4 ms·

The 747 is humanity's greatest achievement. Air travel is the confluence of engineering, policy and governance (the heyday of the FAA/NTSB and how we got to the

by ponker 6y ago

The 747 is humanity's greatest achievement. Air travel is the confluence of engineering, policy and governance (the heyday of the FAA/NTSB and how we got to the point where air travel is this safe), and the systems engineering that get aircraft, people, and baggage to so many different places. What the Boeing 747, and only the Boeing 747, has is true artistic value, with a profile evoking Botticelli or Rubens.

jazzyjackson 6y ago
I agree that the 747 is a work of art and may represent the best we can accomplish in air travel (with regards to safety, reliability, and operating at scale) and reminds me of my favorite IdleWords article, "Web Design - The First 100 Years"[0] which talks about the unbounded optimism of the 1970s when moon vacations were still in the public imagination. But the 747 was good enough and collectively we really didn't need to go supersonic or into orbit (or at least, most of the world couldn't afford it) The article makes the pivot that web technology is no different -- that there might not be a supersonic quantum AI coming down the pipeline, that the tech we have now might be pretty much as good as it gets. Makes me feel less guilty about wanting to use old reliable tools and not follow the hype around smart contracts and adversarial agents. A relational database with some CGI scripts is going to be just as useful in 100 years as it is today. [0] https://idlewords.com/talks/web_design_first_100_years.htm https://idlewords.com/talks/web_design_first_100_years.htm
Tiltowait-- 6y ago
Artistic value? With the ugly hump? That hump isn't just physically ugly, it's socially ugly as well. It is where the elites congregate. Anything that diminishes their status relative to our own is a good thing.
- ponker 6y ago
  The hump is where business class usually sits. First class is up in the nose.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    Though not originally. Upstairs used to be the first class lounge. Over time this generally under-utilized space got changed into business class seating. (The lounge dates to before business class existed. That said, modern international business class is more comfortable in most ways than first class was at the time.)
  - Tiltowait-- 6y ago
    As if there is any difference. Whomever can pay 4x the price of a ticket is going to be someone distasteful. Oh wait, are you that far up the hierarchy that there's a meaningful difference from where you're at? Shoot, I suppose so, if you even knew this, it means you've sat up there. When that happens, business class looks normal and first class is where you want to be. The back on the plane, in economy? shudder you mean they exist? Ewww....
FabHK 6y ago
> Botticelli or Rubens ??? Surely you mean the A380 there! :-)
madengr 6y ago
Close, but IMHO it's the Apollo program.

by ponker 6y ago

jazzyjackson 6y ago

I agree that the 747 is a work of art and may represent the best we can accomplish in air travel (with regards to safety, reliability, and operating at scale) and reminds me of my favorite IdleWords article, "Web Design - The First 100 Years"[0] which talks about the unbounded optimism of the 1970s when moon vacations were still in the public imagination. But the 747 was good enough and collectively we really didn't need to go supersonic or into orbit (or at least, most of the world couldn't afford it) The article makes the pivot that web technology is no different -- that there might not be a supersonic quantum AI coming down the pipeline, that the tech we have now might be pretty much as good as it gets. Makes me feel less guilty about wanting to use old reliable tools and not follow the hype around smart contracts and adversarial agents. A relational database with some CGI scripts is going to be just as useful in 100 years as it is today. [0] https://idlewords.com/talks/web_design_first_100_years.htm https://idlewords.com/talks/web_design_first_100_years.htm

Tiltowait-- 6y ago

Artistic value? With the ugly hump? That hump isn't just physically ugly, it's socially ugly as well. It is where the elites congregate. Anything that diminishes their status relative to our own is a good thing.

ponker 6y ago
The hump is where business class usually sits. First class is up in the nose.
- ghaff 6y ago
  Though not originally. Upstairs used to be the first class lounge. Over time this generally under-utilized space got changed into business class seating. (The lounge dates to before business class existed. That said, modern international business class is more comfortable in most ways than first class was at the time.)
- Tiltowait-- 6y ago
  As if there is any difference. Whomever can pay 4x the price of a ticket is going to be someone distasteful. Oh wait, are you that far up the hierarchy that there's a meaningful difference from where you're at? Shoot, I suppose so, if you even knew this, it means you've sat up there. When that happens, business class looks normal and first class is where you want to be. The back on the plane, in economy? shudder you mean they exist? Ewww....

FabHK 6y ago

> Botticelli or Rubens ??? Surely you mean the A380 there! :-)

madengr 6y ago

Close, but IMHO it's the Apollo program.