3 ms·

Your thing isn't demonstrably the case either. In fact, a lot of what led him to create facebook was pure coincidental luck.

by s73v3r 11y ago

HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago
I think the point he's trying to make is that if it wasn't Facebook, Zuckerberg would have been successful with something else. Perhaps not as wildly successful, but he certainly wouldn't have regressed to the average, run of the mill consumer getting by on the 9-5.
- coldtea 11y ago
  Why? What special quality does Mark have? He wasn't some genius programmer. He created a glorified forum (and in PHP). He wasn't some genius businessman (evident from his early interviews). He created something at the right time, that got momentum because of that, and that attracted the right people to help make it a success business wise. Would he have gotten somewhere else if it wasn't for that? Maybe, maybe not. I don't see anything particularly convincing that he wouldn't have regressed to the mean.
  - unabst 11y ago
    Some traits shared by Mark, Bill, Steve, Jeff, and even PG apart from being born white, not poor, male, lucky, etc: 1) self driven 2) loves to build 3) doesn't let things get in their way 4) goals based on their version of the future 5) deep thinkers / intellects 6) holds their own values and priorities 7) evidence driven / scientific 8) conqueror's mindset 9) idea person, doer, dreamer, student, teacher all in one 10) never was about the money, and more about passion I don't claim this list to be 100% accurate or exhaustive, but the point is there is more than just luck and DNA, and many of these traits are acquirable. The demographic to me says that the chances of becoming that person are higher under those circumstances, but the demographic itself does not directly enable or cause any such success. Just as all presidents were white until Obama, maybe we just need someone to shatter the stereotype. Personally, what I respect most is their capacity to generate their own philosophies and to then apply them to their products, to their companies, and to their lives. I find people that can do this are successful at any level.
    - coldtea 11y ago
      A lot of those features we just ascribe to them post-factum because of their success. And a lot of those features are also shared by people without much success. I mean is Mark "deep thinkers / intellects" etc in general? Or it's just a (average) smart college boy who wrote a service that hit the right spots and got viral? I also know many millionaires (and billionaires) for whom it was always "about the money", and that was their passion.
      - unabst 11y ago
        That isn't a list of accolades. They are character traits heavily utilized on the way to what was accomplished. When comparing Mark to a kid who wrote a program that went viral, just see how instrumental he was. Facebook is far more than just a viral web site, and it didn't fall into place with Mark sitting back and seeing where all the pieces would land. Yes, many of the traits are shared with average people, as is the trait of being human. This to me only attests to how similar and ordinary and close we really are to those we love to put on high pedestals. How do ordinary people accomplish extra-ordinary feats? To this I suspect combination is key. You could be perfectly capable but not have a dream. You could be a dreamer but lack self motivation... and so on and so forth. And sure, maybe you had it all except for the money to fund yourself. But either way, if we are admitting there is a combination, we're already past the luck hypothesis.

Your thing isn't demonstrably the case either. In fact, a lot of what led him to create facebook was pure coincidental luck.

by s73v3r 11y ago

Your thing isn't demonstrably the case either. In fact, a lot of what led him to create facebook was pure coincidental luck.

HeyLaughingBoy 11y ago

I think the point he's trying to make is that if it wasn't Facebook, Zuckerberg would have been successful with something else. Perhaps not as wildly successful, but he certainly wouldn't have regressed to the average, run of the mill consumer getting by on the 9-5.

coldtea 11y ago
Why? What special quality does Mark have? He wasn't some genius programmer. He created a glorified forum (and in PHP). He wasn't some genius businessman (evident from his early interviews). He created something at the right time, that got momentum because of that, and that attracted the right people to help make it a success business wise. Would he have gotten somewhere else if it wasn't for that? Maybe, maybe not. I don't see anything particularly convincing that he wouldn't have regressed to the mean.
- unabst 11y ago
  Some traits shared by Mark, Bill, Steve, Jeff, and even PG apart from being born white, not poor, male, lucky, etc: 1) self driven 2) loves to build 3) doesn't let things get in their way 4) goals based on their version of the future 5) deep thinkers / intellects 6) holds their own values and priorities 7) evidence driven / scientific 8) conqueror's mindset 9) idea person, doer, dreamer, student, teacher all in one 10) never was about the money, and more about passion I don't claim this list to be 100% accurate or exhaustive, but the point is there is more than just luck and DNA, and many of these traits are acquirable. The demographic to me says that the chances of becoming that person are higher under those circumstances, but the demographic itself does not directly enable or cause any such success. Just as all presidents were white until Obama, maybe we just need someone to shatter the stereotype. Personally, what I respect most is their capacity to generate their own philosophies and to then apply them to their products, to their companies, and to their lives. I find people that can do this are successful at any level.
  - coldtea 11y ago
    A lot of those features we just ascribe to them post-factum because of their success. And a lot of those features are also shared by people without much success. I mean is Mark "deep thinkers / intellects" etc in general? Or it's just a (average) smart college boy who wrote a service that hit the right spots and got viral? I also know many millionaires (and billionaires) for whom it was always "about the money", and that was their passion.
    - unabst 11y ago
      That isn't a list of accolades. They are character traits heavily utilized on the way to what was accomplished. When comparing Mark to a kid who wrote a program that went viral, just see how instrumental he was. Facebook is far more than just a viral web site, and it didn't fall into place with Mark sitting back and seeing where all the pieces would land. Yes, many of the traits are shared with average people, as is the trait of being human. This to me only attests to how similar and ordinary and close we really are to those we love to put on high pedestals. How do ordinary people accomplish extra-ordinary feats? To this I suspect combination is key. You could be perfectly capable but not have a dream. You could be a dreamer but lack self motivation... and so on and so forth. And sure, maybe you had it all except for the money to fund yourself. But either way, if we are admitting there is a combination, we're already past the luck hypothesis.