7 ms·

Steve Jobs' daughter Lisa's biography describes cold Steve

adenadel 8y ago
This submission of an excerpt from the book was flagged to death, but I think the excerpt is worth a read. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17670525 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17670525
- dang 8y ago
  And there was another yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17666649 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17666649. Unfortunately it's clear that HN is incapable of discussing this substantively; the comments are basically "boo steve" and "fuck you, yay steve".
  - WalterGR 8y ago
    While we all need to be reminded of this occasionally, the exact same thing happens here any time a polarizing figure is discussed. RMS, Linus, Gates, Ellison... I’m rather surprised to see a statement from a mod about a post with fewer than 15 comments. I hope this is a reflection of mod frustration and not personal feelings about Jobs.
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
ProAm 8y ago
It's not a secret that Jobs was an extraordinary business man but a pretty lousy human being. I think this is a quality needed for many tycoons of industry. Most biography's paint these people poorly, Musk, Ellison, Gates, Bezos even Page and Brin are all painted in this light, yet still praised.
- zamalek 8y ago
  One of these is unlike the others. > Musk Musk participates in disaster relief, education and The Giving Pledge.[1] > Ellison Ellison participates in The Giving Pledge. [2] > Gates Really? > Bezos Bezos supports the Dreamers (after some pressure, yes). [3] > Jobs Jobs shut down Apple's philanthropy department when we returned to Apple in 1997.[4] [1]: http://www.borgenmagazine.com/elon-musks-humanitarian-efforts/ http://www.borgenmagazine.com/elon-musks-humanitarian-effort... [2]: https://associationsnow.com/2014/09/larry-ellison-teaches-nature-philanthropy/ https://associationsnow.com/2014/09/larry-ellison-teaches-na... [3]: https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/jeff-bezos-first-big-charitable-gift-is-diabolically-clever.html https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/jeff-bezos-first-big-charit... [4]: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/yes-you-can-think-less-steve-jobs-not-being-philanthropist/338546/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/yes-y...
  - ProAm 8y ago
    Philanthropy is not the only metric when considering if someone is a good person. And admittedly I have no first hand knowledge into any of these people, only information provided from books, interviews and biographies so my impression of these people may not be accurate at all.
    - zamalek 8y ago
      > Philanthropy is not the only metric when considering if someone is a good person. And a biography is?
      - marcelluspye 8y ago
        It would paint a more complete picture of who they are. Better yet, a personal diary or collection of letters (an autobiography gives too much room for the author to lie).
  - tluyben2 8y ago
    You can be an asshole of a human on some scale and still be a philanthropist. Human to human interaction has little to do with giving to charity.
RickJWagner 8y ago
That, combined with stories about Jobs' parking habits and medical line-jumping paint a pretty clear picture. I pity Jobs and those who were around him.

This submission of an excerpt from the book was flagged to death, but I think the excerpt is worth a read. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17670525 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17670525

dang 8y ago
And there was another yesterday: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17666649 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17666649. Unfortunately it's clear that HN is incapable of discussing this substantively; the comments are basically "boo steve" and "fuck you, yay steve".
- WalterGR 8y ago
  While we all need to be reminded of this occasionally, the exact same thing happens here any time a polarizing figure is discussed. RMS, Linus, Gates, Ellison... I’m rather surprised to see a statement from a mod about a post with fewer than 15 comments. I hope this is a reflection of mod frustration and not personal feelings about Jobs.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]

ProAm 8y ago

It's not a secret that Jobs was an extraordinary business man but a pretty lousy human being. I think this is a quality needed for many tycoons of industry. Most biography's paint these people poorly, Musk, Ellison, Gates, Bezos even Page and Brin are all painted in this light, yet still praised.

zamalek 8y ago
One of these is unlike the others. > Musk Musk participates in disaster relief, education and The Giving Pledge.[1] > Ellison Ellison participates in The Giving Pledge. [2] > Gates Really? > Bezos Bezos supports the Dreamers (after some pressure, yes). [3] > Jobs Jobs shut down Apple's philanthropy department when we returned to Apple in 1997.[4] [1]: http://www.borgenmagazine.com/elon-musks-humanitarian-efforts/ http://www.borgenmagazine.com/elon-musks-humanitarian-effort... [2]: https://associationsnow.com/2014/09/larry-ellison-teaches-nature-philanthropy/ https://associationsnow.com/2014/09/larry-ellison-teaches-na... [3]: https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/jeff-bezos-first-big-charitable-gift-is-diabolically-clever.html https://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/jeff-bezos-first-big-charit... [4]: https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/yes-you-can-think-less-steve-jobs-not-being-philanthropist/338546/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2011/08/yes-y...
- ProAm 8y ago
  Philanthropy is not the only metric when considering if someone is a good person. And admittedly I have no first hand knowledge into any of these people, only information provided from books, interviews and biographies so my impression of these people may not be accurate at all.
  - zamalek 8y ago
    > Philanthropy is not the only metric when considering if someone is a good person. And a biography is?
    - marcelluspye 8y ago
      It would paint a more complete picture of who they are. Better yet, a personal diary or collection of letters (an autobiography gives too much room for the author to lie).
- tluyben2 8y ago
  You can be an asshole of a human on some scale and still be a philanthropist. Human to human interaction has little to do with giving to charity.

RickJWagner 8y ago

That, combined with stories about Jobs' parking habits and medical line-jumping paint a pretty clear picture. I pity Jobs and those who were around him.