When you think of a Mars colony do you imagine heroically exploring Mars in a space suit with witty Hollywood dialogue, or do you imagine a routine work a day life?
It can't be both?
A climate controlled environment hat never changes. No wind, rain, birds, oceans, snow, night, day.
Colonists, if they so desire, could tweak their environment to introduce variety in temperatures. They could have warm and cold seasons, variations in humidity, etc. If they decided that wind was necessary to keep them from going insane, then they could set up box fans in a 'wind room' and people could feel the air blowing across their skin to their heart's content. Same with 'rain rooms' (recycled water fed through sprinklers). Snow might be more difficult. And I don't know if you know this, but Mars has daytime and nighttime, almost identical to that of Earth.
People are creative, and necessity is the mother of invention. Imagine telling people who live in the Sahara Desert that there are people who live in houses of ice (and vice versa). They might think those people would go insane, and yet humans learn to adapt. Just because I may not want to live in a particular environment does not mean that no one will, especially if there's money to be made in it.
A dull lifeless background outside the habitat.
"Dull" is an opinion, a value. Some people value the stark background of a desert environment, where monochromatic landscapes are common.
Pink skies, blue sunsets, caves for spelunking, a Grand Canyon as large as the United States, the largest volcano in the solar system--but one where you could reach the peak on a bicycle--there's plenty of natural beauty and wonders on Mars to astound and amaze. I would go in a heartbeat if I could.
I don't know if you know this, but the sun shines on Mars.
I do not see how humans could live like that without breaking down.
Yes, you've made it clear in the past that you would not be interested in such a lifestyle. But people couldn't imagine riding a boat for six months across oceans and make a life in an unexplored, hostile, and barren landscape. Fortunately for us, other people ignored them and explored. We are the descendants of explorers, and we should get out of the way of those who want to continue the legacy.
Same with a generational space ship.
Now on that we agree. How would people who have lived their lines on a confined space ever deal with leaving it to walk around under an open sky? Whatever is the opposite of claustrophobia, they would likely suffer from it.
