5 ms·

Computers are bad: a pedantic review of the Las Vegas loop

16 points by abawany 2y ago

popcalc 2y ago
>Like most detailed policies, the operations manual is an interesting read for the pedantic. Some parts are odd in a classically Elon Musk way, like the manual's use of "What's Elon like?" as the first example of a question that passengers might ask a driver. >Drivers are strictly prohibited from using any assistive driving features. Not the first time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ernst_Worrell_Keely https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ernst_Worrell_Keely
joenot443 2y ago
It's always difficult finding any objectivity when it comes to Musk. People get _so_ ideologically charged when it comes to him, be it pithy hero worship (his replies on X) or obsessive hate-stalking (/r/EnoughMuskSpam) - it seems rare for otherwise smart people to share their honest technical thoughts when it comes to any Musk endeavors. As described, the author has some reasonable pedantic takes on the loop, but they're drowned out by what's otherwise pretty dull character critiques. I just... don't care how you feel about Elon as an individual. It's not interesting reading. It reminds me a bit of 2000s forum culture when it was difficult for people to explain their critiques on Windows without reaching for the satanic Bill Gates image. "Teslas are bad cars and I realized this when Elon bought Twitter" has become a pretty table-stakes position amongst my more progressive peers. Am I incorrect in thinking this is a silly way to judge the quality of engineering?
- mindslight 2y ago
  Either we read different articles, the author edited the article, or you're just going to town absolutely demolishing strawmen. The only things it says about "Elon as an individual" are due to parts of the transportation system operations manual focusing on him personally. If you want to bemoan the celebrity dynamic, that seems like a good place to start.
- aeternum 2y ago
  A fun way to do this is to try to guess which Mastodon server the author uses based solely upon the tone of the article.
klooney 2y ago
Cheap sounds great honestly- you can build more cheap things! I like the idea of going all the way to club cars for everyone.

16 points by abawany 2y ago

>Like most detailed policies, the operations manual is an interesting read for the pedantic. Some parts are odd in a classically Elon Musk way, like the manual's use of "What's Elon like?" as the first example of a question that passengers might ask a driver. >Drivers are strictly prohibited from using any assistive driving features. Not the first time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ernst_Worrell_Keely https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ernst_Worrell_Keely

joenot443 2y ago

It's always difficult finding any objectivity when it comes to Musk. People get _so_ ideologically charged when it comes to him, be it pithy hero worship (his replies on X) or obsessive hate-stalking (/r/EnoughMuskSpam) - it seems rare for otherwise smart people to share their honest technical thoughts when it comes to any Musk endeavors. As described, the author has some reasonable pedantic takes on the loop, but they're drowned out by what's otherwise pretty dull character critiques. I just... don't care how you feel about Elon as an individual. It's not interesting reading. It reminds me a bit of 2000s forum culture when it was difficult for people to explain their critiques on Windows without reaching for the satanic Bill Gates image. "Teslas are bad cars and I realized this when Elon bought Twitter" has become a pretty table-stakes position amongst my more progressive peers. Am I incorrect in thinking this is a silly way to judge the quality of engineering?

mindslight 2y ago
Either we read different articles, the author edited the article, or you're just going to town absolutely demolishing strawmen. The only things it says about "Elon as an individual" are due to parts of the transportation system operations manual focusing on him personally. If you want to bemoan the celebrity dynamic, that seems like a good place to start.
aeternum 2y ago
A fun way to do this is to try to guess which Mastodon server the author uses based solely upon the tone of the article.

klooney 2y ago

Cheap sounds great honestly- you can build more cheap things! I like the idea of going all the way to club cars for everyone.