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> Before I met them, I’d assumed that Zuckerberg and Luckey would have much in common. They’re both hackers who started valuable companies before they turned 20

by staunch 11y ago

> Before I met them, I’d assumed that Zuckerberg and Luckey would have much in common. They’re both hackers who started valuable companies before they turned 20, but the similarities pretty much end there. > ... > Luckey does not come from money, nor did he have access to the prep-school, Ivy League fast track that Zuckerberg and so many of Silicon Valley’s young masters started on. People are still surprised that poor white people and rich white people are not the same. Wealth divides far more than race in America. What makes Palmer Luckey all the more badass is that he created a product from scratch that changed the world. Zuck cloned Friendster and leveraged the exclusivity of a "Harvard social network" to bootstrap his site. John Carmack, also from a poor background, is the one who believed in Oculus first. He is most responsible for helping Palmer Luckey make VR happen. They're the big heros here, not the rich kid who bought it for $2 billion.

baby 11y ago
it's pretty diminutive to call Zuck a "rich kid".
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- staunch 11y ago
  If he wasn't a billionaire and didn't behave like a rich kid buying himself the hottest toys I would use a different phrase. Why can't Zuck actually compete with Snapchat, WhatsApp, or Oculus? His response to competition is to spend $30 billion buying these companies instead of actually contributing something new in the world himself. Zuckerberg, Chris Dixon, and Andresssen Horowitz dismissed Oculus. Many thousands of regular people could see that Oculus was special but these Titans of Silicon Valley believed "bad intel" about Microsoft (of all companies) having something better. Better than what John $#U*%# Carmack had chosen to work on! Such are the brave risk takers of Silicon Valley.
  - kedean 11y ago
    Slight correction: Facebook still does not own Snapchat. It is still an independent company.
kelukelugames 11y ago
Yes, the divide between the poor and the rich is wide. Though I don't know how it compares to race. That's really subjective. My friends make anywhere from 10 bucks an hour to over half a million every year. My wealthy friends are incredibly nice but sometimes they are awkward. Multiple rich people have asked me about the kind of boat I own. I don't have a boat. Sometimes I make my poor friends feel the same way. They are jealous that I can afford a mortgage. I also have white co-workers and black co-workers. My white co-workers are incredibly nice but sometimes they are super awkward. They ask me questions about chopsticks and interment camps. As for my black friends, well, sometimes they deal with worse. Bonus: Everyone's favorite astrophysicist on the challenges of being black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inz1sdhsMCU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inz1sdhsMCU
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- staunch 11y ago
  Neil deGrasse Tyson is obviously an amazing person. He was also born into a nurturing, educated, well off household. He received a credential costing a fortune from an elite university which served as his entrance ticket into the professional world. Poverty and elitism are what prevent there from being more like him.
  - kelukelugames 11y ago
    Did you watch the video? He literally lists all of the problems he faced from racism.
agildehaus 11y ago
Not to trivialize Luckey's accomplishments, but he in no way created a product "from scratch". The product would not exist without the amazing displays and sensors within it, which thousands of engineers worked on tirelessly. It has also not changed the world yet.
blazespin 11y ago
Palmer did not make oculus from scratch. He took what was already there and used better optics and some nice mobile screens. Carmack was largely responsible for much of his success by helping show him its potential. He was rounded out by Iribe who provided leadership. Palmer was more innovative, sure, but Zuck showed much more leadership and vision. Sort of like woz versus jobs. As for changing the world, I think that might be a stretch at this point.
dylanjermiah 11y ago
People are still surprised that _people_ are different. It's unimaginable why you would expect everyone to be the same. >"Zuck cloned Friendster and leveraged the exclusivity of a "Harvard social network" to bootstrap his site." Ah, I wish it were that easy to create a $250+bn company.

by staunch 11y ago

baby 11y ago

it's pretty diminutive to call Zuck a "rich kid".

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
staunch 11y ago
If he wasn't a billionaire and didn't behave like a rich kid buying himself the hottest toys I would use a different phrase. Why can't Zuck actually compete with Snapchat, WhatsApp, or Oculus? His response to competition is to spend $30 billion buying these companies instead of actually contributing something new in the world himself. Zuckerberg, Chris Dixon, and Andresssen Horowitz dismissed Oculus. Many thousands of regular people could see that Oculus was special but these Titans of Silicon Valley believed "bad intel" about Microsoft (of all companies) having something better. Better than what John $#U*%# Carmack had chosen to work on! Such are the brave risk takers of Silicon Valley.
- kedean 11y ago
  Slight correction: Facebook still does not own Snapchat. It is still an independent company.

kelukelugames 11y ago

Yes, the divide between the poor and the rich is wide. Though I don't know how it compares to race. That's really subjective. My friends make anywhere from 10 bucks an hour to over half a million every year. My wealthy friends are incredibly nice but sometimes they are awkward. Multiple rich people have asked me about the kind of boat I own. I don't have a boat. Sometimes I make my poor friends feel the same way. They are jealous that I can afford a mortgage. I also have white co-workers and black co-workers. My white co-workers are incredibly nice but sometimes they are super awkward. They ask me questions about chopsticks and interment camps. As for my black friends, well, sometimes they deal with worse. Bonus: Everyone's favorite astrophysicist on the challenges of being black https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inz1sdhsMCU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inz1sdhsMCU

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
staunch 11y ago
Neil deGrasse Tyson is obviously an amazing person. He was also born into a nurturing, educated, well off household. He received a credential costing a fortune from an elite university which served as his entrance ticket into the professional world. Poverty and elitism are what prevent there from being more like him.
- kelukelugames 11y ago
  Did you watch the video? He literally lists all of the problems he faced from racism.

agildehaus 11y ago

Not to trivialize Luckey's accomplishments, but he in no way created a product "from scratch". The product would not exist without the amazing displays and sensors within it, which thousands of engineers worked on tirelessly. It has also not changed the world yet.

blazespin 11y ago

Palmer did not make oculus from scratch. He took what was already there and used better optics and some nice mobile screens. Carmack was largely responsible for much of his success by helping show him its potential. He was rounded out by Iribe who provided leadership. Palmer was more innovative, sure, but Zuck showed much more leadership and vision. Sort of like woz versus jobs. As for changing the world, I think that might be a stretch at this point.

dylanjermiah 11y ago

People are still surprised that _people_ are different. It's unimaginable why you would expect everyone to be the same. >"Zuck cloned Friendster and leveraged the exclusivity of a "Harvard social network" to bootstrap his site." Ah, I wish it were that easy to create a $250+bn company.