> Can we support 100 EMs? Would we run out of things to do?
Absolutely. When we run out of things to do, we go to Mars (no sarcasm). I honestly think we can do it. More importantly, Elon Musk thinks we can as well, and he has the means to make it happen.
I think I can either smell a personality cult coming up or a reality distortion field. Or it may be both.
Can we please leave it up to Elon Musk whether he wants to go to Mars or not, without presupposing the notion? I'm fairly sure he might have something to say about the matter if he really does think we can do it (I feel dirty just typing this).
Edit: He has said that he is going to Mars, I know that, and I know the replies to my post here missed this. I'm saying that it's up to him to do it, without fervently believing that he is the second coming of Jesus and will in fact do this. I'm just saying that our reaction to this is not entirely outside the field of personality cult. While knowing that he did say all this, I'm also pretty sure that he will eventually accomplish that goal, and I wish him the best of luck. I'm just not sure that we should see him as the second coming of Jobs, Branson and Jesus combined, which is what this is starting to smell like.
Let the man do electric cars really well first (i.e. outside a few thousand people in California owning the Model S) and do SpaceX really well for a while and then we'll talk.
Edit 2: The more I get downvoted without an actual reply to my point being offered, the surer I'll be that it's a personality cult that's going on here. At least until I actually see more than one Tesla on the road here or some manned regular spaceflights. Let's keep in mind that it took four attempts for Falcon I to succeed, but the current score of my comment seems to suggest that apparently the attention span here isn't that long. All the best of luck (and at his skill level, luck doesn't have much to do with it any longer) to Elon Musk however, and I 100% support everything he has been doing. Although PayPal.
As usual, competing psychological forces result in overbalances in either direction.
Over-admiration resulting in a "personality cult" are the result of wanting to be led rather than having to think through difficult problems. It's about wanting to be able to latch on to success so that you can follow the leader's direction and share in their success -- even if it's only loosely by perception of association like when wearing a winning team's jersey.
The other side of the coin where visionaries like Musk and Jobs are harshly criticized as being "cults of personality" seems to stem mostly from insecurity. Personal insecurity seeing that certain individuals are successful and praised for it as well as insecurity that their philosophy of "success is all due to luck" is in jeopardy.
> Personal insecurity seeing that certain individuals are successful and praised for it as well as insecurity that their philosophy of "success is all due to luck" is in jeopardy.
Nope, that's not it. I don't feel insecure due to other people's successes, and I don't believe for one second that either Steve Jobs' or Elon Musk's or Richard Branson's or Jesus' successes where in any way due to luck. They deserved the majority of their success. Sure, not without some stepping on some people's feet or making some enemies or doing some unethical things or by standing on the shoulders of the work that thousands of people have done for them.
But luck didn't have much to do with any of these stories, and I certainly don't have a philosophy of "success is all due to luck". Still, well put :)
Did you even watch the video? He mentioned wanting to retire (or die) on Mars. He talks about the possibility of going to Mars regularly. Obviously he believes it's possible.
Absolutely. When we run out of things to do, we go to Mars (no sarcasm). I honestly think we can do it. More importantly, Elon Musk thinks we can as well, and he has the means to make it happen.