If you are labeled ‘out of this world,’ the initial pleasure of the idea that you are unique may quickly fade with the realization that you have been respectfully told that you do not adapt well to settings that are typically deemed within the ranges of human agreeability. Simply put, out of this world might sometimes mean strange. Only on rare occasions. To survive on Mars, a genuine out-of-this-world circumstance, you’d need some major abilities and a certain personality type.
Researchers from George Mason University in Virginia, USA, ran computer simulations of a human colony living on Mars for up to 28 years. They claim to have discovered a personality type that is unlikely to survive the attempt to colonize Mars. According to the experts, the ideal number of people to live in this colony would be 22.
People with agreeable personalities are more likely to cope with the ups and downs of life on Mars
The study, as reported by Metro, says, “Establishing a human settlement on Mars is an incredibly complex engineering problem. The inhospitable nature of the Martian environment requires any habitat to be largely self-sustaining.” “Beyond mining a few basic minerals and water, the colonizers will be dependent on Earth’s resupply and replenishment of necessities via technological means, [such as] splitting Martian water into oxygen for breathing and hydrogen for fuel,” it added.
“Beyond the technical and engineering challenges, future colonists will also face psychological and human behavior challenges. Our goal is to better understand the behavioral and psychological interactions of future Martian colonists.” For their study, the researchers assumed that the necessary things to survive on Mars would be supplied.
The survival of four personality types was then considered: neurotic, reactive, social, and agreeable. The simulation analyzed the interaction of the various personality types in typical settings as well as incidents such as accidents and delays in supplies from Earth. According to the experts, people with agreeable personalities were more likely to cope with the ups and downs of life on Mars. Individuals with the ‘neurotic’ personality type were thought to be the least likely to survive.
To put it kindly, you should not go to Mars if you believe you have an extraordinarily unique personality. But if you go anyhow, you might well have the advantage of having an ‘out of this (Martian) world’ character, who knows?