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Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by wkat4242 on Friday June 23, 2023 @08:52AM (#36446148)
He has some good points but I think the main reason this article exists is because he's a celebrity.

I'd value criticism from an expert in submarine construction much higher.

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by Flatcircle on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:01AM (#36446248)
This comment is so incorrect, it almost feels like a joke. Prior to 2019, Cameron was one of only 3 humans who had ever descended to the deepest part of earth. Cameron is essentially as qualified as you can get in the submarine community.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_descended...

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by HL33tibCe7 on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:09AM (#36446341)
And, just for context, Challenger Deep is nearly 3x as deep as the wreck of the Titanic.

It’s also worth mentioning he was the first ever person to reach it solo.

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by pelagicAustral on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:17AM (#36446424)
Off topic, but damn! Richard Garriott is on that list!! I love the guy, man I remember playing Tabula Rasa all those years ago... And kind of crazy now that I know Gabe Newell own one of the very few subs that can do this kind of depth... And that the Titan was piloted with a gaming controller...
Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by kvandy on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:28AM (#36446563)
Man I completely forgot Lord British did this.
Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by mwbajor on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:08AM (#36446338)
In the system design of a submarine? Really? How many has he designed?
Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by ageitgey on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:24AM (#36446510)
He was heavily involved in the design and development of Deepsea Challenger (along with Ron Allum, the lead engineer).
Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by orwin on Friday June 23, 2023 @11:11AM (#36447933)
One. That won a contest. Is it enough, or should he have designed multiple?
Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by mwbajor on Friday June 23, 2023 @01:58PM (#36450207)
"Heavily involved" means what?

I would like to know details on the design and why specifically it's bad. Saying "it's poorly designed because Cameron says so" is not good enough. There is more detail in the YouTube videos from actual marine engineers on why specifically a carbon fiber hull is bad, why acoustic testing is insufficient, etc. They're not known and not relatable to the public yet more informative. That's my point.

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by quasarsunnix on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:16AM (#36446418)
I’d strongly urge you to watch an interview with him or one of the many documentaries he’s been a part of.

Personally I think he knew the outcome earlier this week and waited to speak to the media out of respect for the families. His first interview was hours after the implosion announcement.

As he says, it’s a very tight knit community in which he is a part of and has been for almost 30 years. I think he’s trying to use his voice to ensure that collateral damage does not occur to other less reckless submersible makers, who in turn tried to warn OceanGate.

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by rco8786 on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:25AM (#36446520)
> waited to speak to the media

I saw him saying it was an implosion several days ago. I think the media just didn't follow up with him until there was more hard evidence.

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by quasarsunnix on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:28AM (#36446564)
Ah that’s interesting!

I was surprised when he told ABC that he had heard they were trying to resurface and that they were probably aware that the hull was failing due to the alarm system the Titan was equipped with.

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by eatonphil on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:02AM (#36446254)
True he hasn't built submarines. But he's an investor in Triton Submersibles.

https://www.curbed.com/2022/12/ray-dalio-james-cameron-trito...

Also:

> And in 2012, Cameron was the first person to conduct a solo expedition to the deepest known part of the ocean floor, the Pacific's 10,994-meter-deep Mariana Trench.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/z434n5/meet-ron-allum-engine...

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by bombcar on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:04AM (#36446279)
Cameron is probably the closest to an expert in extreme-depth submarines that we have easily available and not under some national security gag order.
Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by simonw on Friday June 23, 2023 @08:56AM (#36446196)
In this case it's not just because he's a celebrity. He has significant expertise in submarines, see the "Activism and other work" section of his Wikipedia page: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cameron
Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by s_dev on Friday June 23, 2023 @08:53AM (#36446161)
Isn't Camereon a submersible expert as well as filmographer? With experience directly related to exploring the Titanic?
Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by flumpcakes on Friday June 23, 2023 @08:55AM (#36446189)
Yes, I'm pretty sure he was even instrumental in designing one of the few DSVs even capable of reaching the challenger deep.
Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by mwbajor on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:04AM (#36446282)
I like james cameron, but he's another victim of "popular science". He probably had some input but I couldn't believe he was instrumental in anything when it comes to deepwater exploration. However, he's relatable to population just like Neil Degrasse Tyson or the other space people.

These folks aren't explorers, they're tourists. Robert Ballard was the explorer who had to invent deep water exploration methods from scratch, his input is valid.

More people will click on a link to what Cameron is saying than Ballard (who's he) and we all know thats all that matters nowadays anyway.

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by ctvo on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:14AM (#36446396)
What a poor take.

Tyson talks about science, and works to popularize it. The better analogy here would be after a space shuttle accident they ask a former NASA astronaut for their opinion and to share their own personal experience traveling to space.

From Wikipedia:

In 2011, Cameron became a National Geographic explorer-in-residence.[132] In his role on March 7, 2012, he dived five miles deep to the bottom of the New Britain Trench with the Deepsea Challenger.[133] 19 days later, Cameron reached the Challenger Deep, the deepest part of the Mariana Trench.[134][135][136] He spent more than three hours exploring the ocean floor, becoming the first to accomplish the trip alone.[134][137]

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by mwbajor on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:22AM (#36446484)
That hardly makes him an expert on submersible construction when there are others out there albeit few, that have this experience.

The parent comment was on submersible construction expertise of which Cameron has little to none. I'd agree that he has piloting expertise (and definitely unique experience ). Again, whats his naval engineering resume like? How many submersibles or submersible subsystems has he designed? The thing he does have is a good team that he probably listens to of which stockton rush did not have.

He's relatable though and has strong opinions which make for more clicks.

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by 542354234235 on Friday June 23, 2023 @01:21PM (#36449745)
>he's another victim of "popular science".

What does this even mean? That if someone is popular or capable of communicating complex science in an engaging way, that is some sort of a bad thing? The fact that you included Neil Degrasse Tyson, a literal astrophysicist, as another example of a “victim” makes it sound like anyone that speaks in any way other than a vocal version of a scientific paper beneath you.

>These folks aren't explorers, they're tourists.

James Cameron has been designing and building diving equipment and underwater cameras since 1989, when he filmed The Abyss. He has been involved in, and oversaw, the design of the deepest submersible ever made. He and Bob Ballard have the most experience in the world of diving to the Titanic. He is one of the few people on the planet that has understanding of all aspects related to this accident. Oh, and they did interview Ballard (who’s he) and Cameron. [1]

[1] https://abcnews.go.com/US/video/james-cameron-robert-ballard...

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by mwbajor on Friday June 23, 2023 @02:01PM (#36450245)
Yea, and who's interview was more informative? The guy who was an actual explorer as his primary job and basically invented a lot of modern day deep water exploration techniques or the guy who dabbles in it but is popular with the masses?
Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by Xarodon on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:26AM (#36446541)
> I'd value criticism from an expert in submarine construction much higher.

You clearly didn't even watch the interview...

James Cameron *is* an expert in deep submersible design/construction.

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by NDizzle on Friday June 23, 2023 @08:58AM (#36446214)
I think it’s obvious to non experts that they cut corners.
Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by baryphonic on Friday June 23, 2023 @09:03AM (#36446262)
If it were anyone else in Hollywood, I'd agree. However, James Cameron is kind of a unique individual. I know someone who worked with him for several years on Avatar, and the stories I've heard are intriguing. Cameron has extreme attention to detail, which is why his films tend to take much longer to produce than other features. What I've heard is that Cameron wanted to look at Avatar fully rendered frame by frame before approving it.

He also, by all accounts, has developed genuine expertise in deep sea diving by having the same attention to detail. This isn't to say he's doing the design all by himself. Rather, he worked with engineers and designers to build subs, and is meticulous on every detail with them, the same process he uses on his films.

His expertise speaks for itself: his sub has dived into the Challenger Deep successfully, because it was solidly & competently engineered.

Re:Titanic director James Cameron accuses OceanGate of cutti... by calyth2018 on Friday June 23, 2023 @11:10AM (#36447915)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepsea_Challenger

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cameron#Activism_and_oth...

You were saying?

Cameron is one of the few that went to the Mariana Trench and back, at more than 2x the depth of the Titanic. Before that he's done lots of work to explore the Titanic to make the movie Titanic.

He's not speaking because it's a celebrity. He's speaking because he's been there and done more than the yahoos from OceanGate