4 ms·

Excellent Commencement Speech by Bill Gates

11 points by DaniFong 19y ago

comatose_kid 19y ago
"But humanity's greatest advances are not in its discoveries - but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity." I may not be a fan of MS products, but I have a lot of admiration for the person Bill Gates has become.
dissenter 19y ago
Whenever I read about Bill Gates's philanthropy I always feel slightly depressed. I get the distinct feeling that he is using his money in a way that maximizes social approval, rather than in a way that maximizes benefit. I haven't spent very much time looking into ways to save the world, but I suspect, like in many other fields, the most effective way to do it is not the way that provokes the greatest emotional response.
- Prrometheus 19y ago
  Doesn't he put money towards fighting malaria? That's a "non-sexy" disease, but one that touches a lot more people than others that grab headlines.
- tokipin 19y ago
  remember that other rich guy chose bill gates' foundation to be the recipient of his money i doubt that decision was made carelessly
- altay 19y ago
  Whatever his motivations are, the numbers don't lie. The Gates Foundation has the largest endowment in the world, by far, and they've got a pretty aggressive plan to spend it all. Here are some projects they've funded, a number of which seem pretty damn unsexy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_and_Melinda_Gates_Foundation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_and_Melinda_Gates_Foundati... And if you want to talk about maximizing social approval rather than benefit, check out the red iPod program. =P
astine 19y ago
I disagree when he says that the chief evil is inequality. Poverty, yes, is a bad thing, but to say that inequality is the chief evil is to imply that it is wrong to be wealthy. I don't think that's what he means, (he would be an obvious hypocrite if it was,) but it's what he's saying and it has implications about social justice that I think are very dangerous. The problem with the third world is not so much that wealth is unequally distributed, but that it (the third world) is not currently in a position to produce wealth the way it could. This is a problem that needs to be rectified, (and sooner or later will be,) but it is not so much a matter of social justice as of genuine philanthropy. That said, he's right, there is a lot more that we could do to help out the rest of the world that we don't do and we should take this into account. The problem IS that the problem is so complicated; simply giving or redistributing wealth won't cut it and might even hurt matters at times. I think that we'll figure it out sooner or later.
- pchristensen 19y ago
  hey, not so hypocritical now - he's only #2!
  - astine 19y ago
    Oh, I didn't say that I think he's a hypocrite; I think he is sincere. I just object to an industrialist using language that is subtlety socialist. There is a disconnect there that I don't like.
- Prrometheus 19y ago
  When most people bitch about inequality, I think they are making the implicit assumption that wealth is a zero sum game. To them, the greed of the rich is why other people are poor. If the rich would only give in to greater socialism, poverty could be eradicated. Of course, human history largely refutes this, but you get more accolades by believing in what is fashionable rather than what is right.
- sdurkin 19y ago
  Inequality is a major component of why the third world isn't producing wealth the way it could. Every person who is born into extreme poverty looses the opportunity for health, stability, and education that is necessary to build his or her abilities to the point where he or she can contribute to building wealth. Think of it as analogous to human resources in a private company. It would be incredibly foolish to exclude a large part of your potential hiring pool. What if the next Bill Gates is born in Nigeria? The potential production that the world would loose is staggering.
keating 19y ago
You can reduce inequality by bringing one group up, or the other group down. Star Wars chose option B to bring balance to the force. Goodbye Jedi.
mynameishere 19y ago
and you wanted to spend that time and money where it would have the greatest impact in saving and improving lives. Where would you spend it? Everything I know tells me that this, or similar, is the place: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=FEMKX http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=FEMKX

11 points by DaniFong 19y ago

"But humanity's greatest advances are not in its discoveries - but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity." I may not be a fan of MS products, but I have a lot of admiration for the person Bill Gates has become.

dissenter 19y ago

Whenever I read about Bill Gates's philanthropy I always feel slightly depressed. I get the distinct feeling that he is using his money in a way that maximizes social approval, rather than in a way that maximizes benefit. I haven't spent very much time looking into ways to save the world, but I suspect, like in many other fields, the most effective way to do it is not the way that provokes the greatest emotional response.

Prrometheus 19y ago
Doesn't he put money towards fighting malaria? That's a "non-sexy" disease, but one that touches a lot more people than others that grab headlines.
tokipin 19y ago
remember that other rich guy chose bill gates' foundation to be the recipient of his money i doubt that decision was made carelessly
altay 19y ago
Whatever his motivations are, the numbers don't lie. The Gates Foundation has the largest endowment in the world, by far, and they've got a pretty aggressive plan to spend it all. Here are some projects they've funded, a number of which seem pretty damn unsexy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_and_Melinda_Gates_Foundation http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_and_Melinda_Gates_Foundati... And if you want to talk about maximizing social approval rather than benefit, check out the red iPod program. =P

astine 19y ago

I disagree when he says that the chief evil is inequality. Poverty, yes, is a bad thing, but to say that inequality is the chief evil is to imply that it is wrong to be wealthy. I don't think that's what he means, (he would be an obvious hypocrite if it was,) but it's what he's saying and it has implications about social justice that I think are very dangerous. The problem with the third world is not so much that wealth is unequally distributed, but that it (the third world) is not currently in a position to produce wealth the way it could. This is a problem that needs to be rectified, (and sooner or later will be,) but it is not so much a matter of social justice as of genuine philanthropy. That said, he's right, there is a lot more that we could do to help out the rest of the world that we don't do and we should take this into account. The problem IS that the problem is so complicated; simply giving or redistributing wealth won't cut it and might even hurt matters at times. I think that we'll figure it out sooner or later.

pchristensen 19y ago
hey, not so hypocritical now - he's only #2!
- astine 19y ago
  Oh, I didn't say that I think he's a hypocrite; I think he is sincere. I just object to an industrialist using language that is subtlety socialist. There is a disconnect there that I don't like.
Prrometheus 19y ago
When most people bitch about inequality, I think they are making the implicit assumption that wealth is a zero sum game. To them, the greed of the rich is why other people are poor. If the rich would only give in to greater socialism, poverty could be eradicated. Of course, human history largely refutes this, but you get more accolades by believing in what is fashionable rather than what is right.
sdurkin 19y ago
Inequality is a major component of why the third world isn't producing wealth the way it could. Every person who is born into extreme poverty looses the opportunity for health, stability, and education that is necessary to build his or her abilities to the point where he or she can contribute to building wealth. Think of it as analogous to human resources in a private company. It would be incredibly foolish to exclude a large part of your potential hiring pool. What if the next Bill Gates is born in Nigeria? The potential production that the world would loose is staggering.

keating 19y ago

You can reduce inequality by bringing one group up, or the other group down. Star Wars chose option B to bring balance to the force. Goodbye Jedi.

mynameishere 19y ago

and you wanted to spend that time and money where it would have the greatest impact in saving and improving lives. Where would you spend it? Everything I know tells me that this, or similar, is the place: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=FEMKX http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=FEMKX