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> Neither side is necessarily wrong. It is reasonable to both be uncomfortable with Bezos' extreme wealth and what that means for society but also recognize tha

by cwkoss 5y ago

> Neither side is necessarily wrong. It is reasonable to both be uncomfortable with Bezos' extreme wealth and what that means for society but also recognize that Blue Origin has advanced spaceflight. How did a brief amusement ride into sub-orbital space advance spaceflight? To reach orbit, you need to go one part up and four parts sideways. This flight was only the vertical component - essentially just 20% of the minimum bar for useful space activity.

bberenberg 5y ago
I would say the quote is probably a poor choice of words. It's not saying the flight itself advances anything. It's saying that having another group of people working on space tech is competitive, and competition drives advancement.
- deegles 5y ago
  > competition drives advancement Is this always true though? Space tech is highly specialized, if you can't hire enough people already, more competition just spreads the available talent thinner. I'd be curious if it's currently the case that SpaceX/NASA/BO's development is personnel constrained. I've definitely heard of projects at FAANG companies being cancelled because they couldn't hire enough people for them, so I could see this also happening in other industries.
  - bberenberg 5y ago
    I don't know if they're personnel constrained. I do know they are financially constrained. For example even today https://twitter.com/DrPhiltill/status/1418241459342520321 https://twitter.com/DrPhiltill/status/1418241459342520321 Bezos tossing extra money into it defiantly helps.
  - WJW 5y ago
    It is definitely not always true that competition drives advancement, even if there is sufficient personnel. As a super simple example: There's a couple of restaurants nearby and competition is fierce, but it mostly results in the restaurants going out of business at a steady pace and being replaced by new starry-eyed entrepreneurs willing to give it a shot. Space tech is also always considered to be a national security topic, so the available personnel does not just have to be talented but they need a security clearance as well.
  - autokad 5y ago
    > "Space tech is highly specialized, if you can't hire enough people already, more competition just spreads the available talent thinner." Try to avoid 0 sum thinking, its often wrong. increased competition for talent in space will drive up wages which will result in more people going into said fields.
    - sudosysgen 5y ago
      That's true, but in these very specialized fields it can take a decade or two for that to happen.
  - Traster 5y ago
    If we are personnel constrained right now (we might not be) surely this competition for talent will result in it being a more attractive area for graduates. One of the smartest things the UK power companies did was create very generous sponsorship programmes for students. For a tiny fraction of a yearly salary they could encourage someone to specialize in their niche. Now the UK has a great pipeline of engineers and they're saving on costs in the long-term because they don't need to compete amongst themselves on salary because there's plenty of talent.
autokad 5y ago
> "Neither side is necessarily wrong." Yes, being greedy, envious, and jealous of other peoples use of material goods is wrong. Its time we start calling it out. That doesn't make you progressive, it's a poor behavior attribute and you should not partake in it. As far is 'how did it advance spaceflight'. its called progress. 20% is better than 0%. Maybe next time they will be 40%.
- jjulius 5y ago
  >As far is 'how did it advance spaceflight'. its called progress. 20% is better than 0%. Maybe next time they will be 40%. "Progress" is doing something we have collectively already been able to do, and then some, for decades?

by cwkoss 5y ago

bberenberg 5y ago

I would say the quote is probably a poor choice of words. It's not saying the flight itself advances anything. It's saying that having another group of people working on space tech is competitive, and competition drives advancement.

deegles 5y ago
> competition drives advancement Is this always true though? Space tech is highly specialized, if you can't hire enough people already, more competition just spreads the available talent thinner. I'd be curious if it's currently the case that SpaceX/NASA/BO's development is personnel constrained. I've definitely heard of projects at FAANG companies being cancelled because they couldn't hire enough people for them, so I could see this also happening in other industries.
- bberenberg 5y ago
  I don't know if they're personnel constrained. I do know they are financially constrained. For example even today https://twitter.com/DrPhiltill/status/1418241459342520321 https://twitter.com/DrPhiltill/status/1418241459342520321 Bezos tossing extra money into it defiantly helps.
- WJW 5y ago
  It is definitely not always true that competition drives advancement, even if there is sufficient personnel. As a super simple example: There's a couple of restaurants nearby and competition is fierce, but it mostly results in the restaurants going out of business at a steady pace and being replaced by new starry-eyed entrepreneurs willing to give it a shot. Space tech is also always considered to be a national security topic, so the available personnel does not just have to be talented but they need a security clearance as well.
- autokad 5y ago
  > "Space tech is highly specialized, if you can't hire enough people already, more competition just spreads the available talent thinner." Try to avoid 0 sum thinking, its often wrong. increased competition for talent in space will drive up wages which will result in more people going into said fields.
  - sudosysgen 5y ago
    That's true, but in these very specialized fields it can take a decade or two for that to happen.
- Traster 5y ago
  If we are personnel constrained right now (we might not be) surely this competition for talent will result in it being a more attractive area for graduates. One of the smartest things the UK power companies did was create very generous sponsorship programmes for students. For a tiny fraction of a yearly salary they could encourage someone to specialize in their niche. Now the UK has a great pipeline of engineers and they're saving on costs in the long-term because they don't need to compete amongst themselves on salary because there's plenty of talent.

autokad 5y ago

> "Neither side is necessarily wrong." Yes, being greedy, envious, and jealous of other peoples use of material goods is wrong. Its time we start calling it out. That doesn't make you progressive, it's a poor behavior attribute and you should not partake in it. As far is 'how did it advance spaceflight'. its called progress. 20% is better than 0%. Maybe next time they will be 40%.

jjulius 5y ago
>As far is 'how did it advance spaceflight'. its called progress. 20% is better than 0%. Maybe next time they will be 40%. "Progress" is doing something we have collectively already been able to do, and then some, for decades?