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Comment by inglor_cz | Hacker News Reader

Needs tend to develop once the means are there.

200 years ago, there was no need to use electricity. 100 years ago, there was no need to use a programming language. 30 years ago, there was no need for gigabit wireless Internet.

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Or perhaps earlier and closer to the heart of USA's citizens, 300 years ago, there was no need for rail lines and trains.

> Needs tend to develop once the means are there.

Counterexample: space stations. We've had small manned space stations for decades now, but no real application for them. They're national prestige items only.

Because launch cost is expensive. There are a lot of interesting things we can develop in zero gravity if the cost per pound was cheap.

Not true! The ISS has functioned as an outpost for science- 3,000+ experiments and counting

https://www.nasa.gov/missions/station/five-space-station-res...

And most importantly for anyone who cares about space the way Elon claims to: The ISS has done pretty much all the research we have on how humans survive in space.

The hazards of living in zero-G were understood at the end of the Mir era.

This feels like tautological reasoning. Since you said, "tend" - are there any counter examples that you can think of?

Some marginal ones.

We have the means to build pyramids or moa statues (Easter Island-style) much more quickly and efficiently that the ancients did, but we don't feel the need anymore.

Nobody will ever need more than 640k of RAM.

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