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Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

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Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#91

Post by jlgreco »

shasta wrote: post #83
psbp wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coming to this conclusion on acid is much more gripping and powerful than while watching star trek.

In other words, acid doesn't produce profound thoughts, it just makes you think your thoughts are profound.

I think the value of that should not be misunderstood. Imagine the reverse: it would be quite damaging if something made you think that your ideas were less profound or worthwhile than usual.

(I am saying this as someone who has never taken LSD, so take my take on it with a grain of salt I guess.)

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#92

Post by xenophanes »

MikeCapone wrote: post #69
reasonattlm wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The estimated price tag for a good shot at implementing SENS and demonstrating robust reversal of aging in mice is $1B: $10M/year for ten years in each of seven research programs, plus some padding. http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2004/11/strategies-for-en... http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2012/04/aubrey-de-grey-on... http://www.fightaging.org/archives/2004/10/the-cost-of-sens....

I'm not a billionaire (yet), but that's why 100% of my charitable donations go to the SENS foundation. Every marginal dollar has a much higher expected utility there than anywhere else that I've found.

I am a huge fan of SENS too.

Here is another place with high value per dollar:

http://industrialprogress.net

Industrial Progress is a very important and practical cause, and this group has a very effective leader who is actually having some effect at persuading people (particularly people in industry) and providing them with better ideas. And it's cheap. SENS needs a billion. A few hundred thousand would be huge here.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#93

Post by damoncali »

blhack wrote: post #51
autophil wrote: post #43

I would like to die on Mars. Oh brother. How come "shut up and just do it" applies to everyone but Elon? Why does he only have to talk about doing something to be hailed a hero? Start backing some of this stuff up with action Elon.

>start backing this up with action Not sure if sarcastic... Elon Musk, as in: the guy who's company just ran a private reapply mission to /the international space station/.

I hate to break it to you, but everything NASA builds is built and operated by private companies. SpaceX is an incremental improvement on something that has been done for decades. That is a far cry from Musk's fantastic claims.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#95

Post by jk4930 »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #26
27182818284 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly what I tell people and they're surprised. If I was offered the chance to homestead Mars with the caveat that LEO and landing must be reasonable safe so I don't die in the boring parts, I'd sign up right away!

You and a lot of people. I'm sure a big chunk of the seasteaders would jump at the chance to live on a moon city. So here is the entrepreneurial challenge, believe Elon, in that he will make it possible to go to Mars, and before that it will be a lot easier to send stuff to the Moon. What can you start researching today so that 10 years from now when everyone realizes that this is going to come to pass you'll be way…

What about early settlement tech. Not only the habitats etc. but procedures a.s.o. for the first years: in what sequence to create stuff, run explorations, have emergency routines etc. all under the tight constraints of an early colony.

Intelligent robotics as assistants and autonomous explorers etc. with a focus on space conditions.

Advanced space medicine (say, transhuman spaceflight), modifications for the body, brain-machine-interfaces etc., there are many non-trivial issues: gravity, temperature, light, acceleration, radiation, ...

Interested? ;)

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#96

Post by jlgreco »

photorized wrote: post #62

Re: “Boeing just took $20 billion and 10 years to improve the efficiency of their planes by 10 percent. That’s pretty lame. I have a design in mind for a vertical liftoff supersonic jet that would be a really big improvement.” I respect what the guy has done. But a vertical liftoff supersonic jet is going to be more difficult than anything he had encountered, including rockets.

His entire life seems to have been spent doing progressively harder things. I would be surprised if he decided what he is currently doing is as hard as it is going to get.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#98

Post by ktizo »

MikeCapone wrote: post #70
ktizo wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it is hard to foresee removing from the foreseeable future one of the few bits of the future that is foreseeable.

Not that hard to imagine and plan for: http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/39 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8554766938711591377&... http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312367066 http://citywire.kuluvalley.com/view/E586AD51-418F-C8CE-442B-... http://michaelgr.com/2011/10/24/aubrey-de-grey-on-the-diseas...

I didn't mean the getting old bit. Is just moving the foreseeable goalposts.

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#99

Post by AYBABTME »

xal wrote: post #87
AYBABTME wrote: post #58

I recently discovered who Elon Musk was and I'm always astonished to read about him, and realize that he seems to have all the dreams that I have; plus the money, the wisdom and the experience to accomplish them. I never had a model or a 'hero' in my life, but I find it hard to deny Elon this role. He's kind of imposing himself to me. For some parts, he pisses me off. He doing it removes me the feeling that my dreams…

Instead, go work for him. Go help make it all come true.

Well, right now I'm still doing my undergrad and they (SpaceX) only take US citizens or permanent residents for internships and COOP terms (I assume because of the legal complications given the nature of their work).

But I know your company does take interns and you guys are at a 5 mins walk from my campus. So on a short term side, I'm focused on building my skill set for an internship in your shop! (Sorry for the cheap plug!)

Re: Elon Musk: "I would like to die on Mars"

#100

Post by juiceandjuice »

uptown wrote: post #94
juiceandjuice wrote: post #3

It's statements like this that have made me seriously consider applying for a job at SpaceX.

So do it. (I'm sort of hoping a reply like this is enough to bump you forward)

I started looking at jobs two weeks ago after Neil Armstrong died out of curiosity. I have a job at a place I love doing astrophysics, and I can't complain much about that, but I need to update my resume anyway.
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