrong. Because, for centuries, humnans would have to live on Mars in sealed environments where the atmosphere would be naturally kept at Earth standard. Hence no need for Martian colonists to become large chested. I can see the lower gravity making it more likely for them to become taller and slenderer than the average.
Any terraforming of Mars would also take at least centuries before the atmosphere would become breathable for humans. So, again, no particular reason for humans to become large chested. And the desire would be to make that new atmosphere as much like that of Earth's as was possible.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
But Cohen was speculating about indigenous/native Martians.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Oops! I'm mentally focused on HUMAN colonization of Mars! (Smiles) Yes, in that case, Cohen's reasoning makes more sense.
Ad astra! Sean
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