The Cruelty Of Math
Thing Number One:
10 Sci-Fi Techs We Could Build If They Weren't So Damn Expensive. Here's #7 on the list:
New York-L.A. Maglev ExpressPricey, yes? Yes.
Cost: $70 billion (Based on established construction costs)
Thing Number Two:
The War in Iraq Costs. As I'm looking at it right now, it's just over $492 billion.
In other words, we could have built seven cross-continental maglevs already.
Update: Is Wired's math bad?
Also: 290 words. Whee!
Comments
*headdesk*
*repeatedly*
Posted by: Rachel | February 7, 2008 11:46 PM
Sad now.
Posted by: dr. lisa | February 8, 2008 12:01 AM
I think Wired left off a zero. Japan is working to build a maglev train from Tokyo to Nagoya (263 km) by 2025 costing $45 Billion.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1141597
A comparable cost for a maglev train from New York to LA (3961 km) would cost $677 Billion. Even assuming not using the lastest tech, $70 Billion seems really low to me.
Posted by: Scott Janssens | February 8, 2008 12:00 PM
You could be right, Scott. They don't source their figures.
I do see that the 30km train in Shanghai cost $1.33 billion (wikipedia's entry). Lessee, by that calculation the NYC-LA should cost just over $175 billion.
Hmm. Maybe heavy earthquake proofing makes a difference, maybe the long flat stretches across the Midwestern plains provide a cost break, or maybe Wired just screwed up.
Posted by: Jon | February 8, 2008 12:40 PM