4 ms·

I don't know that I've seen anyone say Gates is "The world's greatest guy." He seems intelligent and genuine in interviews and in his writing. He's accomplished

I don't know that I've seen anyone say Gates is "The world's greatest guy." He seems intelligent and genuine in interviews and in his writing. He's accomplished big things. He has good taste in books. He's working on worthwhile philanthropical topics. That Gates played hard in the business world doesn't take away from the above. He is who he is. In my view, a good person. If Gates turns out to be involved in Epstein's pedophile ring then of course I'd change my opinion. I deeply hope he wasn't though.

mlevental 7y ago
>That Gates played hard in the business world doesn't take away from the above. i mean doesn't it? this "playing a game well" as a proxy for fairness/justice/merit metaphor as a source of legitimacy i think is strained in business. if you play basketball well and win a championship then you showed merit because the rules are tight - it's very hard to win by another means than being talented (i.e. cheating). the exception that proves the rule is how upset people get when basketball players "flop". business is the one game where the only rule is "don't get caught" so it doesn't seem correct to reason that since he did well he played fair.
- vinniejames 7y ago
  Anyone who plays sports knows the rule is "don't get caught" there too...
  - mlevental 7y ago
    of course but no one venerates the cheaters (lance armstrong has fallen from grace)
mjfl 7y ago
I feel like we have at least 10 weekly front page articles on "<billionaire> is a terrible person, if I was a billionaire I would use my fortune much more morally" (sure you would). It takes a certain amount of obliviousness then, to go into these comments sections and declare "I don't know why everyone thinks <billionaire> is a great guy!". Are these people self aware? Are they androids?
- ksaj 7y ago
  You've probably heard "<whatever-celebrity> is the nicest person I've EVER met!" There must be a named bias for this particular type of statement. Usually when people say things like that, I wonder a lot (for a very short period of time, though) about what kinds of company they keep. But chances are, if you've met one, you haven't met them all. Over time people change. Bill was pretty nasty as a business man if you were competing with him in any way whatsoever. As a philanthropist retiree he seems pretty awesome. Blanket statements (like this one) are only true from the point of view they were made in. If you're lucky.

mlevental 7y ago

>That Gates played hard in the business world doesn't take away from the above. i mean doesn't it? this "playing a game well" as a proxy for fairness/justice/merit metaphor as a source of legitimacy i think is strained in business. if you play basketball well and win a championship then you showed merit because the rules are tight - it's very hard to win by another means than being talented (i.e. cheating). the exception that proves the rule is how upset people get when basketball players "flop". business is the one game where the only rule is "don't get caught" so it doesn't seem correct to reason that since he did well he played fair.

vinniejames 7y ago
Anyone who plays sports knows the rule is "don't get caught" there too...
- mlevental 7y ago
  of course but no one venerates the cheaters (lance armstrong has fallen from grace)

mjfl 7y ago

I feel like we have at least 10 weekly front page articles on "<billionaire> is a terrible person, if I was a billionaire I would use my fortune much more morally" (sure you would). It takes a certain amount of obliviousness then, to go into these comments sections and declare "I don't know why everyone thinks <billionaire> is a great guy!". Are these people self aware? Are they androids?

ksaj 7y ago
You've probably heard "<whatever-celebrity> is the nicest person I've EVER met!" There must be a named bias for this particular type of statement. Usually when people say things like that, I wonder a lot (for a very short period of time, though) about what kinds of company they keep. But chances are, if you've met one, you haven't met them all. Over time people change. Bill was pretty nasty as a business man if you were competing with him in any way whatsoever. As a philanthropist retiree he seems pretty awesome. Blanket statements (like this one) are only true from the point of view they were made in. If you're lucky.