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I do not understand the need to be charitable to Steve Jobs. If he was not the brilliant leader of Apple we would simply say he was a douche bag. Just because
by PhilWright 11y ago
I do not understand the need to be charitable to Steve Jobs.
If he was not the brilliant leader of Apple we would simply say he was a douche bag. Just because he was great in one area does not excuse behaviour in another. Is there any level of business achievement that says that it is ok to have millions whilst the mother of your daughter is struggling to survive whilst bringing up your daughter?
As a business man he was brilliant. As a father he was a loser.
- dang 11y agoIt isn't about excusing anything, but about avoiding tedious tirades. Articles that are interesting enough to be on HN deserve discussion about what they actually say. Being charitable involves stopping and reflecting rather than spewing a prepared statement, which most of us are all too ready to do, especially when given a shot of anger. HN is about seeking to understand, which is not compatible with reciting pre-existing judgments. (Edit: I'm not referring to you here, but to a tendency we all have, which consequently tends to build up in HN threads.) Brennan's piece struck me as a pretty good example both of seeking to understand and of being charitable without excusing bad behavior. If anyone has reason not to do those things it's her, so I don't see why we can't too.
- Retra 11y agoI feel like going down in history as a great innovator and business leader is far easier than going down in history as a great father, and though I can't say one way or another what his priorities were, you can't completely fault the man for being what his culture values.