4 ms·

The entire biotech industry? Surely you kid. My wife works in biotech in SV and has never heard of him.

dang 6y ago
Let's be a bit careful here. That quote doesn't imply that anyone has heard of SA, only that he has been helping. Sometimes people help behind the scenes. Similarly, the claim about the industry is simply that it has pivoted. I have zero idea if either claim is true, but let's at least not replace them with claims that no one made. This is in the HN guidelines btw: "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- woobity 6y ago
  The quote clearly claims he's helping the entire biotech industry, which is overstated to say the least. Also no idea why you aren't responding to the GP instead. My post is within the the guidelines, even if you choose to disagree with its point.
  - vikramkr 6y ago
    I totally agree with you, and I'll add that the quote also implies that the entire industry is "pivoting" to work on this effort when, no it isn't. People who have built the ability to work on viruses or with technology that is applicable are all pitching in to do their part. And they're doing it on their own prerogative, not by the "leadership" of some silicon valley tech types. Altman and all is doing good work by funding some covid responses etc, as is YC and are other tech VCs, and talk about that to whatever extent you want. But dont take credit for what the industry is doing.
  - dang 6y ago
    Sorry to be a stickler, especially since Eric changed his wording, but your post wasn't within that guideline. You picked a weak interpretation of the quote you were objecting to. There was no inconsistency between "My wife works in biotech in SV and has never heard of him" and what it actually said. If you wanted to refute the quote, something like "My wife works in biotech in SV and that industry has definitely not pivoted to working on covid" would (if true) have fit the bill. You're right that the GP comment was also bad and that I could have replied there also.
    - kevinskii 6y ago
      I appreciate your excellent work in maintaining the discourse, but there just isn't any serious interpretation of that quote which could have been more charitable. You'd really have to stretch to get away from the clear implication that SA's work has been essential to the COVID-19 response. I also appreciate Eric's polite clarification in this thread, but as of now the original text remains on his site. It's a legitimate point of discussion for reasons that others in this thread have explained.
    - woobity 6y ago
      It was within the guidelines, even if you don't agree with the point being made. The quote grossly overstates Altman's involvement in the biotech industry, and my response addressed that. And certainly more than GP. This sounds more like a thinly veiled threat based on my opinion, rather than any substantive advice that would improve the level of discourse here.

dang 6y ago

Let's be a bit careful here. That quote doesn't imply that anyone has heard of SA, only that he has been helping. Sometimes people help behind the scenes. Similarly, the claim about the industry is simply that it has pivoted. I have zero idea if either claim is true, but let's at least not replace them with claims that no one made. This is in the HN guidelines btw: "Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith." https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

woobity 6y ago
The quote clearly claims he's helping the entire biotech industry, which is overstated to say the least. Also no idea why you aren't responding to the GP instead. My post is within the the guidelines, even if you choose to disagree with its point.
- vikramkr 6y ago
  I totally agree with you, and I'll add that the quote also implies that the entire industry is "pivoting" to work on this effort when, no it isn't. People who have built the ability to work on viruses or with technology that is applicable are all pitching in to do their part. And they're doing it on their own prerogative, not by the "leadership" of some silicon valley tech types. Altman and all is doing good work by funding some covid responses etc, as is YC and are other tech VCs, and talk about that to whatever extent you want. But dont take credit for what the industry is doing.
- dang 6y ago
  Sorry to be a stickler, especially since Eric changed his wording, but your post wasn't within that guideline. You picked a weak interpretation of the quote you were objecting to. There was no inconsistency between "My wife works in biotech in SV and has never heard of him" and what it actually said. If you wanted to refute the quote, something like "My wife works in biotech in SV and that industry has definitely not pivoted to working on covid" would (if true) have fit the bill. You're right that the GP comment was also bad and that I could have replied there also.
  - kevinskii 6y ago
    I appreciate your excellent work in maintaining the discourse, but there just isn't any serious interpretation of that quote which could have been more charitable. You'd really have to stretch to get away from the clear implication that SA's work has been essential to the COVID-19 response. I also appreciate Eric's polite clarification in this thread, but as of now the original text remains on his site. It's a legitimate point of discussion for reasons that others in this thread have explained.
  - woobity 6y ago
    It was within the guidelines, even if you don't agree with the point being made. The quote grossly overstates Altman's involvement in the biotech industry, and my response addressed that. And certainly more than GP. This sounds more like a thinly veiled threat based on my opinion, rather than any substantive advice that would improve the level of discourse here.