>> ... like so many other HNers but the economic reality just doesn't add up.
It's very difficult to predict what technology is gong to be available in 15-25 years. And making long-term economic predictions in the techy areas is even more difficult. A famous example: "I think there is a world market for about five computers.", Tom Watson, IBM chairman, 1958.
There is also an analogy with early days of aviation, 1905..1912. An idea that airplanes could possibly be used as a means of transportation was considered as pretty ridiculous at the time. Certainly not economically viable.
For example: "In 1905, when the Wright brothers offered their invention to the United States Army, it was rejected without any consideration. Even the patent office was skeptical; an application filed in 1903 was finally approved and granted in 1906 for a "flying machine.", from "The Spirit of Innovation", by Curtis Wright corp.
Yet technology improved. And things that haven't been economically viable "in any way, shape or form" time and time again became such.
It's very difficult to predict what technology is gong to be available in 15-25 years. And making long-term economic predictions in the techy areas is even more difficult. A famous example: "I think there is a world market for about five computers.", Tom Watson, IBM chairman, 1958.
There is also an analogy with early days of aviation, 1905..1912. An idea that airplanes could possibly be used as a means of transportation was considered as pretty ridiculous at the time. Certainly not economically viable. For example: "In 1905, when the Wright brothers offered their invention to the United States Army, it was rejected without any consideration. Even the patent office was skeptical; an application filed in 1903 was finally approved and granted in 1906 for a "flying machine.", from "The Spirit of Innovation", by Curtis Wright corp.
Yet technology improved. And things that haven't been economically viable "in any way, shape or form" time and time again became such.