The Boring Company [video] • Hacker News Board

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#741

Post by jodrellblank » Sat, Apr 29, 2017, 9:27 PM UTC

AlexandrB wrote: post #2

I don't get it. Much of the USA is faced with crumbling infrastructure and a lack of money for maintaining that infrastructure. How is creating a network of powered tunnels - which are much more expensive to maintain than surface roads - going to interact with this economic reality? This seems like technology that addresses mostly fun, theoretical problems - like traffic optimization, not ugly, practical ones like ti…

They are clearly pictured as being private tunnels for Tesla owners, which allow the rich technologist to avoid surface traffic, charge their car while on the tunnel platform, and avoid driving through all those uncomfortable poor regions.

It will interact with the surface economic reality in the same way that flying Audis in tunnels interact with the dystopian wilderness in Hollywood sci-fi films.

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#742

Post by rsanek » Sat, Apr 29, 2017, 9:28 PM UTC

accountyaccount wrote: post #466

jbooth wrote: post #221

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not thought provoking, it's a series of thought terminating cliches. I'm as liberal as they come, I'm very sensitive to disguised racism, but the tweets' entire basis of comparison between Musk and Moses is "both are/were ambitious men and now musk is talking about infrastructure". It's free-association garbage. The Moses story is fascinating because he accomplished great things that built NYC but was also a hor…

Let's not forget that Musk literally said he wants to bore tunnels because it takes him too long to get to work... and this video is essentially showcasing a rapid transit system for people who own his cars. Musk also claimed Tesla's solar roof would cost less than a "normal" roof... (PS Musk considers a "normal" roof to be made of slate) The "affordable" (his words) Model 3 has a standard configuration of about $40k…

The Model 3 starts at $35k [1], which is only slightly above the average price for a new car sold in the US ($34k) [2].

[1] https://www.tesla.com/model3 [2] http://mediaroom.kbb.com/2017-04-03-New-Car-Transaction-Pric...

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#743

Post by andrepd » Sat, Apr 29, 2017, 9:33 PM UTC

oska wrote: post #561

andrepd wrote: post #528

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So because he has a "track record" of founding companies that achieved impressive feats he it's now forbidden to call out his ideas as foolish?

> it's now forbidden I dislike this sort of miscasting of what I just said. I'm a very strong proponent of free speech and the right of anyone to say anything. But with my support for free speech comes a commitment to try to be considered and careful in what I personally say and I'm encouraging others to do the same in this particular context. You can take it or leave it and of course you can go on calling him foolis…

Maybe forbidden isn't the right word, but the fact is that so far I didn't see you address anything in the substance of the criticism towards this project, only criticise the people for criticising Musk. Also, if you read my comment you will find I never did call Mr Musk foolish. He is clearly a bright person. That doesn't make his ideas out of bounds for criticism for eternity, though, nor does it stop him from saying things that are clearly foolish, every now and then (the whole "the universe is a simulation" thing).

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#744

Post by pjc50 » Sat, Apr 29, 2017, 9:51 PM UTC

ethbro wrote: post #725

pjc50 wrote: post #648

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ultimately you want to put passengers in the tunnel, yes?

From parent comment, I was guessing that the point of greatest risk would be during tunneling / initial bracing? Rather than final static bracing.

I was thinking of the NATM failures: http://www.tunneltalk.com/images/laneCoveCollapse/Ref5-Heath...

(which were during construction, but happened in "finished" sections, I believe. NATM applies a single pass of shotcrete to the cut rock surface)

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#745

Post by erikpukinskis » Sat, Apr 29, 2017, 10:07 PM UTC

zatkin wrote: post #587

cbhl wrote: post #508

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's more nuanced than that. You can break down the world into the 99% that "know" that it's impossible. They'll never invent that world-changing thing. That leaves 1% that "don't know" that it's impossible. Of that 1%, 99% will try and fail. The remaining 1% of the 1% succeed, like George Dantzig (who came late to a Stats class at UC Berkeley, thought some problems on the board were homework, and a few days…

I agree. The only way to justify a good idea is to have people argue that it is a bad idea. It's up to the person behind the good idea to prove the arguers are wrong.

Sometimes (usually?) that proof comes only in the happening of the impossible thing.

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#746

Post by erikpukinskis » Sat, Apr 29, 2017, 10:10 PM UTC

rayiner wrote: post #551

Xcelerate wrote: post #377

It's amazing to me the amount of negativity directed toward his projects and the millions of reasons people give for why they "won't work" (not necessarily on HN, but at least on general news websites). I'm starting to believe the only difference between those who start their own companies and those who don't is that the latter convinces themselves that it is impossible, never builds anything, and from their own lack…

Engineers skew rational. They know that most ideas won't work. It's like aspiring actors or singers. Statistically, any given aspiring actors or singers won't become famous. The existence of Tom Cruise or Taylor Swift doesn't change that. Think about the dozen articles you read every day about some promising lab result or prototype that. How many of them do you ever hear about again? Meat-space engineering is hard. I…

Engineers skew likes-to-tell-themselves-they-are-rational, but ironically I find belief in self-rationality interferes with listening and makes you less rational.

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#747

Post by erikpukinskis » Sat, Apr 29, 2017, 10:12 PM UTC

breeny592 wrote: post #619

simonh wrote: post #610

Earlier quoted context omitted.

International airlines don't exist, they are faked by the same people that did the 'moon landings' to make you think the world is a ball. If they really took people up that high, they'd be able to see the earth is flat.

I think you left the /s off your comment

/s is for people who hate sarcasm. Those of us who enjoy it would rather drink it straight.

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#748

Post by erikpukinskis » Sat, Apr 29, 2017, 10:16 PM UTC

stupidhn wrote: post #649

Xcelerate wrote: post #377

It's amazing to me the amount of negativity directed toward his projects and the millions of reasons people give for why they "won't work" (not necessarily on HN, but at least on general news websites). I'm starting to believe the only difference between those who start their own companies and those who don't is that the latter convinces themselves that it is impossible, never builds anything, and from their own lack…

It's amazing to me the amount of negativity directed toward his projects His projects are cool. The incessant "Elon is so smart and will save the world!" from this place is tiring. Everytime he tweets it makes the front page. Some people see there's more to these businesses than Elon being generous to us,and run a bit more skeptical. Perhaps it's you that needs to take a step back and assess what the other side is sa…

> Everytime he tweets it makes the front page

Not even close to true.

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#749

Post by erikpukinskis » Sat, Apr 29, 2017, 10:20 PM UTC

athenot wrote: post #445

This looks really cool. However, boring through rock is the most expensive way to connect 2 places. It only makes sense if the land features or purchase value require it. Fundamentally, this is about short-circuiting the regular road network and establishing a managed packet network that can bypass congestion. Interestingly, that's also the value proposition of public transit, though it also runs into issues of cost,…

The boring could theoretically be done with close to zero energy, and the cost of the tunnel is just to remove the material. Breaking the chemical bonds along the surface of the tunnel is actually a pretty tiny amount of energy, even if it's solid rock.

Re: The Boring Company [video]

#750

Post by erikpukinskis » Sat, Apr 29, 2017, 10:34 PM UTC

gpm wrote: post #450

Strom wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I thought we already knew how to make a home on Earth. What is this in reference to? That our current methods are unsustainable? There are plenty of ideas for solutions. That the current state of human cooperation is below the necessary threshold to achieve a self-sustaining society on Mars? Maybe, but I'm optimistic that we'll find the inspirational leaders that are required.

> I thought we already knew how to make a home on Earth. It seems to me that this really isn't the case. Our attempt to make a home here is causing a mass extinction, extremely fast change in atmospheric makeup (compared to historical models), depletion of fresh water reserves (in some areas anyways), increased frequency of bad weather, earthquakes, etc. Under a 'business as usual' model I have trouble seeing our cur…

There are a billion or so people living sustainably, and probably 1% of those are doing it at a Western standard of living. We just haven't figured out how to democratize access to the culture of how to do that broadly in all climates.