4 ms·

Peter Thiel became the most feared man in Silicon Valley

33 points by graderjs 5y ago

rackjack 5y ago
Diversity win! Gay man smashes effeminate stereotypes by being one of the most ruthless investors in Silicon Valley /s I'll note also that I thought the article was pretty good. I had never heard of him before this. He seems to be an interesting character.
- cinntaile 5y ago
  I can recommend the podcast episode between Peter Thiel and Eric Weinstein if you want to find out more about him. Eric works for Peter so I guess he asked him for help in jumpststarting his podcast.
  - gooseus 5y ago
    I remember thinking the same thing when I listened to that podcast, but having seen more and more where Weinsten's head is at and some more on Thiel has made the pair appear more sinister together than they would separately. Weinstein explains how keenly aware he is of public perception and concepts like 'kayfabe', which when you combine it with some concepts from Thiel's favorite book "Things Hidden Since the Beginning of the World" makes me believe that they are in the meglomaniacal business of taking over the world through a combination of manipulating capital and people. I personally think that Weinstein's Portal podcast combined with his Geometric Unity craziness was a bald-faced attempt to build a sci-fi personality cult, a la L Ron Hubbard.
    - cinntaile 5y ago
      I also noticed Eric's podcast episodes got more unhinged as time went by. I thought it was a little weird when he tried to launch his son as well. There are some good episodes in there though.
_Microft 5y ago
I might be out of the loop: what's up with all these articles on him appearing here lately?
- complianceguy 5y ago
  There's a new book out about him. These articles are all excerpting it.
  - pge 5y ago
    a previous book, Ryan Holaday’s “Conspiracy”, is also a really fascinating book about Peter Thiel and his take down of Gawker (a brilliantly executed multiyear plan).
    - newacct583 5y ago
      So weird that some attempts to silence speech are outrageous overreaches of toxic cancel culture, but others are "brilliantly executed multiyear plans".
      - throwaway1777 5y ago
        It’s almost like motives and context have meaning
      - mandmandam 5y ago
        And some are anathema to speak of even after exposure. It's almost like we live in a world where the media exists to serve the business interests of billionaires.
      - alentist 5y ago
        Why is it weird? What are you equating publishing a private sex tape with?
        mrtksn 5y ago
cblconfederate 5y ago
Wow didn't expect the "green aliens set the earth on fire" opening
reilly3000 5y ago
I wonder how much that article cost him. NYPost has been getting more affordable these days.
ykevinator3 5y ago
He is a guy who needs a hug
gmays 5y ago
For context, this article is about a new book, 'The Contrarian' about Thiel (I haven't read the book). I've long been a fan of Peter Thiel's thinking. If you're unfamiliar, this talk from YC's Startup School 2014 covering the ideas from Zero to One is excellent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fx5Q8xGU8k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fx5Q8xGU8k But back the book this article is based on, I found this review of the book on Amazon quite insightful: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3PSWXNTHIHYNB/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3PSWXNTHIHYNB/ I've never met Peter Thiel, don't know much about him personally, and don't agree with everything he says and does, but he's a complex and interesting character that I've learned a lot from over the years. I think we all can.

33 points by graderjs 5y ago

Diversity win! Gay man smashes effeminate stereotypes by being one of the most ruthless investors in Silicon Valley /s I'll note also that I thought the article was pretty good. I had never heard of him before this. He seems to be an interesting character.

cinntaile 5y ago
I can recommend the podcast episode between Peter Thiel and Eric Weinstein if you want to find out more about him. Eric works for Peter so I guess he asked him for help in jumpststarting his podcast.
- gooseus 5y ago
  I remember thinking the same thing when I listened to that podcast, but having seen more and more where Weinsten's head is at and some more on Thiel has made the pair appear more sinister together than they would separately. Weinstein explains how keenly aware he is of public perception and concepts like 'kayfabe', which when you combine it with some concepts from Thiel's favorite book "Things Hidden Since the Beginning of the World" makes me believe that they are in the meglomaniacal business of taking over the world through a combination of manipulating capital and people. I personally think that Weinstein's Portal podcast combined with his Geometric Unity craziness was a bald-faced attempt to build a sci-fi personality cult, a la L Ron Hubbard.
  - cinntaile 5y ago
    I also noticed Eric's podcast episodes got more unhinged as time went by. I thought it was a little weird when he tried to launch his son as well. There are some good episodes in there though.

_Microft 5y ago

I might be out of the loop: what's up with all these articles on him appearing here lately?

complianceguy 5y ago
There's a new book out about him. These articles are all excerpting it.
- pge 5y ago
  a previous book, Ryan Holaday’s “Conspiracy”, is also a really fascinating book about Peter Thiel and his take down of Gawker (a brilliantly executed multiyear plan).
  - newacct583 5y ago
    So weird that some attempts to silence speech are outrageous overreaches of toxic cancel culture, but others are "brilliantly executed multiyear plans".
    - throwaway1777 5y ago
      It’s almost like motives and context have meaning
    - mandmandam 5y ago
      And some are anathema to speak of even after exposure. It's almost like we live in a world where the media exists to serve the business interests of billionaires.
    - alentist 5y ago
      Why is it weird? What are you equating publishing a private sex tape with?
      - mrtksn 5y ago

cblconfederate 5y ago

Wow didn't expect the "green aliens set the earth on fire" opening

reilly3000 5y ago

I wonder how much that article cost him. NYPost has been getting more affordable these days.

ykevinator3 5y ago

He is a guy who needs a hug

gmays 5y ago

For context, this article is about a new book, 'The Contrarian' about Thiel (I haven't read the book). I've long been a fan of Peter Thiel's thinking. If you're unfamiliar, this talk from YC's Startup School 2014 covering the ideas from Zero to One is excellent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fx5Q8xGU8k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Fx5Q8xGU8k But back the book this article is based on, I found this review of the book on Amazon quite insightful: https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3PSWXNTHIHYNB/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-reviews/R3PSWXNTHIHYNB/ I've never met Peter Thiel, don't know much about him personally, and don't agree with everything he says and does, but he's a complex and interesting character that I've learned a lot from over the years. I think we all can.