5 ms·

I wonder how much of "smart" is due to his power, and how much of it is due to his intellect. I say this not because I don't believe he doesn't have an impress

I wonder how much of "smart" is due to his power, and how much of it is due to his intellect. I say this not because I don't believe he doesn't have an impressive intellect, but because, well, what if someone had his intellect, but worked in an Amazon warehouse due to circumstances outside of their control?

yumaikas 5y ago
Lots of people with power shut down people who are smarter than them for being annoying, I guess is what I'm getting at.
- AussieWog93 5y ago
  I'd counter that by saying lots of people think they're being smart but in fact are just annoying pedants (like me!).
  - earleybird 5y ago
    upvote, just for driving the point home - with parenthesis
WalterBright 5y ago
Being smart isn't good enough. One must also be motivated, be willing to put in the effort, and not be discouraged by repeated failure. I had a friend once who was very smart. He was always starting new projects to make money, and always quit at the first or second obstacle.
- yumaikas 5y ago
  And have the spare resources on hand to be able to survive repeated failures, for that matter. And not be dealing with ADHD or other mental issues. In the back of my head I want to tease out how much of Beso's success is due to aptitude, how much is due to work, how much is due to privilege, and how much is due to luck, and how much is due to ruthlessness. This might be a futile exercise, all told, but I do think all of those factors have played into his success. And I wonder how his success and the other factors compound in the perception people have of him.
- lexapro 5y ago
  >One must also be motivated, be willing to put in the effort, and not be discouraged by repeated failure. And even then they will most likely fail. So they need a lot of luck, too.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    Ya know, getting a real estate license and then quitting, which is one of the things he did, is not bad luck. It's quitting. Succeeding isn't merely lightning striking. There's a lot of perseverance and work involved. Just like nobody rides a bike successfully the first time they get on it. You have to keep getting on it until you learn.
hellbannedguy 5y ago
I think the "smart" compliment is just common sence. Build up his ego, you might need him one day. Business 101. 1. Yes--he built an impressive company, and a company ripe for unionization. I've never understood why he allowed so much counterfeit merch on that site? I can't imagine why he didn't stifle that one. 2. He gave away billions in a preventable divorce. 3. Because of vanity, he wore those stupid cowboy hats during that amusement ride for wealthy people. Looking back that PR stunt could have been so much better. 4. I really think his forte is diligence, and drive testosterone gives a man. He was also first to market basically, and tenacious. Hell-- if he was truely a genius, he probally would have never started the company. I'll go farther. Being smart might be a impediment to a good businessman? 5. I don't know Bezos. I don't know any successful businessman, except one. The owner of Dentek. Oh yea, I do know the CA governor. Both are far from intelligent. They both came from wealthy families, and had sympathetic fathers financing,planning,inventing prototypes in every move in their lives. Intelligence had nothing to do with their success. 6. What makes Bezos special is it sounds like he didn't come from money, and didn't have the sterotypical wealthy father.
- seph-reed 5y ago
  None of these things are related to why the author was convinced of his intelligence. And while it absolutely is common to call others smart, I think the following comment is rather special: > "better regarded as hyper-intelligent aliens with a tangential interest in human affairs." That comment is, IMO, believably earnest. And any person who requires such a comment to build up their ego is believably pretty smart as well.

yumaikas 5y ago

Lots of people with power shut down people who are smarter than them for being annoying, I guess is what I'm getting at.

AussieWog93 5y ago
I'd counter that by saying lots of people think they're being smart but in fact are just annoying pedants (like me!).
- earleybird 5y ago
  upvote, just for driving the point home - with parenthesis

WalterBright 5y ago

Being smart isn't good enough. One must also be motivated, be willing to put in the effort, and not be discouraged by repeated failure. I had a friend once who was very smart. He was always starting new projects to make money, and always quit at the first or second obstacle.

yumaikas 5y ago
And have the spare resources on hand to be able to survive repeated failures, for that matter. And not be dealing with ADHD or other mental issues. In the back of my head I want to tease out how much of Beso's success is due to aptitude, how much is due to work, how much is due to privilege, and how much is due to luck, and how much is due to ruthlessness. This might be a futile exercise, all told, but I do think all of those factors have played into his success. And I wonder how his success and the other factors compound in the perception people have of him.
lexapro 5y ago
>One must also be motivated, be willing to put in the effort, and not be discouraged by repeated failure. And even then they will most likely fail. So they need a lot of luck, too.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  Ya know, getting a real estate license and then quitting, which is one of the things he did, is not bad luck. It's quitting. Succeeding isn't merely lightning striking. There's a lot of perseverance and work involved. Just like nobody rides a bike successfully the first time they get on it. You have to keep getting on it until you learn.

hellbannedguy 5y ago

I think the "smart" compliment is just common sence. Build up his ego, you might need him one day. Business 101. 1. Yes--he built an impressive company, and a company ripe for unionization. I've never understood why he allowed so much counterfeit merch on that site? I can't imagine why he didn't stifle that one. 2. He gave away billions in a preventable divorce. 3. Because of vanity, he wore those stupid cowboy hats during that amusement ride for wealthy people. Looking back that PR stunt could have been so much better. 4. I really think his forte is diligence, and drive testosterone gives a man. He was also first to market basically, and tenacious. Hell-- if he was truely a genius, he probally would have never started the company. I'll go farther. Being smart might be a impediment to a good businessman? 5. I don't know Bezos. I don't know any successful businessman, except one. The owner of Dentek. Oh yea, I do know the CA governor. Both are far from intelligent. They both came from wealthy families, and had sympathetic fathers financing,planning,inventing prototypes in every move in their lives. Intelligence had nothing to do with their success. 6. What makes Bezos special is it sounds like he didn't come from money, and didn't have the sterotypical wealthy father.

seph-reed 5y ago
None of these things are related to why the author was convinced of his intelligence. And while it absolutely is common to call others smart, I think the following comment is rather special: > "better regarded as hyper-intelligent aliens with a tangential interest in human affairs." That comment is, IMO, believably earnest. And any person who requires such a comment to build up their ego is believably pretty smart as well.