Hacker News Reader

> If elon musk makes interstellar car that can reach the nearest star in 1 second and priced it at 1k, I guarantee within a year people will be bored of it and finding some angle to criticize it.

Americans were glued to their seats watching Apollo 11 land. Most were back to watching I Dream of Jeanie reruns when Apollo 17 touched down.

View on HN

Well yes, but if this actually happened it would open up a new frontier. We'd have an entire galaxy of unspoilt ecosystems* to shit in. Climate anxiety would go from being existential dread to mere sentimental indignation, and everybody would be interested in the latest news from the various interstellar colonies and planning when to emigrate. Mental illness epidemics would clear up, politics would look like an old-fashioned activity, the global mood would lift, and people would say "global" much less often.

* Ecosystems may require self-assembly

It always seems like whenever something close to this happens, people's lives carry on, don't get easier, and they keep finding new things to complain about.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com