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Comment Re:Project Kessler. (Score 1) 16

These satellites are hundreds of miles from each other. Furthermore they are in LEO which means the orbit decays in under 5 years if they don't have regular thrust correction. We've already had satellite collisions in space and last I checked space is still fine. The only way for Kessler to be real (and that too temporary) is if someone put hundreds or thousands of tons of ball bearings above a certain size up there.

NORAD was tracking over 18,000 objects in our orbit in the early 1990s. And hundreds of thousands is starting to describe the plans for that orbit. How many cellular providers are on planet now? How many ISPs? How many companies will now follow both SpaceX and Amazon into LEO to compete for the same exact thing? Who is stopping them? Cost is an artificial constraint when Greed can always find someone else’s money to pay for shit. Taxpayer money smells the best.

As far as the satellite collisions we’ve already suffered, you do understand how and why that problem can get exponentially and catastrophically worse, right? It’s not denying Kessler that’s the true problem here. It’s what the FUCK a satellite-addicted planet is going to DO about it after the fact. Not even having a Plan B anymore (ala copper lines to your home), makes that event quite impactful. Over and over again.

Comment Re:Its NOT Stupidity (Score 1) 68

The problem is not that we are stupid, its that we are selfish and short-sighted. The current problems are easily manageable. They have no impact at all on most of us. In fact, you can even make some money off them and people do.

There is NO money to be made telling people they are going to need to change their lifestyle whether they like it or not. That Bill Gates can't fly in his private jet even if he can afford it. Much less that no one can use commercial airlines any more. Force auto companies to immediately stop producing ICE vehicles because every one of them is going to produce emissions until it stops running? Ain't going to happen.

Suggest that economic growth is a bad thing. That it makes dealing with climate change impossible. See how many people will even consider the question.

Fine. We’ll be extra stupid and have an even Greater Depression instead to force-fuck a reset out of the economy. Or maybe yet another World War is in order. We always have a “solution” for Greed fucking up. Moar Greed fucking up bigly biggest.

Climate change? Hell, we can’t even slow progress because stock price. Were not even at the point of Mother Nature needing to be acknowledged.

Comment Re:So why are they renaming it? (Score 2) 16

I read, then re-read it and still can't understand. "Leo" somehow projects "new era of internet" better than "Kuiper"? Why?

TFA clarifies that “Leo” is a nod to low earth orbit. I took that clarification as a clear example of why this program might fail. Since no one remembers what an acronym is.

Might as well have renamed to project “Space” as a convenient reminder for everyone on the team where the satellites go.

Comment Project Kessler. (Score 1) 16

Leo is a nod to "low Earth orbit," where Amazon has so far launched more than 150 satellites as part of a constellation that will eventually include more than 3,200..Amazon says its satellites can help serve "billions of people on the planet who lack high-speed internet access, and millions of businesses, governments, and other organizations operating in places without reliable connectivity."

Probably should have named it Project Kessler. Since that seems to be some kind of fucking goal here.

10,000 satellites ago I’d probably think this was a cool story bro. For some reason I have to fight the urge to yell “COPYCAT” at the top of my lungs instead. Can’t imagine why.

Comment Re:Estimates based on conjecture (Score 4, Insightful) 68

Actually, you are the ignorant one here because you want to justify your denial. Because scientists are aware they are just human, there are a lot of safeguards in place. The first one being the scientific principle. But I guess you lack insight into what that actually does and why it was created.

Global warming is a settled issue but we are spending millions of dollars on studies to confirm it on the theory that what is lacking is proof.

This nicely illustrates how deep your ignorance goes. This is not why these studies are done. The reason they are done is to refine and get more detail. That will be invaluable for evaluating the impact of things that could still be done and to prepare for the effects.

Comment Re:Using an economic lens (Score 1) 77

I think they are holding out to sell the buildings at full price.

Never gonna happen. Full price was before 10 years of decay and rodent infestation + neighborhood gone to shit. Nevertheless, high supply, low demand is supposed to result in low prices.

What a nice idea! But then the commons are not only not commons, but they become properties and whatever herdsman gets the biggest herd will buy it all up and you get a monopoly.

One, how so if the agreement is ownership in common. And two, how is it worse than it all being owned by a (land)lord who rakes in the better part of the profit while considering herding animals to be beneath him?

Sounds like you drank the cool aid.

Comment Re:The problem is the education system (Score 1) 148

Tables are not knowledge. They are data. They are "basics" for nothing knowledge-wise. What they do is they produce a nice, meaningless rote-learning exercise that can be examined easily to produce an entirely meaningless grades. They are nothing but a waste of time and create a false impression of "something having been learned". Hence, no, we have absolutely no issue if a kid cannot answer "12x11" from _memory_. If an older kid cannot find out what 12x11 is or does not see that it is somewhere "a bit more than 100" and accepts a false result that is one order of magnitude (or more) off, then we have an issue.

It is fascinating how many people mistake data memorization for "learning". Obviously, when you teach actual understanding, then most kids do not do so well. May explain why worthless memorization is still a favorite of many "teachers". May also explain why Math teaching fails routinely and most people fear Math. Math is actually very easy on this level.

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