[lpolovets]

This is simply how moonshots work. You lose $50m 99 times in a row, then make $50b on the 100th time. (This is also very similar to how venture capital economics work.)

I think it's wonderful that Google pursues moonshots and that they have the cash flow to keep Wall Street investors from freaking out. I'm confident that one (or more) of their experiments will eventually make a huge impact on people around the world.