Elon Musk has an Idea for Saving Boys Stranded in a Thailand Cave

This is basically self and company promotion. There's a dozen companies with infinitely more experience and the tech is the same.

And yet Musk is the one actively sending two engineers over and offering assistance. Can you tell me what the CEO's of those other dozen countries are doing about it?
 
It wasn't just VW but it was not every American car maker either.
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/03/09/watch-dirty-money-netflix-vws-dieselgate-worse-think/
worth a watch

Quite right. I forget my use of hyperbole sometimes when recalling past events that pissed me off. I know Chevy was doing it because I received service notices to reprogram my PCM on a car I just purchased, and for the one I just traded in. In fact Chevy was more than willing to take my 2012 cruze back... about 2 months after I traded it in all the lemon letters started showing up.

Oh yeah? Last I checked VW was the one touting how clean their diesel was, not our domestic manufacturers, hell Navistar almost went bankrupt trying to make an emissions passing diesel truck engine that didn't need additives with good fuel economy.

https://www.truckinginfo.com/141709...million-judgment-in-prostar-maxxforce-lawsuit
http://www.landlinemag.com/story.aspx?StoryID=29452#.Va-3cXA8KrU
https://www.sec.gov/news/pressrelease/2016-62.html
 
Fresh heads / new ideas no matter who is presenting them is always a good thing.

Some of you folks in this thread can go get lost in a cave. Seriously.

If you listen to everyone’s ideas all of the time, nothing would ever get done.
 
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The people are barely able to squeeze through some areas underwater. Divers have to remove their tanks and push them through first before they can fit, for example. Also from what I've heard it's a 3+ hour trip for the divers just to reach the kids .

What in the holy hell? What did this coach do, take them on a 3+ hour expedition into a completely blackout cave where they were squeezing through tiny tunnels just to get there?
 
What in the holy hell? What did this coach do, take them on a 3+ hour expedition into a completely blackout cave where they were squeezing through tiny tunnels just to get there?

Yes.

Katadzic has not dived the final kilometer to where the boys are stranded on a muddy bank, the most dangerous part of the dive where rescuers have to hold their oxygen tanks in front of them to squeeze through submerged holes.
 
This thread puts some of the ones in Soapbox to shame. Just waiting on McAfee to chime in on how he can social engineer them out.
 
What in the holy hell? What did this coach do, take them on a 3+ hour expedition into a completely blackout cave where they were squeezing through tiny tunnels just to get there?

See... that's what i want to know.

When your own country's best trained military soldiers (or close to the best?) are failing and some even passing away just attempting to reach you, what kind of Houndini are you?!
 
See... that's what i want to know.

When your own country's best trained military soldiers (or close to the best?) are failing and some even passing away just attempting to reach you, what kind of Houndini are you?!

This kind of passage while a bit unnerving when dry...
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is a whole lot different animal when it has running water through it.
180705-volunteer-thai-navy-seal-dies-ac-1110p_92db3f853ae242fc17118f43a9820001.fit-760w.jpg




I've participated in an expert spelunking tour in Mammoth Cave, where we walked, crawled and scooted close to five miles. Some places so tight you couldn't turn your head left to right, or have your arms by your side. Trying to navigate some of those passages, underwater? I couldn't do it.



http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-04/map-of-difficult-diving-conditions/9940510
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There's a James Cameron film that I thought was intense. Similar plot line. Group of cavers gets caught in a cave in a big rainstorm and has to find their way out, fighting rising water, air, lack of food, and dying light along the way. It's an intense movie. These guys are living that.
 
Threads like this are a great way to figure out which members to ignore.

That said, anything this guy can contribute at all is fantastic. Even if he does get his tube to them and it doesn't manage to provide a way out at least it could provide fresh air.

Too all of the weird Elon Musk haters complaining about him I ask what you are doing to help?
I'm doing the exact same amount as him.

Btw I'm not a Musk hater, just not a blind fanboy either.
 
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And yet Musk is the one actively sending two engineers over and offering assistance. Can you tell me what the CEO's of those other dozen countries are doing about it?

Geologists and civil engineers literally do this for a living and know what is possible with the conditions and environment they're dealing with. A team from my wifes work/office were on a plane and on site only about 12 hours behind the British and American dive teams. If the government, based on expert evaluations from around the world, thought that there was some expertise they were lacking. They'd be requested and be on the next flight.

That's how this shit works. When you have an emergency situation overstaffing is as much of a problem as anything else. Leave people to do it.

This is solely self promotion. Do it through a back channel if you think you can help.
 
Geologists and civil engineers literally do this for a living and know what is possible with the conditions and environment they're dealing with. A team from my wifes work/office were on a plane and on site only about 12 hours behind the British and American dive teams.
But are they tweeting about it, though?
 
Even professionals need help sometimes from outside thinking. It also isn't like Musk's engineers are amateurs at underground tunnels... I think any kind of brainstorming and caution experimentation is better than nothing. Even a failed rescue attempt could provide valuable information for future rescues.

How is Musk proposing drilling a tunnel to them "outside thinking"? They were already drilling tunnels into the cave to find them and stopped. Plus, the rescue team is composed of experts from all over the world. Where has Musk been for the last few weeks while this has been going on?

Also, a failed rescue attempt by Musk could result in the cave collapsing and trapping or killing everyone inside. Musk probably doesn’t mean it, but he is insulting the intelligence of a lot of experts by offering his “solution.” If he has equipment he thinks they might need, I’m sure he can ask them and send it over if they want it.
 
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I didn't know Musk's girlfriends posted here. I'm sure a couple of batteries will save the day there. Lack of electricity is the only thing keeping those boys from being rescued. Did you like his twitter post yet? Every little bit helps in these dire situations.

I better sign up for Twitter!
 
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This was no field trip to the local soccer museum. The coach and kids were obviously pushing serious limits by even going that deep into the cave. Very irresponsible. But they are there and people should embrace any viable idea to rescue them. Regardless of politics and opinions. Others are right though, the appropriate experts should be involved in any actions that are taken. Musk is an idea man. Ideas can be considered or rejected.

Once it is over (and hopefully the outcome is positive), then people can bicker about what should or shouldn't have happened. These kids are fortunate that they have the whole world's attention for their possible rescue.
 
How is Musk proposing drilling a tunnel to them "outside thinking"? They were already drilling tunnels into the cave to find them and stopped. Plus, the rescue team is composed of experts from all over the world. Where has Musk been for the last few weeks while this has been going on?

Also, a failed rescue attempt by Musk could result in the cave collapsing and trapping or killing everyone inside. Musk probably doesn’t mean it, but he is insulting the intelligence of a lot of experts by offering his “solution.” If he has equipment he thinks they might need, I’m sure he can ask them and send it over if they want it.

You eight, obviously there is literally nothing else does anyone to learn or discover anymore. All of science has been figured out...

Musk is not insulting anyone, he is merely offering help. His engineers have a lot of experience, experience you are insulting. There is absolutely nothing insulting about offering help. They can choose to accept it or not. It would be unfathomable not to take advantage of free help though.

As for.failed rescue efforts, that is exactly what I mean failed. As in they all die. Failures are often how we learn the most. The situation is already dire.
 
You eight, obviously there is literally nothing else does anyone to learn or discover anymore. All of science has been figured out...

Musk is not insulting anyone, he is merely offering help. His engineers have a lot of experience, experience you are insulting. There is absolutely nothing insulting about offering help. They can choose to accept it or not. It would be unfathomable not to take advantage of free help though.

As for.failed rescue efforts, that is exactly what I mean failed. As in they all die. Failures are often how we learn the most. The situation is already dire.

Lol, you’re talking to an engineer so your remark about science is pretty entertaining.

Nevertheless, the point is that Musk isn’t an expert in cave rescue and he hasn’t offered anything I’ve seen that is unique. They were already in the process of opening additional tunnels and called the efforts off. The most direct route to tunnel through is solid rock and experts are saying it would take weeks, which they don’t have at this point. The experts who are saying this are experts who have actually saved people from caves.

His tube idea would also take weeks to set up, if it would even work. At any rate, my question stands - where was he 2 weeks ago? Also, why make such a public show about his offer of help?
 
Freaking warning sign right outside the cave. Coach is a dumbass but I just read he's only 25. Walked 3 miles into a fucking cave during flooding season with 11 young kids that can't swim. Hopefully they get out but as treacherous as cave diving is it seems the odds aren't in their favor.

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Lol, you’re talking to an engineer so your remark about science is pretty entertaining.

Nevertheless, the point is that Musk isn’t an expert in cave rescue and he hasn’t offered anything I’ve seen that is unique. They were already in the process of opening additional tunnels and called the efforts off. The most direct route to tunnel through is solid rock and experts are saying it would take weeks, which they don’t have at this point. The experts who are saying this are experts who have actually saved people from caves.

His tube idea would also take weeks to set up, if it would even work. At any rate, my question stands - where was he 2 weeks ago? Why make such a public show about his offer of help?
Because they were not making progress?

If I was in trouble, I would welcome any help.
 
Freaking warning sign right outside the cave. Coach is a dumbass but I just read he's only 25. Walked 3 miles into a fucking cave during flooding season with 11 young kids that can't swim. Hopefully they get out but as treacherous as cave diving is it seems the odds aren't in their favor.

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The odds are like way out of their favor if they try the diving option. An expert died doing it. That option is pretty bad, but I guess good as a last option?
 
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Lol, you’re talking to an engineer so your remark about science is pretty entertaining.

Nevertheless, the point is that Musk isn’t an expert in cave rescue and he hasn’t offered anything I’ve seen that is unique. They were already in the process of opening additional tunnels and called the efforts off. The most direct route to tunnel through is solid rock and experts are saying it would take weeks, which they don’t have at this point. The experts who are saying this are experts who have actually saved people from caves.

His tube idea would also take weeks to set up, if it would even work. At any rate, my question stands - where was he 2 weeks ago? Why make such a public show about his offer of help?

I am also an engineer, in multiple fields, so your being an engineer phases me little. Even more so that you would completely disregard the help of other inyelligent people. But your just being an engineer makes it more understandable that you don't understand how things work, especially when Musk has teams of engineers in various fields that can lend their expertise. The fact that he spit alled some ideas off the top of his head doesn't mean he is not qualified to put together a team to help, as evidenced with his ability to effectively put together engineers in a wide array of areas to pull off numerous disparate projects.

As for where he was two weeks ago? Probably busy running his numerous companies full of engineers, and likely did not even see the news until recently. I myself just saw this news and I have been watching the front pages almost every day for two weeks.
 
I am also an engineer, in multiple fields, so your being an engineer phases me little. Even more so that you would completely disregard the help of other inyelligent people. But your just being an engineer makes it more understandable that you don't understand how things work, especially when Musk has teams of engineers in various fields that can lend their expertise. The fact that he spit alled some ideas off the top of his head doesn't mean he is not qualified to put together a team to help, as evidenced with his ability to effectively put together engineers in a wide array of areas to pull off numerous disparate projects.

As for where he was two weeks ago? Probably busy running his numerous companies full of engineers, and likely did not even see the news until recently. I myself just saw this news and I have been watching the front pages almost every day for two weeks.

This story has been front page news for nearly two weeks. I’m not sure how you missed it.

I didn’t say I was an engineer to “phase you,” I said it to address your silly remark about science because I made no such claim and you are very well aware of that. The fact is that Elon is too late. That’s the bottom line. They are likely going to have to make a very unfortunate decision within 24-48 hours and it may end tragically like it did for the former Thai SEAL who died. But they are likely out of options and have no choice. I’d be scared shitless having to dive through that path at my current age (47), so I can’t even imagine what those kids must be feeling. The coach was an irresponsible idiot for taking them in there despite the warnings, but that’s something to be dealt with later.
 
This story has been front page news for nearly two weeks. I’m not sure how you missed it.

I didn’t say I was an engineer to “phase you,” I said it to address your silly remark about science because I made no such claim and you are very well aware of that. The fact is that Elon is too late. That’s the bottom line. They are likely going to have to make a very unfortunate decision within 24-48 hours and it may end tragically like it did for the former Thai SEAL who died. But they are likely out of options and have no choice. I’d be scared shitless having to dive through that path at my current age (47), so I can’t even imagine what those kids must be feeling. The coach was an irresponsible idiot for taking them in there despite the warnings, but that’s something to be dealt with later.

You are so right, they shouldn't try anything or even try to accept any help when they believe all options are closed...

Because again, if there is one thing we have learned it is that there is literally no other alternatives because all of science is figured out...

I guess you didn't get the heavy sarcasm the first time, so it was worth repeating. I don't understand how, as an engineer, you believe they should just give up and not accept any help... And that, as an engineer, you think there couldn't possibly be any other method possible to assist at least in some small way to better the odds.
 
You are so right, they shouldn't try anything or even try to accept any help when they believe all options are closed...

Because again, if there is one thing we have learned it is that there is literally no other alternatives because all of science is figured out...

I guess you didn't get the heavy sarcasm the first time, so it was worth repeating. I don't understand how, as an engineer, you believe they should just give up and not accept any help... And that, as an engineer, you think there couldn't possibly be any other method possible to assist at least in some small way to better the odds.

I don’t think I ever said they shouldn’t accept his help and if you can quote where I said it, I’d like to review it. What I said was 1) that this incident has been in the news 2 (maybe even 3) weeks now and I find his timing awful. American and British divers and experts were in Thailand within a day or two of them being reported missing. 2) The suggestions he spit balled, most notably tunneling, have been ongoing the entire time and much of those efforts have been suspended or called off.

I do believe that maybe his help would’ve been greatly beneficial 2 weeks ago, which is probably why I keep stressing that point in almost every single post. However, with heavy rains predicted to start falling tonight, they probably don’t have the luxury of time on their side and will need to make a move within HOURS. So quite literally, they could be forced to perform an emergency evacuation before any of Musk’s equipment or men can even arrive onsite. At that stage, it will be a “lessons learned” analysis and yes, maybe Musk’s engineers can help develop technology to assist in future rescues. At this stage, it is probably too late and my impression (which may be wrong) is that many of you think Thailand is working this in a vacuum and has limited expertise attacking this problem. That isn’t the case - at all. Teams from all over the world are there helping and frankly it is impressive.

If I’m wrong and Elon Musk saves them, I’ll put “Elon Musk is god and NoOther was right” in my sig.
 
Freaking warning sign right outside the cave. Coach is a dumbass but I just read he's only 25. Walked 3 miles into a fucking cave during flooding season with 11 young kids that can't swim. Hopefully they get out but as treacherous as cave diving is it seems the odds aren't in their favor.

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When they entered the cave it was late June. The signs say flooding season starts in July. You might as well blame climate change caused by global warming.
After the coach and kids are rescued they should permanently seal the cave.
 
As for the 2 weeks, it is as I said, he didn't know about it, or just wasn't asked. He got involved after being asked on Twitter if he could help. He then sent over engineers, they are working with the Thai on-site. They have provided options from their other areas, like the falcon project. Whether they work or not, they we're not options available before.
 
When they entered the cave it was late June. The signs say flooding season starts in July. You might as well blame climate change caused by global warming.
After the coach and kids are rescued they should permanently seal the cave.

Good point.
 
When they entered the cave it was late June. The signs say flooding season starts in July. You might as well blame climate change caused by global warming.
After the coach and kids are rescued they should permanently seal the cave.

The sign might state that, but what I read yesterday said the rain season started early and the cave was already closed off due to rain and flooding. They all knew before they went in that they weren’t supposed to be in there.
 
I don’t think I ever said they shouldn’t accept his help and if you can quote where I said it, I’d like to review it. What I said was 1) that this incident has been in the news 2 (maybe even 3) weeks now and I find his timing awful. American and British divers and experts were in Thailand within a day or two of them being reported missing. 2) The suggestions he spit balled, most notably tunneling, have been ongoing the entire time and much of those efforts have been suspended or called off.

I do believe that maybe his help would’ve been greatly beneficial 2 weeks ago, which is probably why I keep stressing that point in almost every single post. However, with heavy rains predicted to start falling tonight, they probably don’t have the luxury of time on their side and will need to make a move within HOURS. So quite literally, they could be forced to perform an emergency evacuation before any of Musk’s equipment or men can even arrive onsite. At that stage, it will be a “lessons learned” analysis and yes, maybe Musk’s engineers can help develop technology to assist in future rescues. At this stage, it is probably too late and my impression (which may be wrong) is that many of you think Thailand is working this in a vacuum and has limited expertise attacking this problem. That isn’t the case - at all. Teams from all over the world are there helping and frankly it is impressive.

If I’m wrong and Elon Musk saves them, I’ll put “Elon Musk is god and NoOther was right” in my sig.
I hope you make good on what you said. :)
 
I have my doubts, it looks like some of the narrow points probably need a good degree of flexibility from the divers to get through.
 
Honestly, it's a pretty good idea for a solution. Especially if the components basically already exist.

Given that a full sized person with a oxygen tank on their back is too large to fit through the tunnel, to me it seems like you would have a hard time fitting something like that in. But yeah, if they have the parts and can make it in less than 24 hours while still looking at other options can't hurt to try it.
 
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