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Comment by mech1234 | Hacker News Reader

Which do you think has more capability to improve and save lives? 1. Cheaper internet available everywhere for anybody willing to pay 2. Better data on the cosmos

I'd go with #1.

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1. The response isn't really relevant, because I was pointing out an argumentative mistake in my parent comment. They said, "if we don't do X the Chinese will"; I was not making a point about the relative positives / negatives of doing X.

2. I'd go with #2.

3. Even if #1 is right, jumping to the conclusion that Musk's project is a good idea is a complete non-sequitur. As far as I know, no one has argued that putting 10000 satellites into space is the only way to provide widely available cheaper internet. As you can see from discussions elsewhere in the thread, it's not likely to even do that. Will SpaceX provide service to China?

Then we get blasted by a gamma ray burst from Betelgeuse and we're all dead. Studying the cosmos is extremely important, and studying threats (asteroids, supernovae, etc.) are just one part of that.

How should we prevent this gamma ray blast? Or will astronomy just tell us its coming?

What is the point of studying the cosmos if we never leave our planet? Space is coming. Admittedly much slower than we expected. However SpaceX's satellites are just the beginning. Astronomy will continue, just much more so. Imagine a telescope array the size of the earth scanning the stars from orbit. Why look at an asteroid when you can GO there and do something with it?

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