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Everything he does is in some way to make the post-scarcity far future of The Culture more attainable. For all of his social flaws this thought alone gives him

Everything he does is in some way to make the post-scarcity far future of The Culture more attainable. For all of his social flaws this thought alone gives him my deep respect. I don't think he is infallible but in my opinion a lot of attempts at character assassination don't truly understand the underlying purpose of why he does what he does. I still look at developments in his companies with a critical eye - for example neuralink is rather close to making me uncomfortable with how soon we may have commerically viable high-speed BMI. And then I remember all the medical good that can be done with it. I am wary of Starlink interfering with space observation and science, and yet I can think of all the good that can come from more minds having better access to humanity's greatest learning tool, the internet. He's not perfect, and I most certainly cannot defend the work ethic required of those employed under him. But if I were to have a chance to do it for a year, I would know the reasons I was going through it for.

systemvoltage 5y ago
"But he is manipulating the Crypto market" Good. If you invested without thinking into crypto, 100% full responsibility is on you. Elon is just a litmus test how fragile crypto currencies are and how they can be manipulated. Fully functional adults need to be a bit more cautious with their funds. We're not talking about people with mental issues here. Elon has got a shitty attitude regarding his popularity/celebrity status but the things he has done to improve the world dwarfs his misdeeds. For some reason public loves grocery-store aisle tabloids and Elon is no exception to this gossip. The tabloid now is in the form of Twitter.
dumbfoundded 5y ago
The biggest problem with Elon and it's not just him or his fault is that the biggest barrier is our political systems. $100M is like a small city's annual budget. In Ashland, OR the city budget is $140M/year with about 20,000 residents. This prize is not going to solve anything. Even if Elon spent all of his money on this prize, it would still be a drop in the bucket compared to how many resources our political systems control. As much as these well intentioned billionaires try, they're never going solve anything important.
- datameta 5y ago
  I would say the measured impact of something like an xPrize is not expressly in how much money is awarded even though it does directly fuel further R&D and other expenses of the leading teams. I think it is rather the time and effort that is directed toward achieving the goal and the public discourse that is generated from the process. It is also the fact that a portion of up-and-coming engineers and scientists still in their studies will see it as inspiration to dedicate themselves toward the relevant field(s).
- mleonhard 5y ago
  The largest barrier to human progress is personal greed. It reduces the effectiveness of our governments. It directs our brightest minds toward harmful projects like making addicting apps. Personal greed deforms peoples' attitudes about work, leading them to marginalize those few people who are driven by other motivations. I think we need to experiment with new political systems. One I am interested in is democracy + communism. I think it's time to start a new city where everyone earns the same salary. I have many ideas for how to start and build the city and make it a great place to live.

systemvoltage 5y ago

"But he is manipulating the Crypto market" Good. If you invested without thinking into crypto, 100% full responsibility is on you. Elon is just a litmus test how fragile crypto currencies are and how they can be manipulated. Fully functional adults need to be a bit more cautious with their funds. We're not talking about people with mental issues here. Elon has got a shitty attitude regarding his popularity/celebrity status but the things he has done to improve the world dwarfs his misdeeds. For some reason public loves grocery-store aisle tabloids and Elon is no exception to this gossip. The tabloid now is in the form of Twitter.

dumbfoundded 5y ago

The biggest problem with Elon and it's not just him or his fault is that the biggest barrier is our political systems. $100M is like a small city's annual budget. In Ashland, OR the city budget is $140M/year with about 20,000 residents. This prize is not going to solve anything. Even if Elon spent all of his money on this prize, it would still be a drop in the bucket compared to how many resources our political systems control. As much as these well intentioned billionaires try, they're never going solve anything important.

datameta 5y ago
I would say the measured impact of something like an xPrize is not expressly in how much money is awarded even though it does directly fuel further R&D and other expenses of the leading teams. I think it is rather the time and effort that is directed toward achieving the goal and the public discourse that is generated from the process. It is also the fact that a portion of up-and-coming engineers and scientists still in their studies will see it as inspiration to dedicate themselves toward the relevant field(s).
mleonhard 5y ago
The largest barrier to human progress is personal greed. It reduces the effectiveness of our governments. It directs our brightest minds toward harmful projects like making addicting apps. Personal greed deforms peoples' attitudes about work, leading them to marginalize those few people who are driven by other motivations. I think we need to experiment with new political systems. One I am interested in is democracy + communism. I think it's time to start a new city where everyone earns the same salary. I have many ideas for how to start and build the city and make it a great place to live.