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While your sarcasm is noted, it's important to also note that engineering problems would never be solved until someone is allocating the necessary resources to
by bshipp 4y ago
While your sarcasm is noted, it's important to also note that engineering problems would never be solved until someone is allocating the necessary resources to solve them. I'm not a huge fan of gross theoretical speculation as being a savior for humanity, but I very much appreciate an innovator's optimism that redirecting known technologies to a novel application will result in benefits to humanity.
Optimism is difficult to generate and easy to snuff out. We should be less inclined, as a society, to default to apathy.
- falcolas 4y agoI read this as skepticism about the timeline - which is 100% valid. Nobody's downplaying the validity of the research. But perhaps being optimistic about timelines is how you secure funding? Couldn't say.
- bshipp 4y agoThat is fair. I recently watched "We Were Apollo" and was struck by how incredibly audacious a manned moon landing really was in 1960. That sort of positive thinking is what we really need for fixing the climate crisis and elevating humanity beyond constant resource conflicts.
- falcolas 4y agoIt's worth remembering that national pride (and the beating that pride took when the Soviet Union beat us to space) is what drove the US to make such fast progress. That national pride does not exist as a driving force for addressing climate change. We, in many ways, don't even have a national consensus on the need to address climate change.
- BbzzbB 4y agoDidn't 2.5% of US's GDP go into that for 10 years? The guy's optimism is laudable but it's fair to be skeptical it'll just take 5-6 years.
- V__ 4y agoDon't get me wrong, I'm rooting for them and all others trying to make such solutions happen. I just hate these handwavy breakthrough-like press releases which get published 100 times a day.
- bshipp 4y agoPerfectly valid reaction, and one I personally share. It's a delicate balance to support innovative minds and ideas while simultaneously insulating oneself from baseless corporate marketing hype.