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I'm quite interested in what made Einstein great, his work on physics. I have zero interest in his failures in his non-physics personal life. Then you probably

by dagw 5y ago

I'm quite interested in what made Einstein great, his work on physics. I have zero interest in his failures in his non-physics personal life. Then you probably should be reading about his work in a science text book rather than a history book. For history books, the background and context of the people and events is as important as the events themselves.

WalterBright 5y ago
You have a point, but my meaning is I will not adversely judge his accomplishments by listing his failures in other aspects of his life. How Steve Jobs treated his daughter, for example, is between him and his family. Diminishing his business accomplishments because of that is simply small-minded.
- saiya-jin 5y ago
  That's your perspective, which is fine and dandy but that's not everyone's view. I for a change am interested in whole picture, not just nit-picking parts of humans to idolize and glorify them. If I should respect someone's opinion or success in life, well that respect needs to come from someplace. And in my eyes its just harder to earn it compared to your viewpoint - excellence in 1 singular aspect isn't cutting it. There are properly awesome people out there through and through, in private and public alike, and those deserve my full respect. The others, not so much.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    > There are properly awesome people out there through and through, in private and public alike, and those deserve my full respect. Or they've just managed to successfully hide their feet of clay, or you've just decided that you like their awesomeness so much you're going to overlook their peccadilloes. Name any accomplished person, and you'll find haters.
- edmundsauto 5y ago
  It kind of sounds like you’re prioritizing how his work benefitted you, over a judgement of whether he was a good person. That’s reasonable to me, although I disagree! Huge impacts are complicated, but being a good person is something I expect of everyone. If a person cannot be empathetic and kind to others around them, in my estimation, they have failed at their purpose here on earth.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    > It kind of sounds like you’re prioritizing how his work benefitted you Jobs hasn't benefited me much in any significant way. I've never been an Apple fanboy, never worked for Apple, never got rich off Apple stock, don't care much for Toy Story. I have an Apple mini, but used it only for porting D to it. But I enjoy real life rags-to-riches stories, and Jobs is one of them. > If a person cannot be empathetic and kind to others around them, in my estimation, they have failed at their purpose here on earth. When Jobs passed, he left behind a lot of people who loved him (I'm not talking about fanboys, but people who were his friends and family.) I recently attended the memorial of a close friend who died. Nearly a hundred people showed up, all trading stories about him. He left behind quite a lot of people who loved him, too.
mjcohen 5y ago
But the events and background would not be significant unless the events happened.

by dagw 5y ago

WalterBright 5y ago

You have a point, but my meaning is I will not adversely judge his accomplishments by listing his failures in other aspects of his life. How Steve Jobs treated his daughter, for example, is between him and his family. Diminishing his business accomplishments because of that is simply small-minded.

saiya-jin 5y ago
That's your perspective, which is fine and dandy but that's not everyone's view. I for a change am interested in whole picture, not just nit-picking parts of humans to idolize and glorify them. If I should respect someone's opinion or success in life, well that respect needs to come from someplace. And in my eyes its just harder to earn it compared to your viewpoint - excellence in 1 singular aspect isn't cutting it. There are properly awesome people out there through and through, in private and public alike, and those deserve my full respect. The others, not so much.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  > There are properly awesome people out there through and through, in private and public alike, and those deserve my full respect. Or they've just managed to successfully hide their feet of clay, or you've just decided that you like their awesomeness so much you're going to overlook their peccadilloes. Name any accomplished person, and you'll find haters.
edmundsauto 5y ago
It kind of sounds like you’re prioritizing how his work benefitted you, over a judgement of whether he was a good person. That’s reasonable to me, although I disagree! Huge impacts are complicated, but being a good person is something I expect of everyone. If a person cannot be empathetic and kind to others around them, in my estimation, they have failed at their purpose here on earth.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  > It kind of sounds like you’re prioritizing how his work benefitted you Jobs hasn't benefited me much in any significant way. I've never been an Apple fanboy, never worked for Apple, never got rich off Apple stock, don't care much for Toy Story. I have an Apple mini, but used it only for porting D to it. But I enjoy real life rags-to-riches stories, and Jobs is one of them. > If a person cannot be empathetic and kind to others around them, in my estimation, they have failed at their purpose here on earth. When Jobs passed, he left behind a lot of people who loved him (I'm not talking about fanboys, but people who were his friends and family.) I recently attended the memorial of a close friend who died. Nearly a hundred people showed up, all trading stories about him. He left behind quite a lot of people who loved him, too.

mjcohen 5y ago

But the events and background would not be significant unless the events happened.