It's definitely been life-changing for me. I never had the "touch". When I'd do stuff around the house, I'd put in screws at crazy angles and drill holes in the wrong places on walls. I never felt like I could fix or build anything. Machine tools let you build crazy shit without relying on your visual reasoning or coordination. You want a hole at a spot? Move the handwheels to that spot and you're there. There's no fucking around. That built up my confidence, and the stuff that does require spatial reasoning (like using a file to turn a round hole into a square one) happens slowly enough that you can make mistakes and still be okay.
If you decide to get into it, I'd recommend getting a lathe first. if you can't afford a mill, a drill press is still very useful. You can do almost anything on a lathe if you try hard enough, and a drill press makes some things a lot easier. Blondihacks will have a lot more to say about it, but I believe that's her recommendation.
Isn't this just a research grant? Plus, it's like, 11 million dollars. That's a shitton of money, but also an inconsequential amount of money when compared to the dogfuck tire fire that is the US healthcare system.
Like, I am regularly filled with rage at the stupid ways the US and various states waste money that could have paid for meals, houses, or hospital beds. I hate how we don't take care of people who need help. I hate that we all have to live in a place where rage like this is normal and accepted and reinforced, because it means we're all suffering under so much shit and all we can do is get angry. This video just makes me feel sad because it looks like a trauma response. I can empathize with and try to understand trauma, but I can't encourage it.
I just don't think a concept study for a train on the moon is the cause for our problems. I don't think it even represents the cause for our problems, because at least it's trying to look forward and consider/solve issues that humans will eventually face.