Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

A thought I've had about SpaceX, Crazy Horse Memorial, and 9/11...

They were all once the kind of things that only nation-states could accomplish... Putting up massive payloads into space, building huge monuments, and killing thousands of people.

We've made all kinds of things easier to do - some good, some bad.

I hope we continue to grow into our capabilities a bit more smoothly than we seem to be, right now...



I think there's a little difference between thousands of engineers building a rocket and 4 idiots crashing a plane down…


As horrific as 9/11 was, it’s not fair to characterize it as 4 idiots bringing down a plane.

It was 19 people who led a coordinated attack that took hundreds of people, millions of dollars, and years to plan and execute. In the process, they brought down 4 airplanes, damaged the pentagon, and toppled TWO skyscrapers, killing thousands of people in the process.

Looking back at the 17 years since, they indirectly started multiple wars, toppled governments, inspired a generation of terrorists, and changed the geopolitical situation in the Middle East for decades, at least.

Again, it was horrible and we should condemn it, but it was also a lot more strategically impressive and impactful than you’re making it out to be.


Their biggest success was to enlist their foes in achieving their goals. That's the part I will never understand.




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: