New evidence strongly suggests that OceanGate’s submersible, which imploded and killed all passengers on its way to the Titanic wreck, was unfit for the journey. The CEO, Stockton Rush, bought discounted carbon fiber past its shelf life from Boeing, which experts say is a terrible choice for a deep-sea vessel. This likely played a role in the submersible’s tragic demise.

  • argv_minus_one@beehaw.org
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    11
    ·
    edit-2
    1 year ago

    And that they convinced multiple billionaires, who are generally assumed to be smarter and better educated than the rest of us, to step aboard that blatantly-unseaworthy deathtrap.

    • jonne@infosec.pub
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      20
      ·
      1 year ago

      Guess what, billionaires aren’t smarter than everyone else. Usually it’s just existing wealth, luck and a lack of morals that gets them there.

      • fidodo@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        9
        ·
        1 year ago

        The system is rigged to make it much much easier to make money if you already have money.

    • derelict@beehaw.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      11
      ·
      1 year ago

      There are a lot of different types of characteristics that get described as ‘smart.’ Risk aversion is often categorized as ‘smart,’ as in “I’m too smart to do something that risky,” but that is definitely not something billionaires are known for - you can’t get that much money without big risky bets paying off.

      • sarsaparilyptus@lemmy.fmhy.ml
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        10
        ·
        1 year ago

        Rich people don’t really seem to be smart so much as they just have a sort of rat-like cunning that confers high performance at screwing people and stealing shit.

      • Thrashy@beehaw.org
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        7
        ·
        1 year ago

        On the contrary, I’ve long been of the opinion that anyone can claim their slice of the American Dream, just as long as they aren’t too picky about who they carve it out of. There doesn’t even need to be risk, per se, just some ambition, enough intelligence to know the limits of you can get away with, and a complete lack of shame.

        • derelict@beehaw.org
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          1 year ago

          Lack of shame doesn’t do you any good financially if you aren’t using it to take social risks that people with shame wouldn’t

          • Thrashy@beehaw.org
            link
            fedilink
            English
            arrow-up
            1
            ·
            1 year ago

            But that’s my point. The only real risk is that somebody with an overgrown sense of morality might think badly of you. As long as you don’t cross the line of hurting someone who matters (in the sense of being rich or powerful) you can just reenact that meme of Jason Statham wiping his tears with wads of cash, and get on with the exploitation.