Hacker News Reader

Comment by lolc | Hacker News Reader

Is? No it's not. It could be.

> aims to have one flying early next year.

Using the present tense is not justified.

It's never going to fly, its a scam.

also Bloomberg[1] mentions this:

> The company plans to fly a prototype of the “Alice” design at the Paris Air Show in June ...

So yea, seems premature, since they're getting close to a prototype.

They're building it now, so it exists in some form already if not complete.

Sure. Flying cars just around the corner, for a century now. Not holding my breath.

Bilbo Baggings is a Hobbit.

Words are used in a context which shapes their meaning. “Is” there implies to most that the aircraft already exists.

“It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.”

Well, he was right about that, although there is little doubt his intent was to deceive.

Are you saying that the headline obviously belongs to the fantasy domain?

Bilbo Baggins currently exists, as a fantasy character.

The character in my new novel Tina Taggins will be a gnome though. I haven't written in that character yet.

"is" vs "will" is a tense thing. This isn't yet a plane like Tina Taggins isn't yet a character in my novel so "will" is a appropriate.

There is no third “g” in Bilbo’s last name.

Thanks, fixed.