Elon Musk: Tech Genius! Green Warrior! Biz King! Good Oligarch?

[Joe]

It's really painful to watch these pseudointellectual, overschooled, undereducated materialist buffoons grapple with the fact that there is a greater reality of consciousness/spirituality beyond the physical universe. While they have the intellectual capacity to see the truth, they are too busy worshipping the physical universe with their materialistic religion to notice; trying to find God in some super-machine. And society looks up to these people as visionaries and "creatives" when in reality they represent existential entropy. What a farce, we'd be better off without them.

Have you considered the possibility that, functionally, "consciousness/spirituality beyond the physical universe" is in effect, NOT part of such people's reality? And that it is only potentially part of yours?

 

[Approaching Infinity]

It's really painful to watch these pseudointellectual, overschooled, undereducated materialist buffoons grapple with the fact that there is a greater reality of consciousness/spirituality beyond the physical universe. While they have the intellectual capacity to see the truth, they are too busy worshipping the physical universe with their materialistic religion to notice; trying to find God in some super-machine. And society looks up to these people as visionaries and "creatives" when in reality they represent existential entropy. What a farce, we'd be better off without them.

Have you considered the possibility that, functionally, "consciousness/spirituality beyond the physical universe" is in effect, NOT part of such people's reality? And that it is only potentially part of yours?

The problem is that consciousness - at least to some basic degree - is a part of EVERYONE's reality, even the most average and "low-level" humans. Materialism is undermined by the most basic facts of human existence. So it's true that these buffoons have the intellectual capacity. (After all, strict materialism is a relatively recent phenomenon - up until a couple hundred years ago, practically everyone accepted basic facts of consciousness.) I think the possibility that they lack even the potential for a HIGHER degree of consciousness is perhaps the reason they are blind to the self-evident. That is, their lack of spiritual potential is somehow a key factor in their denial and illusory thinking. They are so aligned with "the lie" and "unconscious matter" that they cannot even accurately parse the most basic facts about reality, and the broader implications of those facts.

 

[Joe]

It's really painful to watch these pseudointellectual, overschooled, undereducated materialist buffoons grapple with the fact that there is a greater reality of consciousness/spirituality beyond the physical universe. While they have the intellectual capacity to see the truth, they are too busy worshipping the physical universe with their materialistic religion to notice; trying to find God in some super-machine. And society looks up to these people as visionaries and "creatives" when in reality they represent existential entropy. What a farce, we'd be better off without them.

Have you considered the possibility that, functionally, "consciousness/spirituality beyond the physical universe" is in effect, NOT part of such people's reality? And that it is only potentially part of yours?

The problem is that consciousness - at least to some basic degree - is a part of EVERYONE's reality, even the most average and "low-level" humans.

True, but I suppose the idea was that these people's consciousness may extend only to the limits of the physical universe.

 

[bjorb]

It's really painful to watch these pseudointellectual, overschooled, undereducated materialist buffoons grapple with the fact that there is a greater reality of consciousness/spirituality beyond the physical universe. While they have the intellectual capacity to see the truth, they are too busy worshipping the physical universe with their materialistic religion to notice; trying to find God in some super-machine. And society looks up to these people as visionaries and "creatives" when in reality they represent existential entropy. What a farce, we'd be better off without them.

Have you considered the possibility that, functionally, "consciousness/spirituality beyond the physical universe" is in effect, NOT part of such people's reality? And that it is only potentially part of yours?

The problem is that consciousness - at least to some basic degree - is a part of EVERYONE's reality, even the most average and "low-level" humans. Materialism is undermined by the most basic facts of human existence. So it's true that these buffoons have the intellectual capacity. (After all, strict materialism is a relatively recent phenomenon - up until a couple hundred years ago, practically everyone accepted basic facts of consciousness.) I think the possibility that they lack even the potential for a HIGHER degree of consciousness is perhaps the reason they are blind to the self-evident. That is, their lack of spiritual potential is somehow a key factor in their denial and illusory thinking. They are so aligned with "the lie" and "unconscious matter" that they cannot even accurately parse the most basic facts about reality, and the broader implications of those facts.

I think that they are stuck on materialism because only materialistic answers can satisfy them. They have the intellect but miss out compassion. And it is through empathy that they should figure out God/creation is not some external materialstic force that they can possess. But it is through deeds of compassion inside of them that 'God' can act through you.

If they were guided by compassion they should have figured out by now that there are more pressing things than building rockets.

But I get where Joe is coming from. Not everyone has the potential to access the higher centers. And when the lower centers are more natural for you. This is what you get. I think for all intent and purposes this has it's rightfull place in our school. But considering that it dominates our World. It's kind of toxic to have these dreamers tell us what humanity's next big project should be. When the world is getting more morally depraved by the day.

 

[Approaching Infinity]

Have you considered the possibility that, functionally, "consciousness/spirituality beyond the physical universe" is in effect, NOT part of such people's reality? And that it is only potentially part of yours?

The problem is that consciousness - at least to some basic degree - is a part of EVERYONE's reality, even the most average and "low-level" humans.

True, but I suppose the idea was that these people's consciousness may extend only to the limits of the physical universe.

That makes more sense to me. Not being able "perceive" or "sense" anything higher than themselves, they can't make the "jump" to see that their theories don't make sense, and that there are wider implications and conclusions to be drawn. By intellect alone, they should be able to reason that their philosophical theories are self-defeating and inadequate, but maybe intellect alone isn't enough. There needs to be some kind of "connection" with the thing about which you're theorizing. And since that avenue is blocked, they can't and won't steer their logic in that direction.

But then I wonder: what about all those people whose consciousness only extends so far, but who also believe in religious ideas? (Materialistic atheists are still a pretty small minority, if I remember my stats correctly.) Maybe it shows up in the way they conceive of higher realities? For example, "God" for them is strictly anthropomorphic. And maybe they conceive of "prayer" (which can't work according to materialism) in materialistic terms, as if God just has really good hearing? I dunno!

 

[Neil]

Have you considered the possibility that, functionally, "consciousness/spirituality beyond the physical universe" is in effect, NOT part of such people's reality? And that it is only potentially part of yours?

The problem is that consciousness - at least to some basic degree - is a part of EVERYONE's reality, even the most average and "low-level" humans.

True, but I suppose the idea was that these people's consciousness may extend only to the limits of the physical universe.

That makes more sense to me. Not being able "perceive" or "sense" anything higher than themselves, they can't make the "jump" to see that their theories don't make sense, and that there are wider implications and conclusions to be drawn. By intellect alone, they should be able to reason that their philosophical theories are self-defeating and inadequate, but maybe intellect alone isn't enough. There needs to be some kind of "connection" with the thing about which you're theorizing. And since that avenue is blocked, they can't and won't steer their logic in that direction.

But then I wonder: what about all those people whose consciousness only extends so far, but who also believe in religious ideas? (Materialistic atheists are still a pretty small minority, if I remember my stats correctly.) Maybe it shows up in the way they conceive of higher realities? For example, "God" for them is strictly anthropomorphic. And maybe they conceive of "prayer" (which can't work according to materialism) in materialistic terms, as if God just has really good hearing? I dunno!

Yeah, that pretty much sums up my thinking on it. Summarized most concisely:

Q: (T) Okay, we were STO at that point. You have said before that on this density we have the choice of being STS or STO.
A: Oh Terry, the battle is always there, it's "when" you choose that counts!

I wanted to add that I read Plato's Laws after it was mentioned on the post-imperialism thread, and something that struck me is the effort to align society to "divine principles." Plato tried to link politics and science and religion in a way that seemed very Gurdjieffen somewhat similar to what we do here. In the chapter about science and schooling, he addressed atheism and why it is not a good explanation, and how a good society is one that basically modeled itself on higher ideals that led one towards a sort of godliness. There was a purpose for society, it was to create a human replica of the harmonious workings of the higher spheres through positive art, science, philosophy, etc. So there has always been this greater reality out there, people saw it then and tried to attain it.

On the subject of religious believers, I don't think their consciousness weighs very much. A lot of them are probably doing the authoritarian follower thing and their beliefs are not much informed by facts or an appreciation for the patterns. If you don't understand why you believe something or why you really choose it, I don't think it means very much, it's just being an automaton. Furthermore, while their religion may give them some connection to higher realties, a lot of religion is practiced in rather superficial ways and taught with many distortions that are against what could be considered objective reality, making that connection rather tenuous. There is little crystallization that can absorb the more highly charged information from these realms. So even for very devout people who really want to be close to God, I think you have to subtract out their internalized lies and distortions to arrive at their overall "potential" at any given point.

 

[angelburst29]

Not to down play Elon Musk's efforts but "his idea" of a prototype vacuum train project - or hyperloop sounds very much like the stories that were coming out, years ago, from the Area 51 and UFO groupies, on the type of suppose underground transportation of the elites via supersonic trains that hovered over the tracks and reached incredible speeds?

A team of University of Cincinnati students has assembled a working prototype of the Hyperloop train on a magnetic cushion. They managed to lift a 4-meter-long model of a transport capsule making it float above the ground by more than half a centimeter using the magnetic levitation of eight hover engines.

Levitation Force: Working Prototype of Elon Musk’s Hyperloop Train Takes Off
https://sputniknews.com/us/201610221046616030-hyperloop-prototype-test/

The test video was published on the University of Cincinnati's YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3tr2IMg0S8 (0:20 min.)

The October 17 demonstration was a moment of celebration for the team of more than 60 UC students taking part in an international Hyperloop competition financed by SpaceX founder Elon Musk, who has challenged bright minds around the world to come up with ideas for a supersonic tube-based passenger train.

The University of Cincinnati team is one of 30 teams that will be testing their prototypes on a 1.6 km test track in California in January. Overall, around 1,000 applicants have taken part in the competition.

Hyperloop is a vacuum train project, which was proposed by Musk in 2012-2013.

One of the early concepts of transport provided for the use of an air cushion instead of more expensive magnetic levitation.

Wednesday, 11 May, might go down in history as a crucial day for the Hyperloop - the vacuum-tube-based transportation system proposed by Elon Musk in 2013.

Elon Musk's Crazy Super-Fast Hyperloop Idea Gets First Test in Nevada
https://sputniknews.com/us/201605111039437697-hyperloop-test-musk-technology/

Back dated May 11, 2016 - Los Angeles-based Hyperloop Technologies has announced that it will hold a public test of its technology in the Nevada desert just out of Las Vegas.

An Introduction to Hyperloop Technologies
Posted by Hyperloop One
https://www.facebook.com/HyperloopOne/videos/1849676161926207/

This comes as the company has just raked in US$80 million of venture capital funding, and has renamed itself "Hyperloop One." The long overdue rebranding will finally stave off confusion with the other firm leading the effort to build Musk's propelling system, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, aka HTT.

Corporate business aside, this will be the first time ever that an actual Hyperloop prototype is seen in action.

This comes as the company has just raked in US$80 million of venture capital funding, and has renamed itself "Hyperloop One." The long overdue rebranding will finally stave off confusion with the other firm leading the effort to build Musk's propelling system, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, aka HTT.

Corporate business aside, this will be the first time ever that an actual Hyperloop prototype is seen in action.

The idea for such a structure was first floated by SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk in a 2013 paper. In his view, the Hyperloop would be a network of reduced-pressure tubes inside which capsules would travel at a high speed (about 1200 kmph), levitating thanks to powerful magnets.

Despite its pie-in-the-sky connotations and its complexity, the technology has been deemed theoretically feasible. While Musk himself has not directly tried to bring about the concept, he has certainly inspired others to have a crack at it, including some of his former employees: Hyperloop One's CTO Brogan Bambrogan, who in fact used to work at SpaceX.

Creating the Hyperloop will be "easier than building a spaceship," Bambrogan recently commented.

Still, the effort is really at an early stage. And it is not even clear where and how a functioning Hyperloop would be deployed. Musk's plan was to build the first system to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles, but Hyperloop One seems more interested in Scandinavia — it is currently looking into how to put together a Stockholm-Helsinki route.

Will it happen? The test will hopefully give us an answer. Another more elaborate demonstration scheduled for the end of 2016, could be the clincher — or the nail in the Hyperloop-coffin.

Elon Musk speaks at the Hyperloop Pod Award Ceremony (2016.1.30)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ab2VVp1GfmA (33:38 min.)

Russian engineers are developing high-speed train technologies similar to the Hyperloop system.

Bullet Train: Russia Working on High-Speed Projects Similar to Hyperloop
https://sputniknews.com/science/201605201039964374-hyperloop-russia-sokolov/

Russian researchers are working on high-speed transportation technologies similar to the Hyperloop system, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said Friday.

"Our scientists are also working on the creation of such projects [as the Hyperloop]. Initial research is ongoing at St. Petersburg State Transport University. Two years ago, I was shown a prototype — the track traveled by a railway container carried by magnetic levitation is not very long yet, but such technological concepts have already been tried and tested by Russian specialists," Sokolov said. He added that Russia clearly understood that technologies that could provide people with high-speed transport services had significant potential.

The Hyperloop concept was proposed by prominent businessman and engineer Elon Musk and subsequently was made publicly available. The concept envisages the use of capsules transported via reduced-pressure tubes, which would make it possible to reach speeds higher than that of high-speed trains and planes.

On May 12, a Los Angeles-based startup company called Hyperloop One conducted the first test of a high-speed transport propulsion system.

France has become the first European country to embrace the concept of “hyperloop,” a revolutionary form of public transportation that could carry passengers across the entire country in frictionless capsules through low pressure tubes at almost the speed of sound.

Destination Future: France Invests €80Mln in First Sonic Hyperloop train
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201605051039096314-france-hyperloop/

SNCF, the company that manages France’s national rail service, has announced it would allocate some €80 million (about $92 million at current exchange rates) to Hyperloop Technologies, one of two American startups currently developing interurban tube trains in the US. Hyperloop plans to test its first 760 mph train in Nevada later this year.

The hyperloop technology pushes capsules containing passengers through low pressure tubes using solar energy to power the propulsion method. According to estimates, the technology is far more energy efficient than conventional electric trains.

Engineers behind the project detail that the tubes for the system could be constructed either under or above the ground, adding that some existing motorways could be transformed for these purposes.

“Speed is one of the advantages, but it’s not the only one,” Dirk Ahlborn, chief executive of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies, one of the two American companies working on project, said. “Building something that has economic sense, that has a good business model behind it, for me, is even more important.”

Hyperloop is deemed to be much cheaper that similar concepts, including Britain’s High Speed Two (HS2). The construction of an Los Angeles-San Francisco route would cost, according to estimates, some £5bn (around $7.2 billion at current exchange rates), in comparison to the £43bn allocated for the building of the shorter HS2 roadway from London to Birmingham.

SNCF has refused to comment on investment into hyperloop, although it did confirm the decision to participate in fundraising for Hyperloop Technologies, France 24 reported. Guillaume Pepy, SNCF chief, last year called the project “far-fetched and visionary,” adding that France is following its development.

 

[Palinurus]

Thanks angelburst29 for bringing this project to the forefront.

A small addition would be that a project team of Delft University in the Netherlands is taking part in the international competition for practical and affordable designs of such vehicles.

Latest news (in Dutch): http://www.duurzaambedrijfsleven.nl/logistiek/18515/dhl-transporteert-delftse-hyperloop-voor-eerste-tests

This is google translate for said page.

It states that a viable prototype of the Delft Hyperloop has been transported to California to take part in competitive tests instigated by Musk & Cie. to be held in January 2017.

More info:

http://ddream.tudelft.nl/en/teams/delft-hyperloop/
http://delfthyperloop.nl/

http://<iframe width="560" height="...rk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[angelburst29]

According to a statement released October 28, SpaceX has made progress in determining the cause of last month’s accident on the Falcon 9 rocket’s launch pad and expects to resume flights before the end of this year.

SpaceX Aims to Resume Falcon 9 Flights in 2016, Blames Helium Tank for Explosion
https://sputniknews.com/science/201610301046881154-spacex-resume-flights-2016/

After the incident, in which the entire Falcon 9 rocket and its AMOS-6 satellite payload was lost, a group of experts including professionals from the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA and the US Air Force, has been thoroughly investigating possible causes.

SpaceX stated shortly after the explosion that it happened during fueling of the launch vehicle before a routine static fire test rather than during the test itself, and that the "anomaly" was likely caused by a breach in the rocket's cryogenic helium system. In the latest statement, the company said that the investigation has zoomed in on a specific pressurized helium container located in the second-stage oxygen tank. "Attention has continued to narrow to one of the three composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPVs) inside the LOX tank," the release read.

In recent testing at the company's facilities in Texas, experts have managed to recreate the exact conditions that caused the COPV to fail. According to SpaceX, the failure can occur "entirely through helium-loading conditions" mainly affected by the helium's temperature and pressure.

The company intends to continue to probe for the "exact root cause" of the eruption and to develop improved helium loading conditions to make sure there's no repeat of the failure. But given that the incident likely was caused by helium handling issues rather than a design issue with the rocket itself, SpaceX expects to return to flight operations before the end of 2016.

Elon Musk, chief executive of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, debuted new solar roof tiles that eliminate the need for traditional panels and provide longer-lasting home battery capabilities. In light of the new product, Sputnik takes a look at how much renewable energy is used in the US.

Elon Musk Debuts New Solar Roof Tiles, Presenting His Vision for the Future
https://sputniknews.com/science/201610291046871051-elon-musk-solar-roof-tiles/

The presentation of the Powerwall took place on Friday, October 28 in Los Angeles, on the eve of a vote to merging Tesla Motors with SolarCity.

Musk wants to combine his firm which produces electric cars and batteries with solar installer SolarCity. A vote on the acquisition is due on 17 November. The rollout of the product is expected to take place by next summer, but it would be “unwieldy” if the two companies are not combined, Musk said. “This is sort of the integrated future. An electric car, a Powerwall and a solar roof. The key is it needs to be beautiful, affordable and seamlessly integrated,” Musk said while showcasing the products in Los Angeles. According to Musk, Tesla's new line of solar roofing is designed to blend in with the average house.

He said that the textured-glass tiles would be more durable than most other roofs and appeal to people who might not like the concept of bulky utilitarian slates atop their houses.

​The US is among the top countries in the world for solar electricity and several of the world's largest installations are located in the American Southwest.

The oldest solar power plant in the world is the 354-megawatt (MW) SEGS thermal power plant, situated in California. Similarly, the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is a solar thermal power project in the California Mojave Desert, 40 miles southwest of Las Vegas, which has a gross capacity of 392 MW.

According to a study by the Solar Energy Industries Association and GTM Research, 878 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) capacity and 78 MW of concentrating solar power (CSP) were installed in the US in 2010. That is enough to power approximately 200,000 homes.

In addition, more than 65,000 homes and businesses added solar water heating (SWH) or solar pool heating (SPH) systems. This was double the 435 MW installed in 2009 around the US.

Based on a 2011 survey conducted by independent polling firm Kelton Research, nine out of 10 Americans support the use and development of solar technology. Eight out of 10 respondents stated that the federal government should support solar manufacturing in the US and should give federal subsidies for solar energy.

According to the Energy Information Administration, in 2013, federal support and subsidies for solar power amounted to $4.4 billion, over 27% of all federal supports and subsidies for electricity production. This figure however, does not include state and local spending.

​Likewise, it has been reported that the number of homes with solar systems installed has been increasing rapidly; from 30,000 in 2006 to 400,000 in 2013. According to a study by the US Department of Energy, the figure could reach 3,800,000 homes by 2020.

Musk said his vision has always been bigger than simply automobiles, and his “master plan” is to become a “vertically integrated energy company offering end-to-end clean energy products to our customers.”

He declined to provide specific pricing details of the new products but said factoring in the cost of installation, energy savings and durability of a Tesla-Solar City roof would be better than the conventional, non-solar variety.

Musk wants to integrate home power generation, cars and car chargers and energy storage into a single reliable system. “Global warming is a serious crisis, and we need to do something about it,” Musk said. “We need to do everything we possibly can to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy.”

 

[Palinurus]

More hyperloop news:
https://techcrunch.com/2016/11/08/hyperloop-one-will-build-the-first-hyperloop-system-to-go-from-dubai-to-abu-dhabi-in-twelve-minutes/

Hyperloop One will build the first Hyperloop system to go from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in twelve minutes

Posted Nov 8, 2016 by Sarah Buhr

Hyperloop One and the United Arab Emirates are on the fast track to building out the first hyperloop system. Just today H1 announced it would build the first commercial hyperloop transportation system from Dubai to Abu Dhabi.

The journey is 99 miles (159.4 km) long and normally takes about two hours by car but H1 promises it would take a mere 12 minutes in the hyperloop.

H1 is partnering with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to evaluate the feasibility of building this system in greater Dubai and the UAE and the announcement follows the next stage of development for the company, which is gearing up for its “Kitty Hawk” moment early next year when H1 will test a full-scale prototype of its system in the Nevada desert.

It’s also part of the company’s next stage of progress in Dubai. Last August H1 co-founder Shervin Pishevar hinted the first hyperloop would be built overseas and the company announced in October it received $50 million in funding from DP World Group of Dubai, the third-largest ports operator in the world, to build a hyperloop system to move cargo throughout the country and the world.

On top of the news, H1 revealed an original design concept for the portals and pods that would take passengers from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in H1’s autonomous transportation system.

Hyperloop One will work with McKinsey and architecture and engineering firm BIG to evaluate the concept of a build out for a passenger system in the UAE.

You can see what H1 has dreamed up in the video below:

http://<iframe width="560" height="...nU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Pierre]

Tesla Made "Methodology Changes" After SEC Busted Musk For "Tailored Accounting"

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-11-29/tesla-made-methodology-changes-after-sec-busted-musk-tailored-accounting

Did the SEC just grow some teeth? For those who follow our quarterly reporting on the farce that is Tesla's earnings, the non-GAAP malarkey will be no surprise whatsoever - especially given the last quarter's "methodology changes." But it seems, as WSJ reports, that the company had come under fire from the SEC for using prohibited accounting metrics and sharing that information with investors.

As we noted ahead of the last earnings call, the electric-car maker is phasing out most of the non-GAAP adjustments it’s traditionally made, including ones for resale value guarantees or vehicles leased through banking partners.

Starting today, when the company discusses third-quarter adjusted non-GAAP earnings per share, it plans to exclude only stock-based compensation. The SEC in recent months has raised concern that public companies may be straying too far too often from Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Though Tesla has telegraphed its plan for weeks, many analysts are only now revising forecast models and some are sitting out the guessing game entirely this time. That means it may be challenging to draw firm conclusions about whether Tesla missed or beat Wall Street expectations - giving added importance to what Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk says on a follow-up conference call about cash or production plans.

But now, as The Wall Street Journal reports, we have the details from The SEC...

The SEC said Tesla in its August earnings release used “individually tailored” measurements when the electric-vehicle maker added back certain costs to revenue calculated under generally accepted accounting principles. While the SEC allows the use of some non-GAAP metrics, certain figures that adjust revenue are prohibited as detailed in the regulator’s guidelines from May 17.

Tesla on Oct. 2 said in a press release it would drop non-GAAP revenue and other custom metrics flagged by the SEC from future earnings filings. The move came after the company in August said it was reviewing the SEC’s new accounting guidelines and taking steps to modify its non-GAAP information.

The SEC used the word “tailored” to describe revenue adjustments that are specifically prohibited in its May update on regulatory guidelines.

“Whenever the SEC uses that specific term it’s a clear indication that this specific adjustment should not be used, it’s very strong language,” said Olga Usvyatsky, vice president of research and CPA at Audit Analytics.

Tesla was also chastised for its slow response to new guidance on the use of non-GAAP figures.

The regulator criticized Tesla for failing to make a “substantive” case for providing non-GAAP figures to investors.

The SEC in this case is uncharacteristically specific about wanting to see Tesla’s revised disclosures in advance, Ms. Usvyatsky said. “The language is strong, it’s not ‘please, in future filings,’” Ms. Usvyatsky said.

All of which explains the sudden "methodology adjustments" in the last quarter...

And here's what those adjustments looked like...

 

[duyunne]

As we know by now, Trump appointed Musk as an advisor back in mid December. Which IMHO was great news. It's refreshing to see Elon's level of innovation being tapped into by the Trump administration. I found it to be mildly interesting and looked forward to see how this relationship could help develop the U.S. moving forward.

Then a friend informed me of a zany baked noodle theory postulated on 4chan back in August of last year that Trump is a time traveler using Tesla technology. (Original post here: WARNING ITS 4CHAN http://i.imgur.com/EVdeMRP.jpg )

I thought nothing of it and didn't really look into it - to this day I really only read the first few posts in the above screen capture...

To me it's a bit of a baked noodle theory... Until I sat through Back to the Future 2 a few nights ago and it starting to bother me how alike Biff was to Trump.

(re: http://backtothefuture.wikia.com/wiki/Biff_Tannen )

Biff living a lavish life in a pleasure casino hotel as a result of time travel manipulation caused me to start looking at the connection between his uncle John G. Trump and Nikola Tesla, where to me, an exciting revelation was sitting on Wikipedia in plain site: ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla )

"On 7 January 1943, at the age of 86, Tesla died alone in room 3327 of the New Yorker Hotel.
...
Two days later the Federal Bureau of Investigation ordered the Alien Property Custodian to seize Tesla's belongings, even though Tesla was an American citizen. Tesla's entire estate from the Hotel New Yorker and other New York City hotels was transported to the Manhattan Storage and Warehouse Company under the Office of Alien Property (OAP) seal. John G. Trump, a professor at M.I.T. and a well-known electrical engineer serving as a technical aide to the National Defense Research Committee, was called in to analyze the Tesla items in OAP custody. After a three-day investigation, Trump's report concluded that there was nothing which would constitute a hazard in unfriendly hands, stating:

[Tesla's] thoughts and efforts during at least the past 15 years were primarily of a speculative, philosophical, and somewhat promotional character often concerned with the production and wireless transmission of power; but did not include new, sound, workable principles or methods for realizing such results."

I call bulls**t on John G. Trumps assessment of Tesla's thoughts and efforts.

Now, I'm not saying Trump is a time traveler, but I wanted to make people aware here in the forum of this important connection as a few searches just now aren't really taking me to any forum threads or posts where this connection has been called out.

Mods, if there is such a thread where this connection is pointed out, I would appreciate it if you could direct me there! I find this connection to be fascinating! Aside from that, opinions, theorems, comments, and jeers are most welcome.

Thanks,

-zzzzzz

 

[meta-agnostic]

Interesting!

Not sure about the time traveler stuff, but the resemblance to Dystopian Biff is apparently not accidental. It might be sort of an "is it the chicken or the egg?" thing. Around the time when Back to the Future 2 "day" rolled around in 2015, writer Bob Gale said in an interview that he did consciously base at least some of the bleak future...I mean present...I mean... Biff Tannen on Donald Trump:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/21/how-back-to-the-future-predicted-trump.html

"We thought about it when we made the movie! Are you kidding?” he says. “You watch Part II again and there’s a scene where Marty confronts Biff in his office and there’s a huge portrait of Biff on the wall behind Biff, and there’s one moment where Biff kind of stands up and he takes exactly the same pose as the portrait? Yeah."

 

[duyunne]

Interesting!

Not sure about the time traveler stuff, but the resemblance to Dystopian Biff is apparently not accidental. It might be sort of an "is it the chicken or the egg?" thing. Around the time when Back to the Future 2 "day" rolled around in 2015, writer Bob Gale said in an interview that he did consciously base at least some of the bleak future...I mean present...I mean... Biff Tannen on Donald Trump:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/21/how-back-to-the-future-predicted-trump.html

"We thought about it when we made the movie! Are you kidding?” he says. “You watch Part II again and there’s a scene where Marty confronts Biff in his office and there’s a huge portrait of Biff on the wall behind Biff, and there’s one moment where Biff kind of stands up and he takes exactly the same pose as the portrait? Yeah."

It's bothersome that Bob Gale couldn't reveal this connection closer to the creation of the film. I suppose the world just didn't have a big enough dose of Trump back then.

 

[Palinurus]

Source: http://www.teslarati.com/dutch-team-wins-elon-musks-spacex-hyperloop-competition-winners-list/

By Steve Hanley
Posted on January 30, 2017

The Hyperloop competition at SpaceX headquarters is complete and the winners have been announced. First place went to the Delft Hyperloop team from Delft University in the Netherlands. That should come as no surprise, as Delft University has a history of excellence when it comes to international transportation competition. Its entries in the European Formula Student competition for electric race cars have consistently taken top honors. Its Hyperloop prototype garnered the most total points as awarded by SpaceX engineers.

Second place went to the team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM), another top European engineering school. Its entry proved to be the fastest of all in the competition. A team from MIT placed third. All awards were 3D printed, using the same printer SpaceX uses for printing rocket components, and signed personally by Elon Musk.

Here’s a list of all the award winners among all thirty teams that participated in this weekend’s events:

Delft University: Highest Overall Score; Design and Construction Award
Technical University of Munich (WARR Hyperloop): Fastest Pod Award
MIT: Safety and Reliability Award
University of Maryland (UMD Loop): Performance and Operatons Award
University of Wisconsin-Madison (Team Badgerloop): Pod Innovation Award
rLoop (the only team unaffiliated with a university): Pod Innovation Award

According to SpaceX, “The purpose of the competition is to help accelerate the development of a functional Hyperloop prototype and encourage student innovation by challenging university students to design and build the best Hyperloop pod.” SpaceX Hyperloop competitions began in 2015. In 2016, SpaceX selected 30 teams to participate this weekend after they passed the design phase of the competition.

This past weekend marked the first time the contestants were permitted access to SpaceX’s mile long test track. In the end, only three teams passed all preliminary rounds of judging, during which the entries were subject to a battery of tests, including a structural analysis and a vacuum chamber test.

continued...

Other sources:

http://nltimes.nl/2017/01/30/delft-students-win-elon-musks-hyperloop-competition
http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2017/01/delft-students-win-hyperloop-futuristic-transport-competition/

https://techcrunch.com/2017/01/30/spacexs-hyperloop-competition-sees-three-companies-run-their-pods/
https://dailyplanet.climate-kic.org/european-teams-win-elon-musks-hyperloop-competition-in-california/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperloop_pod_competition