[nickff]

This article is completely lacking in historical perspective. There was a time when commercial aviation was a luxury reserved for the rich; one need only look at the configurations of aircraft like the DC-2 and the Boeing 317 to understand that. Between 1935 and 2020, flight became a tool to help enrich the lives of masses of middle-class people.

The hyperloop has a relatively small chance of positively impacting many people's lives, and possibly making medium-distance transportation more energy efficient; it's not a sure thing, but it would be wonderful if it works.

[aqme28]

I don't follow your analogy. How is this to the train what the plane was to an oceanic voyage?

[nickff]

I don't really have a direct analogy (possibly due to a lack of 'vision'); I just think that changing technology can create 'paradigm shifts' in access and capabilities.

[smogcutter]

It would be a better analogy if the changing technology weren’t “it’s like a train except for fewer people and also it costs more”.

[nickff]

Well, an alternative view is that "it's an airplane but more efficient and with lower operating costs". Everything from bicycles to commercial aviation is on the spectrum of people-movers (with alternative uses as well).

[bigbubba]

I don't think comparisons to airplanes make much sense. While early airplanes may have only been accessible to the rich, at the same time the infrastructure required was very minimal. During the early stages of the aviation industry, not much more was needed than a field or lake. A minimally viable Hyperloop for the rich requires billions of dollars of infrastructure.

[nickff]

I agree that these comparisons are not direct analogies, which is why I said "I don't really have a direct analogy (possibly due to a lack of 'vision')".

[bassman9000]

Most people won't take a train to do Austin-NY, or LA-Seattle.

With the hyperloop, the rich people would at first. Once scaled, everyone would. Plane can't beat downtown-to-downtown.

[viburnum]

This would be a good analogy if in 1935 commercial aviation had already existed for 50 years.

[nickff]

>" This would be a good analogy if in 1935 commercial aviation had already existed for 50 years."

Battery-powered electric vehicles have existed for over 100 years, and photovoltaic solar cells have existed for over 60 years, but both have really changed over the last 5, 10, and 20! Sometimes technologies can undergo major shifts due to external forces.