GM (and Ford, with the Pinto) is probably thinking about how many lawsuits would be filed because of the defective part, and the average payout. If the estimated cost of the lawsuits is more than the cost of recalls, they don't fight the recalls.
2.6M registered owners. Even if only 30% of the owners return them for the warranty fix, that's still 780,000 cars worth of expense. For 13 deaths over a 10+ year time span.
How is the availability of water on Mars therefore the handwavium? That's not what you meant when you wrote that and you know it.
I know what I meant. Apparently I didn't do as good a job of explaining it as I thought I did.
It appears that you think I know that I meant something like "chemistry will be different on Mars".
This is the crucial sentence: Handwavium to convert chemical transformation formulas into actual non-laboratory processes.
Electrolysis systems for 6 people on the ISS are going to be radically different in scale than those for a bunch of colonists.
That's the key word: scale.
The Handwavium comes in the paragraphs in and around this sentence:
The exact equipment and techniques you would use are still up for debate and experiment as well.
The equipment (and spare parts, and maintenance, and assembly and repair, etc) needed to do all that stuff will be much more complicated on Mars than you think.
On Earth, we can send out some geologists or a surveying crew, rent or buy heavy machinery, parts, drilling mud, explosives, etc of a variety of forms from a jillion different sources.
OTOH, every bit of every kind of stuff needed on Mars will have to be sent at the beginning (whether on one ship or multiple doesn't matter), and that will drive up the cost of the expedition to absurd heights.
some problems' only solutions are sooo expensive that the problem isn't worth solving.
See, we agree!!
OTOH, technology marches on.
Now that Pratt & Whitney has developed a supercruise engine for the F-22, if Boeing demonstrates that the 787's carbon fiber body is durable, then combining those technologies with NASA's boom reduction research the concept of supersonic passenger aircraft could be brought out of mothballs (especially for long Asian and Pacific routes).
It's because your answer to the general question of "if not now, when" seems to be "never!".
Really? No.
I'm not saying, "Don't explore Mars." Use robots -- multiple large and complicated ones, with the mass budget saved by not having to keep humans alive.
It's really hard to read what you wrote there without coming to the conclusion that you're arguing that racism is a good thing.
Which part of what I wrote gave you that impression?
Or, at least that racism is a good default position
Ditto.
and you should only switch with extraordinary proof that it's bad. I don't think I like that.
Racism was not a good default position, but you can't deny that it was the default position.
And given your low 5-digit/. id, you must be old enough to remember that the vast majority of whites who lived near blacks did have to be convinced that racism is Wrong. (I won't comment on those whites from places like Minnesota where it's easy to not be racist because there aren't any blacks to be racist against.)
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There is no such thing as a "safe" or unsafe language; only safe and unsafe programmers.
Sigh.
It's a good god damned harder to introduce an array index out-of-bounds error in Ada, PL/1, Pascal, BASIC and COBOL than in C.
Why? Because the RTLs in those languages check for out-of-bounds errors.
Thus, those languages, while not perfectly safe (nothing can be), are manifestly safer than C.
Let's not single C out as if it is the exception to the rule.
While true, this thread is about whether or not C is or can be a safe language.
With C you have to be hypervigilinte
And yet the vast majority of C programmers... are not hypervigilant.
And yet you'll trust languages implemented in it?
Why do you presume that of me?
(Back in the day, languages bootstrapped themselves. Now GOML!)
Given the number of bugs (security and otherwise) in so many applications, there must be 10 metric trainloads of "small skill" programmers out there.
C is a perfectly safe language if used properly.
As safe as juggling very long, very, very greasy sharp knives while skating on very thin ice...
Is that literally all it takes to make ASA?
Willow bark replaces aspirin;
No. Acetylsalicylic acid replaces salicylic acid, because the side effects are worse. Otherwise, we'd be popping SA pills instead of ASA pills.
Air, land and water are just too different.
Jesus H Christ, but that's a huge spread. Do anthropologists actually know anything?
Actually they do to a certain degree with a live and let live attitude.
Now, but not Back In The Day (I was there; I remember).
After people have had a few drinks, yell "The Second Amendment Sucks!" at a NASCAR event, and watch the tolerance and love pour your way.
But conservatives don't trumpet "tolerance" (which has been redefined to mean 'pushing our agenda') as a core value.
One or two loud mouthed lawyers do not a crisis make.
But they do concern risk-averse insurance companies.
GM (and Ford, with the Pinto) is probably thinking about how many lawsuits would be filed because of the defective part, and the average payout. If the estimated cost of the lawsuits is more than the cost of recalls, they don't fight the recalls.
2.6M registered owners. Even if only 30% of the owners return them for the warranty fix, that's still 780,000 cars worth of expense. For 13 deaths over a 10+ year time span.
And they want to recall 2.6M cars??? No wonder American made stuff is so expensive...
Curiousity is about a ton or 2. 100 people are about 10 Curiousity's, give or take mass for life support etc.
Details, details, details... (The ISS is 495 short tons, for just 6 people.)
How is the availability of water on Mars therefore the handwavium? That's not what you meant when you wrote that and you know it.
I know what I meant. Apparently I didn't do as good a job of explaining it as I thought I did.
It appears that you think I know that I meant something like "chemistry will be different on Mars".
This is the crucial sentence: Handwavium to convert chemical transformation formulas into actual non-laboratory processes.
Electrolysis systems for 6 people on the ISS are going to be radically different in scale than those for a bunch of colonists.
That's the key word: scale.
The Handwavium comes in the paragraphs in and around this sentence:
The exact equipment and techniques you would use are still up for debate and experiment as well.
The equipment (and spare parts, and maintenance, and assembly and repair, etc) needed to do all that stuff will be much more complicated on Mars than you think.
On Earth, we can send out some geologists or a surveying crew, rent or buy heavy machinery, parts, drilling mud, explosives, etc of a variety of forms from a jillion different sources.
OTOH, every bit of every kind of stuff needed on Mars will have to be sent at the beginning (whether on one ship or multiple doesn't matter), and that will drive up the cost of the expedition to absurd heights.
Things that are impractical to the point of impossibility aren't kept in service that long.
National Pride and bureaucratic inertia are two factors which can keep some big project going well past it's Sell By date.
The history of the Concord seems to prove otherwise.
Why did Boeing cancel it's 2027 project? Why have there been no other SSTs (either European or American) since then?
Because they aren't economical.
So what part requires the handwavium?
This is the Handwavium:
you can just dig under the dirt a little and hit a layer of pure water ice
A few shovel digs and up comes potable water?
In reality, it'll be akin to strip mining.
moving 100 people to Mars requires the same advancements as sending 10 Curiousitys.
You're saying that right now we can send 10 people to Mars?
Or that we need some advance in technology to simultaneously send 10 Curiosity rovers?
Or something else?
Then your recollection is incorrect.
I'll disagree until you show me some evidence. Presumably you think the same way.
The Concorde was basically killed by beancounting and politics. It wasn't some impossible thing.
You agree with me, but seem to be fighting anyway.
Go back and read my original post on cost:
http://science.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=4874589&cid=46442899
some problems' only solutions are sooo expensive that the problem isn't worth solving.
See, we agree!!
OTOH, technology marches on.
Now that Pratt & Whitney has developed a supercruise engine for the F-22, if Boeing demonstrates that the 787's carbon fiber body is durable, then combining those technologies with NASA's boom reduction research the concept of supersonic passenger aircraft could be brought out of mothballs (especially for long Asian and Pacific routes).
It's because your answer to the general question of "if not now, when" seems to be "never!".
Really? No.
I'm not saying, "Don't explore Mars." Use robots -- multiple large and complicated ones, with the mass budget saved by not having to keep humans alive.
and most of that is not terribly difficult to make.
Please give examples, remembering that it will be made on Mars, not Earth.
I'm presuming you're being facetious about the difficulty of orbital capture
More the landing phase.
Lots of things are easy in theory but hard in practice. We're getting better at it, but still some craft fail.
increasingly few
Is that like "5x less"?
if Musk and crew can get the Falcon XX landing reliably here it shouldn't be any more difficult to do the same on Mars.
Engineering is harder and more expensive than I think you think it is.
It's really hard to read what you wrote there without coming to the conclusion that you're arguing that racism is a good thing.
Which part of what I wrote gave you that impression?
Or, at least that racism is a good default position
Ditto.
and you should only switch with extraordinary proof that it's bad. I don't think I like that.
Racism was not a good default position, but you can't deny that it was the default position.
And given your low 5-digit /. id, you must be old enough to remember that the vast majority of whites who lived near blacks did have to be convinced that racism is Wrong. (I won't comment on those whites from places like Minnesota where it's easy to not be racist because there aren't any blacks to be racist against.)
and Mars has water.
It's the getting the Martian water which I think is much more difficult than you do.
the Concorde wasn't that expensive compared to a regular passenger jet
That's not my recollection.
It was killed by noise concerns
Silly fly-over hayseeds not wanting their windows rattling multiple times per day!