I think the difference in perspective, at least in part, is reflected there, because I really don't consider the discussion to have wandered far from the OP. The fusion effort is not happening in a vacuum, but in the context of what we've been discussing regarding the political and social realities surrounding science, government, academia, funding, etc.
The fact that a laboratory got more power out from a fusion reaction than the lasers put into it (discounting the externalities) is a historic scientific breakthrough, in that it had never happened before. To me it just shows that history isn't written yet. The social implications of that fact (if it is indeed true, and not merely government propaganda and lies) are fractally complex. I'll try to consider all the political implications next time I feel like posting a comment in the General Discussion area about a news story I found interesting. Lesson learned. I wasn't expecting to receive much political commentary because I thought this forum was free from all that, and I'm still new here. My bad.
