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In fact, I'd be intrigued if you could name many other people who've made such a massive fortune and then risked bankruptcy over such ambitious ideas? The Gate

by wepple 11y ago

In fact, I'd be intrigued if you could name many other people who've made such a massive fortune and then risked bankruptcy over such ambitious ideas? The Gates and Zuckerbergs of this world are prepared to part their amassed fortunes, but only when they have no possible use for it (IE death)

sandworm101 11y ago
That's my point. Billionaires don't get to where they are by chasing outlandish dreams. There are people that sacrifice everything for a dream. They are usually the first people to climb a mountain or break an Olympic record. Or they join the church and serve the poor of india. Whatever money they have is dedicated immediately because money is always secondary.
- LeifCarrotson 11y ago
  Yes, but to be the first person to climb a mountain takes tens of thousands of dollars of gear, extensive research, and lots of experience. Smart dreamers don't exit high school with that dream, make a hundred bucks at the drive-thru, and buy some rope and a few carabiners at the hardware store, see how high they can get that weekend, and repeat for decades. They re-invest their $100 until they can buy or commission the gear they need, gather experience on other mountains, and spend time learning about their target until they can make the climb.
  - sandworm101 11y ago
    Lol, take a look at climbers. The people doing new stuff are all nuts. Look at the guys who just died in Antarctica. Doing something new in the requires money. Just try launching an Antarctic expedition with less than a million. They spend family money, they spend student loans, they engage in borderline charity fraud. They leave wives and children at home, sometimes forever, just to put their names in a record book. Smart=careful, and careful people are rarely the first to do anything.
    - kamaal 11y ago
      You might want to read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Nyad#Cuba_to_Florida_swim_attempts_in_2011.E2.80.932013 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Nyad#Cuba_to_Florida_swi... Yes, you still need money to attempt something big. But that's really a small blocker given what it would actually take in terms of human effort to do some thing of that magnitude.
      - sandworm101 11y ago
        As a regular lap swimmer, I have strong opinions on her stunts. Note the direction of travel, never north-to-south. She did swim a long way, but the current was a huge part of her speed. There is a fine line between swimming A->B and drifting. I am much more impressed by this guy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Strel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Strel
  - kamaal 11y ago
    >>Yes, but to be the first person to climb a mountain takes tens of thousands of dollars of gear, extensive research, and lots of experience. The right way to look at this is to see, if you would climb the mountain tomorrow if you had all that. The answer is obviously for most people 'no'. The real reason why most people do no climb a mountain is because it hard. >>They re-invest their $100 until they can buy or commission the gear they need, gather experience on other mountains, and spend time learning about their target until they can make the climb. Very true, plus they keep climbing a lot of smaller mountains.

by wepple 11y ago

sandworm101 11y ago

That's my point. Billionaires don't get to where they are by chasing outlandish dreams. There are people that sacrifice everything for a dream. They are usually the first people to climb a mountain or break an Olympic record. Or they join the church and serve the poor of india. Whatever money they have is dedicated immediately because money is always secondary.

LeifCarrotson 11y ago
Yes, but to be the first person to climb a mountain takes tens of thousands of dollars of gear, extensive research, and lots of experience. Smart dreamers don't exit high school with that dream, make a hundred bucks at the drive-thru, and buy some rope and a few carabiners at the hardware store, see how high they can get that weekend, and repeat for decades. They re-invest their $100 until they can buy or commission the gear they need, gather experience on other mountains, and spend time learning about their target until they can make the climb.
- sandworm101 11y ago
  Lol, take a look at climbers. The people doing new stuff are all nuts. Look at the guys who just died in Antarctica. Doing something new in the requires money. Just try launching an Antarctic expedition with less than a million. They spend family money, they spend student loans, they engage in borderline charity fraud. They leave wives and children at home, sometimes forever, just to put their names in a record book. Smart=careful, and careful people are rarely the first to do anything.
  - kamaal 11y ago
    You might want to read this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Nyad#Cuba_to_Florida_swim_attempts_in_2011.E2.80.932013 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Nyad#Cuba_to_Florida_swi... Yes, you still need money to attempt something big. But that's really a small blocker given what it would actually take in terms of human effort to do some thing of that magnitude.
    - sandworm101 11y ago
      As a regular lap swimmer, I have strong opinions on her stunts. Note the direction of travel, never north-to-south. She did swim a long way, but the current was a huge part of her speed. There is a fine line between swimming A->B and drifting. I am much more impressed by this guy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Strel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Strel
- kamaal 11y ago
  >>Yes, but to be the first person to climb a mountain takes tens of thousands of dollars of gear, extensive research, and lots of experience. The right way to look at this is to see, if you would climb the mountain tomorrow if you had all that. The answer is obviously for most people 'no'. The real reason why most people do no climb a mountain is because it hard. >>They re-invest their $100 until they can buy or commission the gear they need, gather experience on other mountains, and spend time learning about their target until they can make the climb. Very true, plus they keep climbing a lot of smaller mountains.