Chunnel as metaphor (was Bootstrapping Hawaii)

>
> The point I took from Ian's example was that if you take the Chunnel
> to be a surrogate for orbital development, how would numerous
> actors, all showing up independently on the English or French
> shores, all digging willy-nilly to achieve some goal of their own
> actually complete the Chunnel. They'd dig for a few feet in some
> direction and then give up because there was no money in it for them.

That's not the appropriate analogy: the chunnel was impossible until
people had achieved similar but smaller goals. A whole bunch of people
digging was exactly what made the chunnel possible - they just weren't
digging along the shores of the English Channel. They were digging
under the Alps, under lesser bodies of water, and under cities. Many of
them did make significant money, proving two things: that it is
possible to make tunnels, and that it is possible to make money off
tunnels. Without the knowledge thus generated there would be nobody
willing to risk funding the chunnel (and indeed the fact that the
chunnel went over budget makes it less likely that the next ambitious
tunnel will be funded).

When it comes to raising money it's risk and the perception of risk
that matters. Both go down if the proposed project is only slightly
more ambitious than a similar project which is known to have succeeded.

......Andrew