4 ms·

Yeah -- that moment and the moment at the very end where he found his happy ending were the only two moments in the whole thing where I felt any sympathy for th

Yeah -- that moment and the moment at the very end where he found his happy ending were the only two moments in the whole thing where I felt any sympathy for the author at all. The rest of the time, where he wrote crappy books he knew were crappy, alienated editors, and contemplated insurance fraud plus suicide in one swell foop, all whilst capitalizing on others' credulity to sell them financial advice when his own finances have run like a yo-yo, he came off like a complete ass. Congratulations to Altucher for writing in such an engaging, and hypnotically, brutally honest style that I felt compelled to read all the way through, despite the fact he induced me to distantly hate him through about 98% of the tale.

jaltucher 16y ago
Well, the feeling is mutual!
- apotheon 16y ago
  Oh? Do you really think my writing here was engaging and brutally honest? Thank you. I strive to achieve that tone in my writing -- which you appeared to achieve so naturally and with such ease in your self-deprecating tale. I appreciate the compliment, even if what you meant was insult.
geoffw8 16y ago
Some people on HN are dicks sometimes. You weren't asked to judge him, I don't even think he wanted your sympathy. Read and enjoy, take what you need to take from it, and leave the rest. One of my key takeaways was that he's since come a long way, are your feelings aimed at him 10 years ago? Doesn't read like that. I for one enjoyed it, and look forwards to the next installment landing in my inbox. Genuinely, I don't understand how or why someone would read that post, and think to write the words you wrote. Full-circle: you came off like an ass.
- apotheon 16y ago
  When did I say that he wanted my sympathy? I explained something, from my point of view, about the character of the tale -- which is pretty much what everyone else here is doing, when not just asking questions. Are you such a fan of the man that you cannot accept that? Am I not allowed to engage in discussion here just because my opinion of how he came off in the story differs from yours? > Full-circle: you came off like an ass. Fair enough. Maybe it looks that way to you. Too bad for me. Your "sit down and shut up" routine makes you look a bit worse than merely abrasive judgment of his self-portrayal, though -- at least in my opinion.
  - geoffw8 16y ago
    My routine isn't sit down shut up (Did you just assume that?) I just think you said something that didn't need to be said. The second piece, "how he came off in the story" is almost my exact point: I don't really see how your opinion on how he came off is valuable, unless your really going to delve into some psychological reasoning, use an anecdote or note a similar example - which you didn't. HN is for intelligent discussion i.e. value, not how you thought the guy came off. Maybe if you'd have made a REAL comment, i.e. "hey, seems like a bumpy ride but it sure does seem like persistence prevails. [enter your comment here]" then it would have been fine. But as it was, you just attacked him personally based on what you read in that post. Maybe its just a lesson in looking at things from other peoples perspectives, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who thought what I thought.
electromagnetic 16y ago
> contemplated insurance fraud plus suicide in one swell foop It's technically only insurance fraud if you commit suicide and manage to make it look like an accident (IE drive into a lake or river known for accidents and just don't try to escape) rather than actually getting killed (IE starting a fight with the nearest drug dealing gang banger after signing a DNR order).
- gwern 16y ago
  I actually looked this up once as part of pondering a hare-brained fundraising scheme involving quantum suicide. Apparently, most insurance companies have a clause where suicide voids the insurance if done within a few years of starting the insurance, but they will simply pay out without a fuss after that point. I suppose they reason that there aren't many people who can calculatedly wait several years to off themselves to benefit someone else. I've never heard of anyone actually doing it and insurance corporations are still in business (and quite profitable, judging from Warren Buffet's holdings), so they seem to have been right. (And really, is it 'fraud' if you have to die for it? If someone scams me financially and has to die in the process, I'm not sure how angry I could be with them.)

jaltucher 16y ago

Well, the feeling is mutual!

apotheon 16y ago
Oh? Do you really think my writing here was engaging and brutally honest? Thank you. I strive to achieve that tone in my writing -- which you appeared to achieve so naturally and with such ease in your self-deprecating tale. I appreciate the compliment, even if what you meant was insult.

geoffw8 16y ago

Some people on HN are dicks sometimes. You weren't asked to judge him, I don't even think he wanted your sympathy. Read and enjoy, take what you need to take from it, and leave the rest. One of my key takeaways was that he's since come a long way, are your feelings aimed at him 10 years ago? Doesn't read like that. I for one enjoyed it, and look forwards to the next installment landing in my inbox. Genuinely, I don't understand how or why someone would read that post, and think to write the words you wrote. Full-circle: you came off like an ass.

apotheon 16y ago
When did I say that he wanted my sympathy? I explained something, from my point of view, about the character of the tale -- which is pretty much what everyone else here is doing, when not just asking questions. Are you such a fan of the man that you cannot accept that? Am I not allowed to engage in discussion here just because my opinion of how he came off in the story differs from yours? > Full-circle: you came off like an ass. Fair enough. Maybe it looks that way to you. Too bad for me. Your "sit down and shut up" routine makes you look a bit worse than merely abrasive judgment of his self-portrayal, though -- at least in my opinion.
- geoffw8 16y ago
  My routine isn't sit down shut up (Did you just assume that?) I just think you said something that didn't need to be said. The second piece, "how he came off in the story" is almost my exact point: I don't really see how your opinion on how he came off is valuable, unless your really going to delve into some psychological reasoning, use an anecdote or note a similar example - which you didn't. HN is for intelligent discussion i.e. value, not how you thought the guy came off. Maybe if you'd have made a REAL comment, i.e. "hey, seems like a bumpy ride but it sure does seem like persistence prevails. [enter your comment here]" then it would have been fine. But as it was, you just attacked him personally based on what you read in that post. Maybe its just a lesson in looking at things from other peoples perspectives, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who thought what I thought.

electromagnetic 16y ago

> contemplated insurance fraud plus suicide in one swell foop It's technically only insurance fraud if you commit suicide and manage to make it look like an accident (IE drive into a lake or river known for accidents and just don't try to escape) rather than actually getting killed (IE starting a fight with the nearest drug dealing gang banger after signing a DNR order).

gwern 16y ago
I actually looked this up once as part of pondering a hare-brained fundraising scheme involving quantum suicide. Apparently, most insurance companies have a clause where suicide voids the insurance if done within a few years of starting the insurance, but they will simply pay out without a fuss after that point. I suppose they reason that there aren't many people who can calculatedly wait several years to off themselves to benefit someone else. I've never heard of anyone actually doing it and insurance corporations are still in business (and quite profitable, judging from Warren Buffet's holdings), so they seem to have been right. (And really, is it 'fraud' if you have to die for it? If someone scams me financially and has to die in the process, I'm not sure how angry I could be with them.)