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> would we consider them balanced? No, but I never heard anyone say "again, why" about Van Gogh. The why is self-evident in retrospect. I wouldn't put my art

by biztos 7y ago

> would we consider them balanced? No, but I never heard anyone say "again, why" about Van Gogh. The why is self-evident in retrospect. I wouldn't put my art before everything else in life, and I'm not saying Mark Hurd did, but I get that some people do and once in a while that results in an incredible gift to humanity. Most of the time it doesn't, but I don't see how you get a Van Gogh without a lot of people giving an unhealthy amount of themselves to potentially boring, mediocre shit.

OnlineGladiator 7y ago
Van Gogh was utterly miserable though. I don't think he'd consider his life a success. To frame it with someone I know much better, what about Nikola Tesla? Profoundly accomplished, objectively made enormous contributions to engineering that made huge improvements to the quality of life for a large chunk of humanity. He was utterly obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge and nothing else. On his death bed he regretted his work ethic and wished only to have ever known the touch of a woman. We may be benefiting from their obsessions, but they aren't.
- skunkpocalypse 7y ago
  > Van Gogh was utterly miserable though. Geniuses usually are. That does not in any way diminish their contribution.
- RJIb8RBYxzAMX9u 7y ago
  OTOH, Newton never married either, and apocryphally was proud that he's a virgin. Even a genius may not be immune to FOMO.
- biztos 7y ago
  Precisely! If we eliminate all misery we probably lose art in the deal. And then what? Of course it’s possible to make smaller strides while living a more or less healthy life but I think for some (Tesla, Erdős) it just tips. But then again Erdős was maybe happy with his life... Sticking with the scientists for a moment, maybe Feinman is exemplary. But are a bunch of Feinmanns enough?
CamperBob2 7y ago
I wouldn't put my art before everything else in life Which is why you're not Mark Hurd or Vincent Van Gogh. Your family will (presumably) remember you fondly, and that's your reward. It will have to be enough. If it is, then good for you. It's not what everybody else wants out of life, and that's OK.
- biztos 7y ago
  Well I’m not entirely without ambitions for immortality but yes, I assume I’ll never be that immortal and I’m cool with it. Funny though I bet nobody who didn’t know him personally will remember Hurd in 50 years. Maybe a case study in B-school, but they don’t build monuments to folks who ran other people’s companies. Not that it isn’t crazy hard work, just that I don’t think a Hurd or a Cook is much concerned with their place in history.
  - CamperBob2 7y ago
    It's tough to assess just how great a manager he was, I'll definitely grant you that. He took over from Carly Fiorina at HP, and she wasn't exactly a tough act to follow (although her predecessors obviously were.) As long as he didn't set the building on fire, he was going to come out looking good after her tenure. And certainly, nobody who worked at Oracle will be remembered as one of the all-time best-loved business figures.

by biztos 7y ago

OnlineGladiator 7y ago

Van Gogh was utterly miserable though. I don't think he'd consider his life a success. To frame it with someone I know much better, what about Nikola Tesla? Profoundly accomplished, objectively made enormous contributions to engineering that made huge improvements to the quality of life for a large chunk of humanity. He was utterly obsessed with the pursuit of knowledge and nothing else. On his death bed he regretted his work ethic and wished only to have ever known the touch of a woman. We may be benefiting from their obsessions, but they aren't.

skunkpocalypse 7y ago
> Van Gogh was utterly miserable though. Geniuses usually are. That does not in any way diminish their contribution.
RJIb8RBYxzAMX9u 7y ago
OTOH, Newton never married either, and apocryphally was proud that he's a virgin. Even a genius may not be immune to FOMO.
biztos 7y ago
Precisely! If we eliminate all misery we probably lose art in the deal. And then what? Of course it’s possible to make smaller strides while living a more or less healthy life but I think for some (Tesla, Erdős) it just tips. But then again Erdős was maybe happy with his life... Sticking with the scientists for a moment, maybe Feinman is exemplary. But are a bunch of Feinmanns enough?

CamperBob2 7y ago

I wouldn't put my art before everything else in life Which is why you're not Mark Hurd or Vincent Van Gogh. Your family will (presumably) remember you fondly, and that's your reward. It will have to be enough. If it is, then good for you. It's not what everybody else wants out of life, and that's OK.

biztos 7y ago
Well I’m not entirely without ambitions for immortality but yes, I assume I’ll never be that immortal and I’m cool with it. Funny though I bet nobody who didn’t know him personally will remember Hurd in 50 years. Maybe a case study in B-school, but they don’t build monuments to folks who ran other people’s companies. Not that it isn’t crazy hard work, just that I don’t think a Hurd or a Cook is much concerned with their place in history.
- CamperBob2 7y ago
  It's tough to assess just how great a manager he was, I'll definitely grant you that. He took over from Carly Fiorina at HP, and she wasn't exactly a tough act to follow (although her predecessors obviously were.) As long as he didn't set the building on fire, he was going to come out looking good after her tenure. And certainly, nobody who worked at Oracle will be remembered as one of the all-time best-loved business figures.