9 ms·

If someone would've told me 15 years ago that Bill Gates would turn out to be the sane one…

by mhd 16y ago

rbanffy 16y ago
I would call Gates a borderline sociopath. You really should watch his deposition tapes, where he shamelessly says he has no recollection of e-mails he sent. Larry may or may not be one, but saying Gates is "the sane one" is a symptom of wrong Kool-Aid intoxication.
- bad_user 16y ago
  > where he shamelessly says he has no recollection of e-mails he sent Did anyone bought that declaration? You can't say somebody is a "borderline sociopath" unless you have some other proof than lying in deposition tapes. Remember Clinton? ... "I thought the definition included any activity by [me], where [I] was the actor and came in contact with those parts of the bodies".
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    > You can't say somebody is a "borderline sociopath" Gates is manipulative, disregards rules, is ready to lie under oath to further his interests as long as he thinks he can get away with it and shows no sign of remorse. I cannot diagnose him (for I am an engineer) but I am entitled my own suspicions. My bet is the only reason he is not a serial killer is because Microsoft has been more fun.
    - bad_user 16y ago
      > My bet is the only reason he is not a serial killer is because Microsoft has been more fun. Wow! So I guess the traits of a serial-killer are: lying + no remorse for making a shit-load of money?!? I guess I must be a potential serial-killer too.
      - rbanffy 16y ago
        No. No remorse for breaking laws and screwing others in order to make a huge pile of money. That and being a manipulative liar. Ethics is important. It's worthless to be filthy rich if you can't sleep at night.
    - dantheman 16y ago
      Yeah because bullshit rules need to be followed, and if you break a bullshit rule then you should feel remorse. Give me a break.
      - rbanffy 16y ago
        What you call "bullshit rules" most people call "antitrust law". These specific laws are there to prevent customers from being harmed by companies that detain excessive power in the market. The fact they didn't work and failed to protect the competitive market that existed before Microsoft's monopoly abuse thus harming the consumers they were intended to protect is a bit frustrating, but I wouldn't call them "bullshit rules". And yes. When "bullshit rules" become law, they have to be followed.
    - rbanffy 16y ago
      > Gates is manipulative, disregards rules, is ready to lie under oath to further his interests as long as he thinks he can get away with it and shows no sign of remorse... He also has lots of fans...
- mhd 16y ago
  I think the last MS kool-aid I bought was the copy of DOS 5.0, and back then I didn't know better. I'm a bit suspicious about the "CEO == sociopath" meme. Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity, and never attribute to insanity what can be explained by malice. Lying to cover yourself certainly doesn't come close to my definition of insanity… My point is just that at least Gates seems to have made an exit, and came out somewhat well-adjusted. Maybe the billionaires form of survivor's guilt or seeking repentance comes into play, too. Ellison is from the same tribe (and time) of monopolist software companies, and doesn't seem to be able to let go. And if I remember correctly, he's older than Gates, too.
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    > never attribute to insanity what can be explained by malice. That's the point. Sociopaths are not insane: they are evil. They are smart and know what they are doing and what the consequences will be. They just don't care as long as they can get away with it and will do whatever it takes to get away with it. In their minds, they have a right to do it. I am not sure about Ellison. He comes through as slightly more balanced than Gates=. But only slightly.
- wrs 16y ago
  I'm going to guess you've never had to give a deposition. You know those articles that keep getting posted here about how you shouldn't ever say anything to a police officer? It's kind of like that.

If someone would've told me 15 years ago that Bill Gates would turn out to be the sane one…

by mhd 16y ago

If someone would've told me 15 years ago that Bill Gates would turn out to be the sane one…

I would call Gates a borderline sociopath. You really should watch his deposition tapes, where he shamelessly says he has no recollection of e-mails he sent. Larry may or may not be one, but saying Gates is "the sane one" is a symptom of wrong Kool-Aid intoxication.

bad_user 16y ago
> where he shamelessly says he has no recollection of e-mails he sent Did anyone bought that declaration? You can't say somebody is a "borderline sociopath" unless you have some other proof than lying in deposition tapes. Remember Clinton? ... "I thought the definition included any activity by [me], where [I] was the actor and came in contact with those parts of the bodies".
- rbanffy 16y ago
  > You can't say somebody is a "borderline sociopath" Gates is manipulative, disregards rules, is ready to lie under oath to further his interests as long as he thinks he can get away with it and shows no sign of remorse. I cannot diagnose him (for I am an engineer) but I am entitled my own suspicions. My bet is the only reason he is not a serial killer is because Microsoft has been more fun.
  - bad_user 16y ago
    > My bet is the only reason he is not a serial killer is because Microsoft has been more fun. Wow! So I guess the traits of a serial-killer are: lying + no remorse for making a shit-load of money?!? I guess I must be a potential serial-killer too.
    - rbanffy 16y ago
      No. No remorse for breaking laws and screwing others in order to make a huge pile of money. That and being a manipulative liar. Ethics is important. It's worthless to be filthy rich if you can't sleep at night.
  - dantheman 16y ago
    Yeah because bullshit rules need to be followed, and if you break a bullshit rule then you should feel remorse. Give me a break.
    - rbanffy 16y ago
      What you call "bullshit rules" most people call "antitrust law". These specific laws are there to prevent customers from being harmed by companies that detain excessive power in the market. The fact they didn't work and failed to protect the competitive market that existed before Microsoft's monopoly abuse thus harming the consumers they were intended to protect is a bit frustrating, but I wouldn't call them "bullshit rules". And yes. When "bullshit rules" become law, they have to be followed.
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    > Gates is manipulative, disregards rules, is ready to lie under oath to further his interests as long as he thinks he can get away with it and shows no sign of remorse... He also has lots of fans...
mhd 16y ago
I think the last MS kool-aid I bought was the copy of DOS 5.0, and back then I didn't know better. I'm a bit suspicious about the "CEO == sociopath" meme. Never attribute to malice what can be explained by stupidity, and never attribute to insanity what can be explained by malice. Lying to cover yourself certainly doesn't come close to my definition of insanity… My point is just that at least Gates seems to have made an exit, and came out somewhat well-adjusted. Maybe the billionaires form of survivor's guilt or seeking repentance comes into play, too. Ellison is from the same tribe (and time) of monopolist software companies, and doesn't seem to be able to let go. And if I remember correctly, he's older than Gates, too.
- rbanffy 16y ago
  > never attribute to insanity what can be explained by malice. That's the point. Sociopaths are not insane: they are evil. They are smart and know what they are doing and what the consequences will be. They just don't care as long as they can get away with it and will do whatever it takes to get away with it. In their minds, they have a right to do it. I am not sure about Ellison. He comes through as slightly more balanced than Gates=. But only slightly.
wrs 16y ago
I'm going to guess you've never had to give a deposition. You know those articles that keep getting posted here about how you shouldn't ever say anything to a police officer? It's kind of like that.