zlacker

> The really crazy thing is you don't need to know more then basic (non Hollywood) physics to know how dump this is

And yet journalists at major institutions have been repeating Musk's claims with very little skepticism ("xAI and SpaceX are merging to bring data centers to space").

>>joelth+(OP)
That sounds like what journalists usually do. They are reporters, and rarely have any real knowledge of what they report.

>>joelth+(OP)
I believe you're better served by editorials for opinion, journalism should be comparatively rigorous. "Musk says" is not "plans/hopes"

>>bravet+qe
I'd argue this is not opinion but fact. Also, articles very often didn't say "Musk says" but just took his word for fact, not even quoting him. And in the era of Trump/Musk, their practices should evolve.

>>joelth+(OP)
For people new to HN (Paul Graham - PG - is HN's founder):

https://paulgraham.com/submarine.html

> Why do the media keep running stories saying suits are back? Because PR firms tell them to. One of the most surprising things I discovered during my brief business career was the existence of the PR industry, lurking like a huge, quiet submarine beneath the news. Of the stories you read in traditional media that aren't about politics, crimes, or disasters, more than half probably come from PR firms.

Musk is running out of runway on his way to infinity dollars and since Tesla is slowly crumbling compared to its valuation, the ideas need to become crazier and crazier: humanoid robots tomorrow, self driving taxis tomorrow, reusable rockets going to Mars tomorrow, data centers in space tomorrow.

It would be fun to watch if Musk wouldn't funnel a lot of money that could be used for good, instead. Imagine how many diseases we could cure with all that money. Or feed and educate the poor. Or how much walkable and bikeable and ultimately liveable infrastructure we could build world wide. Or how fewer plastics we could use, ingest and discard if we could promote healthy and natural alternatives.

And techies fall for his stories every time, hook, line and sinker, because he's speaking about core geek fantasies.

>>oblio+FO
There is no accountability anymore. Literal crypto pump and dump schemes mint millionaires and funnel money to billionaires and not a single investigation, indictment, court case, sentence, or even fine!

It's a casino and the mirage of billionaire competency would vanish instantly if the media were even slightly skeptical.

The media is owned, it's a sham. It's a play.

> And techies fall for his stories every time, hook, line and sinker, because he's speaking about core geek fantasies.

Not all techies, but enough of them to keep the raft afloat.

>>bravet+qe
I can't tell what you're actually saying. Is "Musk says Moon is made of blue cheese" as a title, without pointing out the fact that the moon is not made of blue cheese a kind of "rigorous" reporting?

Dealing in hallways gossip is not the job we granted the press extra constitutional protections for.

>>joelth+(OP)
The same thing happened with Hyperloop. Many journalists are simple stenographers of the utterances of others and there's no verification applied to any of the claims.

>>titzer+cU
So, don't take this the wrong way, but basically: https://newsliteracy.wsj.com/news-opinion

I was poorly trying to raise this trite distinction, asserting skepticism falls closer to Opinion than Journalism. The line gets more fine every day. I know. Take it up with them/their peers.

'Rigorous' would be "Billionaire says '<crazy shit>'", not "Billionaire says '<crazy shit>'... and here's how we feel/think about it".