4 ms·

Sure, let's force one of the most creative dude of this century back into the rigid pen others are allowed to play in, just in case he does something crazy and

Sure, let's force one of the most creative dude of this century back into the rigid pen others are allowed to play in, just in case he does something crazy and interesting. What a lame idea, truly worthy of a mandarin.

sixo 7y ago
Aside: let's put "worthy of a mandarin" away forever
- Octopodes 7y ago
  I've never heard the expression before. Could someone explain its meaning please?
  - Synaesthesia 7y ago
    An official or bureaucrat, particularly one that is reactionary and secretive. Eg. American Power and The New Mandarins. (Book) I think it’s an important and relevant term.
  - ur-whale 7y ago
    >Could someone explain its meaning please? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_(bureaucrat) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_(bureaucrat)
GuiA 7y ago
The guy pretty much single handedly built a profitable company that enables him to pursue whatever research interests he want, and that’s been going for over 30 years. They hate him cause they ain’t him.
- alkonaut 7y ago
  So did a lot of other people who aren’t extreme narcissists. I think it’s reasonable to find someone’s work admirable and yet think they have terrible personalities. There is a line of thought were people should be judged by what they create rather than how they behave, but luckily not many subscribe to it. Not even grown-up Linus Torvalds subscribes to it.
  - gfodor 7y ago
    Why is this "lucky"? Its irrational in many cases, frankly. The work survives past the person. The personality quirks of the person are parochial - they only matter insofar as they impact our ability to create knowledge. In the case of a theoretical singular genius (hypothetically, not saying Wolfram is one) then personality traits are completely irrelevant to their impact, since they're not dependent upon collaboration with others. The error would be for those others to disregard their work due to their personality. The benefit would only flow in one direction in that case, and hence, it'd be irrational for the consumers to reject the work.
  - GuiA 7y ago
    Has there been any issues of Wolfram assaulting/harassing/abusing/etc other people? Or are people just upset about the pompous style of his writing? Those are different kinds of “behavior”. Because while we should totally condemn the former, it seems that we’re discussing the latter here, and it’s hard to get riled up about.
    - alkonaut 7y ago
      Not that I know of, no - so I completely agree, narcissism isn’t in the same division as abuse.
    - mattkrause 7y ago
      Matthew Cook?
- notfromhere 7y ago
  there were a ton of lawsuits and there’s a reason why the local university doesn’t associate with him despite his previous tenure and employment.
- CamperBob2 7y ago
  I'm not sure how well that argument stands on its own, though. Doesn't this sound a bit like what you might read on /r/AskTrumpSupporters?
- s17n 7y ago
  Nobody hates Jim Simons.
mellosouls 7y ago
Less of the insults please. As for "one of the most creative dudes of this century", I am puzzled as to how you reach this conclusion. He certainly seems to be a very bright and capable person, and deserves recognition as the publisher of Mathematica, but that was released last century; what has he created since then that places him so high in your estimation?

sixo 7y ago

Aside: let's put "worthy of a mandarin" away forever

Octopodes 7y ago
I've never heard the expression before. Could someone explain its meaning please?
- Synaesthesia 7y ago
  An official or bureaucrat, particularly one that is reactionary and secretive. Eg. American Power and The New Mandarins. (Book) I think it’s an important and relevant term.
- ur-whale 7y ago
  >Could someone explain its meaning please? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_(bureaucrat) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mandarin_(bureaucrat)

GuiA 7y ago

The guy pretty much single handedly built a profitable company that enables him to pursue whatever research interests he want, and that’s been going for over 30 years. They hate him cause they ain’t him.

alkonaut 7y ago
So did a lot of other people who aren’t extreme narcissists. I think it’s reasonable to find someone’s work admirable and yet think they have terrible personalities. There is a line of thought were people should be judged by what they create rather than how they behave, but luckily not many subscribe to it. Not even grown-up Linus Torvalds subscribes to it.
- gfodor 7y ago
  Why is this "lucky"? Its irrational in many cases, frankly. The work survives past the person. The personality quirks of the person are parochial - they only matter insofar as they impact our ability to create knowledge. In the case of a theoretical singular genius (hypothetically, not saying Wolfram is one) then personality traits are completely irrelevant to their impact, since they're not dependent upon collaboration with others. The error would be for those others to disregard their work due to their personality. The benefit would only flow in one direction in that case, and hence, it'd be irrational for the consumers to reject the work.
- GuiA 7y ago
  Has there been any issues of Wolfram assaulting/harassing/abusing/etc other people? Or are people just upset about the pompous style of his writing? Those are different kinds of “behavior”. Because while we should totally condemn the former, it seems that we’re discussing the latter here, and it’s hard to get riled up about.
  - alkonaut 7y ago
    Not that I know of, no - so I completely agree, narcissism isn’t in the same division as abuse.
  - mattkrause 7y ago
    Matthew Cook?
notfromhere 7y ago
there were a ton of lawsuits and there’s a reason why the local university doesn’t associate with him despite his previous tenure and employment.
CamperBob2 7y ago
I'm not sure how well that argument stands on its own, though. Doesn't this sound a bit like what you might read on /r/AskTrumpSupporters?
s17n 7y ago
Nobody hates Jim Simons.

mellosouls 7y ago

Less of the insults please. As for "one of the most creative dudes of this century", I am puzzled as to how you reach this conclusion. He certainly seems to be a very bright and capable person, and deserves recognition as the publisher of Mathematica, but that was released last century; what has he created since then that places him so high in your estimation?