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Hey! Ya know what HN? It's fucking awesome that $140m was given to one of the finest institutions in the entire world, rather than pissed away like so many othe

Hey! Ya know what HN? It's fucking awesome that $140m was given to one of the finest institutions in the entire world, rather than pissed away like so many other fortunes. I'm sorry it didn't fit [insert pet issue that needs money]. More rich people should do this! And anonymously donated too! Feels good

wyldfire 9y ago
I think it's definitely nice for philanthropists to give to institutions for higher education. But I also think it's valuable to critically evaluate how the money is spent because there's an opportunity cost to any expenditure. Wouldn't it be nice if instead of being spent on a new academic facility, or administrators' salaries, that it was instead used to offset tuition or directly fund research?
- cheriot 9y ago
  Are you suggesting the donor should have specified how the money is spent? 80% of the money MIT has raised is restricted to specific uses, but the less sexy things like salaries and office supplies are still required for the organization to run.
  - ceejayoz 9y ago
    I think the suggestion is that MIT has more than enough money (and access to money) and there are less well-funded institutions and causes where $140M might move the needle more significantly.
    - bpchaps 9y ago
      I'd be curious if one of the unspoken goals is to make people outraged enough by the donation to make donations to smaller institutions. Wishful thinking?
      - sillysaurus3 9y ago
        Outrage rarely matters. Actually -- and I really hesitate to mention this, but it seems sufficiently intellectually interesting -- has anyone noticed that after the last election cycle, outrage has ceased to matter altogether? United Airlines stock price is up 12% despite their behavior, for example. I'm not sure outrage has ever mattered much, but internet outrage in particular has gone from "effective when focused" to "this is a normal day." The rise of justice-porn subreddits has fueled this obsession. Everyone has a grudge. In fact, they have multiple grudges categorized by computers and aimed at faceless, nameless ideas. I'm reminded of 1984. It's so cliche, but remember the "daily hate"? When did we all start falling for this 24/7 outrage cycle? It's made all the more dangerous by the fact that in nearly all of these cases, the outrage is deserved. In fact, that's what makes it work at all. Everyone's feelings are valid, and the grudges are justified. But what kind of world is it when your grudges are handed to you? Aren't grudges supposed to be personal? I'd rather not have them at all, but a personal grudge is at least better than being told what to think.
        adjkant 9y ago
        Ironically I think this comes from more awareness. I don't think people were aware of how many problems there were in the world. Now anyone with the internet can get informed on hundreds, most with no solution, a solution that is blocked from being implemented, or one so complex that no one can agree on said solution. This article has a clear slant, but I think it has some serious merit for health, awareness, and activism. Excuse the absolutely horrid title as well. https://thecoffeelicious.com/how-to-stayoutraged-without-losing-your-mind-fc0c41aa68f3 https://thecoffeelicious.com/how-to-stayoutraged-without-los...
        akvadrako 9y ago
        That's not awareness - awareness, aka mindfulness, is quite a neutral state. I'd define it as recognising things for how they are. What going on is more like the opposite - not accepting reality; instead trying to fit the facts into an inconsistent (and hence imaginary) worldview. This causes cognitive dissonance which leads to frustration. Outrage is one way people cope with that frustration.
nickpsecurity 9y ago
It is if we're only asking for False Dilemmas of (a) give to one of finest institutions in the world or (b) piss it away. There's more than these two options, though. The most world-changing stuff didn't even happen at MIT. I'll go further with a radical claim that the donor would be better off giving it to DARPA based on their track record esp under Strategic Computing Initiative. Maybe with caveat that any results can't be patented and/or must be licensed for FOSS or cheap competition.
kome 9y ago
Yeah! it's fucking awesome that it's feudalism all over again! Feels good.
akhilcacharya 9y ago
Excuse me for not falling over myself thanking him/her for helping the current and future super wealthy. It's times like these that I start to get why populism is becoming so popular in the west.

wyldfire 9y ago

I think it's definitely nice for philanthropists to give to institutions for higher education. But I also think it's valuable to critically evaluate how the money is spent because there's an opportunity cost to any expenditure. Wouldn't it be nice if instead of being spent on a new academic facility, or administrators' salaries, that it was instead used to offset tuition or directly fund research?

cheriot 9y ago
Are you suggesting the donor should have specified how the money is spent? 80% of the money MIT has raised is restricted to specific uses, but the less sexy things like salaries and office supplies are still required for the organization to run.
- ceejayoz 9y ago
  I think the suggestion is that MIT has more than enough money (and access to money) and there are less well-funded institutions and causes where $140M might move the needle more significantly.
  - bpchaps 9y ago
    I'd be curious if one of the unspoken goals is to make people outraged enough by the donation to make donations to smaller institutions. Wishful thinking?
    - sillysaurus3 9y ago
      Outrage rarely matters. Actually -- and I really hesitate to mention this, but it seems sufficiently intellectually interesting -- has anyone noticed that after the last election cycle, outrage has ceased to matter altogether? United Airlines stock price is up 12% despite their behavior, for example. I'm not sure outrage has ever mattered much, but internet outrage in particular has gone from "effective when focused" to "this is a normal day." The rise of justice-porn subreddits has fueled this obsession. Everyone has a grudge. In fact, they have multiple grudges categorized by computers and aimed at faceless, nameless ideas. I'm reminded of 1984. It's so cliche, but remember the "daily hate"? When did we all start falling for this 24/7 outrage cycle? It's made all the more dangerous by the fact that in nearly all of these cases, the outrage is deserved. In fact, that's what makes it work at all. Everyone's feelings are valid, and the grudges are justified. But what kind of world is it when your grudges are handed to you? Aren't grudges supposed to be personal? I'd rather not have them at all, but a personal grudge is at least better than being told what to think.
      - adjkant 9y ago
        Ironically I think this comes from more awareness. I don't think people were aware of how many problems there were in the world. Now anyone with the internet can get informed on hundreds, most with no solution, a solution that is blocked from being implemented, or one so complex that no one can agree on said solution. This article has a clear slant, but I think it has some serious merit for health, awareness, and activism. Excuse the absolutely horrid title as well. https://thecoffeelicious.com/how-to-stayoutraged-without-losing-your-mind-fc0c41aa68f3 https://thecoffeelicious.com/how-to-stayoutraged-without-los...
        akvadrako 9y ago
        That's not awareness - awareness, aka mindfulness, is quite a neutral state. I'd define it as recognising things for how they are. What going on is more like the opposite - not accepting reality; instead trying to fit the facts into an inconsistent (and hence imaginary) worldview. This causes cognitive dissonance which leads to frustration. Outrage is one way people cope with that frustration.

nickpsecurity 9y ago

It is if we're only asking for False Dilemmas of (a) give to one of finest institutions in the world or (b) piss it away. There's more than these two options, though. The most world-changing stuff didn't even happen at MIT. I'll go further with a radical claim that the donor would be better off giving it to DARPA based on their track record esp under Strategic Computing Initiative. Maybe with caveat that any results can't be patented and/or must be licensed for FOSS or cheap competition.

kome 9y ago

Yeah! it's fucking awesome that it's feudalism all over again! Feels good.

akhilcacharya 9y ago

Excuse me for not falling over myself thanking him/her for helping the current and future super wealthy. It's times like these that I start to get why populism is becoming so popular in the west.