3 ms·

I’d rather he cram this letter up his arse and lead by example with a letter announcing deep investment in infra Otherwise this is just someone with the freedo

I’d rather he cram this letter up his arse and lead by example with a letter announcing deep investment in infra Otherwise this is just someone with the freedom to sit around rambling at length trying to look woke The model of investing he got rich on is part of the problem Is he actually going to change that or peddle warm fuzzies and never follow up? Academia knows where the problems are States know where the problems are Pay taxes and they can get on it right away What is it with rich guys who think they’ve suddenly figured out exactly what societies already well known problems are? What is it with sycophantic men who kowtow to rich daddy types? The professional world I live in is pretty disgusting with its reverence for wealth stolen from workers who do the actual manual labor to enable his creature comforted up the arse life

ausbah 6y ago
success in one sphere subconsciously molds people to believing their opinion matters in other spheres - even if they are completely disjoint?
- jekoeoe9njdjr 6y ago
  Yes See Trump & Kushner Math models show financial success is luck and government collusion Limbic brain function takes on a habit of connecting to facts from past success stores in the cortex, to convince the person that their literal agency will always lead to success And society continually rewards past success even in the face of nothing but failure in other endeavors Again, see Trump and all the CEOs and hedge funds that keep being bailed out
- Wistar 6y ago
  Absolutely. Even when the first success was largely luck. I know a lot of early Microsoft employees who became successful (read: wealthy) very quickly and many of them harbored a belief that they were capable of success at anything and that their advice was of a superior caliber. This belief has, through the subsequent years, proven to not be all that true.
sanderjd 6y ago
I share your cynicism, but the letter could be a statement of changed purpose which front runs exactly the kind of announcements you're looking for. And it may encourage others to start thinking along those same lines. If that is the case, then it may be a good thing. But I agree, if we look back at this letter in six months to a year and find that he's still driving investments in more lucrative but less useful things, then yeah I agree, he can cram it up his arse. I also think actual money-where-your-mouth-is actions like the investment in capacity to produce vaccines that Bill Gates is making are way more useful for people with these big megaphones and wallets (but apparently it also makes you a target for the currently in power political faction because the leader of that faction is actually a spineless follower of society's worst impulses, but I digress). But maybe a statement of purpose like this open letter is better than nothing...
derangedHorse 6y ago
I agree that he should put his money where his mouth is, but it seems like most of your criticism here is on capitalism and wealthy individuals rather than the points he was making in the article

ausbah 6y ago

success in one sphere subconsciously molds people to believing their opinion matters in other spheres - even if they are completely disjoint?

jekoeoe9njdjr 6y ago
Yes See Trump & Kushner Math models show financial success is luck and government collusion Limbic brain function takes on a habit of connecting to facts from past success stores in the cortex, to convince the person that their literal agency will always lead to success And society continually rewards past success even in the face of nothing but failure in other endeavors Again, see Trump and all the CEOs and hedge funds that keep being bailed out
Wistar 6y ago
Absolutely. Even when the first success was largely luck. I know a lot of early Microsoft employees who became successful (read: wealthy) very quickly and many of them harbored a belief that they were capable of success at anything and that their advice was of a superior caliber. This belief has, through the subsequent years, proven to not be all that true.

sanderjd 6y ago

I share your cynicism, but the letter could be a statement of changed purpose which front runs exactly the kind of announcements you're looking for. And it may encourage others to start thinking along those same lines. If that is the case, then it may be a good thing. But I agree, if we look back at this letter in six months to a year and find that he's still driving investments in more lucrative but less useful things, then yeah I agree, he can cram it up his arse. I also think actual money-where-your-mouth-is actions like the investment in capacity to produce vaccines that Bill Gates is making are way more useful for people with these big megaphones and wallets (but apparently it also makes you a target for the currently in power political faction because the leader of that faction is actually a spineless follower of society's worst impulses, but I digress). But maybe a statement of purpose like this open letter is better than nothing...

derangedHorse 6y ago

I agree that he should put his money where his mouth is, but it seems like most of your criticism here is on capitalism and wealthy individuals rather than the points he was making in the article