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GP is correct, there is no path from the current Virgin Galactic launches to something that is not a very expensive space ride for rich people. They can't launc

GP is correct, there is no path from the current Virgin Galactic launches to something that is not a very expensive space ride for rich people. They can't launch satellites, they can't make it into orbit, nothing. Only the dream of seeing earth from an altitude of ~80km while expending a tremendous amount of energy. Also, your explanation of why GP attitude is evil is not clear at all. You can dream and still thing that this is stupid. In fact, the dream of a nice earth for all of us is a beautiful dream, much more than a 5 minute ride for a very few. And the inclusion of nuclear power when it was not mentioned in the original post is like a GPT hallucination.

rg111 3y ago
> there is no path from the current Virgin Galactic launches to something that is not a very expensive space ride for rich people Lack of farsightedness in this thread is weird! Science doesn't work in a linear manner. When Ramanujan and Hardy were working on Primes, nobody knew some of the work would lead to cybersecurity applications. We cannot be sure that these advancements don't lead to anything significant in the future. The only focus should be on taxing the profits of this company, and also applying a high levy/VAT to the ticket price.
- deadbeeves 3y ago
  >We cannot be sure that these advancements don't lead to anything significant in the future. We also cannot be sure that this service won't cause huge damage. If we're going to assign value to it based on its unknown potential, we must consider both its possible benefits and its possible detriments.
radu_floricica 3y ago
Take a look at "Crossing the Chasm" - just look for the first image google finds. In order for something to become mainstream a few steps usually need to happen. And the first of those steps are the people who will buy or invest no matter the cost. Without them, it's hard to even have an industry. Later, sometimes decades later, price manages to go down enough for mass adoption.

rg111 3y ago

> there is no path from the current Virgin Galactic launches to something that is not a very expensive space ride for rich people Lack of farsightedness in this thread is weird! Science doesn't work in a linear manner. When Ramanujan and Hardy were working on Primes, nobody knew some of the work would lead to cybersecurity applications. We cannot be sure that these advancements don't lead to anything significant in the future. The only focus should be on taxing the profits of this company, and also applying a high levy/VAT to the ticket price.

deadbeeves 3y ago
>We cannot be sure that these advancements don't lead to anything significant in the future. We also cannot be sure that this service won't cause huge damage. If we're going to assign value to it based on its unknown potential, we must consider both its possible benefits and its possible detriments.

radu_floricica 3y ago

Take a look at "Crossing the Chasm" - just look for the first image google finds. In order for something to become mainstream a few steps usually need to happen. And the first of those steps are the people who will buy or invest no matter the cost. Without them, it's hard to even have an industry. Later, sometimes decades later, price manages to go down enough for mass adoption.