[uncoder0]

If Segwit adoption (~12% after launching toward the end of August) by 3rd parties is any indicator even if lightning released today we wouldn't be seeing huge benefits for months if not years.

There is a certain elegance to increasing the block size as it allows you to continue using the chain as you've been using it for years (on-chain transactions). As a bitcoin community member for nearly its entire history myself and others have worked hard to get the level of merchant adoption we enjoyed in early 2016. Today bitcoin is accepted in less places than it was 2 years ago and transacting with is is a luxury only reserved for us privileged early adopters. It was never supposed to be this way.

[em3rgent0rdr]

Lightning Network has already proven themselves using real bitcoins in test videos. Don't want to deploy too fast at risk of making major screwup, so patience is necessary. Trying to modify bitcoin core such as with a blocksize increase has proven to be impracticably. So Lightning Network has a much greater chance than modifying bitcoin itself.