3 ms·

I feel like I'm being very negative today, but it feels like this post gets more attention because Bill Gates has become somewhat of a celebrity and he wrote it

I feel like I'm being very negative today, but it feels like this post gets more attention because Bill Gates has become somewhat of a celebrity and he wrote it. I'm not saying I dislike Gates, I'm not saying his celebrity status hasn't been earned, etc. Just saying the content itself is kind of...unremarkable? I feel like every friend I have from highschool absolutely loves Feynman, we all read and discussed his "Six Easy Pieces", he's regularly the subject of submissions and comments on HN, etc. Like, Feynman isn't some hidden gem - thankfully many have come to know and love his work. Apologize if I'm being unreasonably negative, but something about this post and it being top on HN kind of bothers me (maybe because it feels a little bit like hero worship?). Like, are we marvelling that Bill Gates' admiration of Feynman? Is this the best tribute to Feynman ever written? There's so much written about Feynman on/offline.

moneywoes 7y ago
Honestly, I wholeheartedly agree with you. His diction seems to be uninspiring.
- Iv 7y ago
  "Bill would be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger" -- Steve Jobs
  - m0zg 7y ago
    Which is funny, since I consider Gates to be the broader of the two. Jobs's talent wasn't really breadth, it was intense, singular focus, and ability to distort reality around him. Gates doesn't have that, but breadth-wise he has it more than covered IMO.
atmosx 7y ago
16 points are not all that much though...
- xwowsersx 7y ago
  Fair enough haha
ncmncm 7y ago
Not unduly negative. For somebody who personally set software engineering back by two decades (people now actually believe computers failing is something normal and unavoidable), he has a lot of nerve giving advice.
thimkerbell 7y ago
Because of his efforts, the lectures are free to watch online.

moneywoes 7y ago

Honestly, I wholeheartedly agree with you. His diction seems to be uninspiring.

Iv 7y ago
"Bill would be a broader guy if he had dropped acid once or gone off to an ashram when he was younger" -- Steve Jobs
- m0zg 7y ago
  Which is funny, since I consider Gates to be the broader of the two. Jobs's talent wasn't really breadth, it was intense, singular focus, and ability to distort reality around him. Gates doesn't have that, but breadth-wise he has it more than covered IMO.

atmosx 7y ago

16 points are not all that much though...

xwowsersx 7y ago
Fair enough haha

ncmncm 7y ago

Not unduly negative. For somebody who personally set software engineering back by two decades (people now actually believe computers failing is something normal and unavoidable), he has a lot of nerve giving advice.

thimkerbell 7y ago

Because of his efforts, the lectures are free to watch online.