6 ms·

Well put. His accomplishments are long and impressive but it seems social media has distracted, if not corrupted his line of sight.

whymauri 4y ago
Literally digital opium. I say as I type into a seperate social network. It's hard to escape, honestly...
- dont__panic 4y ago
  Lots of civilizations have struggled with drug problems in the past. The Americas, China, India all had lots of problems with opium addictions during colonial times, IIRC. And of course the USA post-WWII has dealt with a slew of drug problems, from cocaine heroin to meth. How have past civilizations broken free from the yoke of drug addiction? Maybe we can take some cues from the past.
  - iamcurious 4y ago
    Seeing how smoking cigarettes went from being popular to being rare in a lots of places I would say: 1 - make it uncool (no more james bond smoking in cinemas, packaging that reminds of diseases) 2 - make it expensive (tax the hell out of it) 3 - make it a hassle (no smoking in closed spaces, airplanes, universities etc) The thing is, both weed and social networks became popular right about when smoking stopped being popular. So maybe there is an extra step, a perverse one: 4 - provide a substitute addiction.
    - achenet 4y ago
      I like to think that for step 4, you can provide a healthy substitute. Personally, the thing that got me to quit smoking weed was getting really into brazilian jiu-jitsu. It may be possible to generalize this. Besides that, I really like your post, the 1st 3 points are solid. ^_^
    - meatsauce 4y ago
      Sin tax is fascism. I don't need you squeezing me because you THINK you know what's best for me. It is a slippery slope. What's next? No more cup cakes because sugar gives you diabetes? How about no more hip hop music because it largely celebrates violence and influences kids to join violent gangs? No more cars because AOC might whine with another 24 tweet wall of bar-stool wisdom?
      - generj 4y ago
        If it is a slippery slope, why have sin taxes have been limited to nicotine and alcohol despite existing for literally centuries? Internalizing externalities is one of the primary functions of government. I’m incredibly happy I rarely have to smell cigarette smoke.
        assttoasstmgr 4y ago
        Many countries and some (mostly left-run) cities in the US have implemented a sugary drink tax: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugary_drink_tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugary_drink_tax
  - che_shirecat 4y ago
    that's the thing, they don't break free without some exogenous factor that forces a total reckoning. e.g. China with opium, getting humiliated by western powers in the opium wars. this sort of thing always marks the end of a declining empire. even after the opium wars, it took a century before resurgence. stuff like trafficking drugs in China now are punishable by death, they've learned their lesson for sure.
tmp_anon_22 4y ago
> His accomplishments are long and impressive What are Elon Musks accomplishments? His ability to get financing? Hiring the right people to push the success of SpaceX and Tesla? His ability to inflate the stock price of his company (above that of a historic bull market). This isn't a cynical comment, I'm honestly trying to understand his actual accomplishments other then the ancillary praise one gets in America just for getting rich(er).
- Qub3d 4y ago
  > Hiring the right people to push the success of SpaceX and Tesla? Probably this. Its not easy to do. I think there is also something to be said about the singularity of vision Musk brought to these companies. Its easy to dismiss (and I haven't been a fan of him much since the whole Thailand incident) but its one of those annoying aspects that eludes the desire of developers' (i.e. the average reader of this site) desire to quantify everything. It makes me think of the story of Steve Jobs after his return to Apple, where he called a meeting of team leads, made a quadrant on a white board with the edges labeled "desktop" and "portable" on the vertical, "consumer" and "professional" on the horizontal, and demanded the company only produce 1 product to fill each of the four squares, eliminating the rest.
  - tmp_anon_22 4y ago
    > Hiring the right people to push the success of SpaceX and Tesla? I'm obviously not a fan but I agree he likely deserves a lot of credit for this. But at the same time, don't a lot of people participate in hiring decisions throughout a company? The board? Other executives? It irks me that Musk should get all the credit of what is undeniably a team effort.
    - thraway11 4y ago
      Today, yes probably a lot of people participate in hiring decisions. But in 2002, not so much. If you're actually curious there is a good book on SpaceX early days. Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/53402132-liftoff https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/53402132-liftoff If you read the book I think you'll agree, desperate is the correct word in the title of that book and Elon did plenty. I still can't believe they're landing rockets backwards. When I took control systems it was the canonical example of an unstable system. Guess those books need updating. :)
AceJohnny2 4y ago
> it seems social media has distracted, if not corrupted his line of sight Social media is the effect, not cause, of his bad behavior. He was known to be an impulsive bully long before he ranted on Twitter.
- meatsauce 4y ago
  He's a hard boss for sure. That's why he is successful. He doesn't take your shit and pushes you to do your job at its maximum potential. Of course, you don't need to work there, McDonalds' is always hiring and I hear they will be nice to you.
  - TrumpRapedWomen 4y ago
    [dead]
  - scollet 4y ago
    No he's just a cunt and you are gullible.
meatsauce 4y ago
Or, maybe, and hear me out; you just don't like what he has to say, which in the real world, means absolutely nothing to 99.999% of the planet.
- testbjjl 4y ago
  > you just don't like what he has to say, which in the real world, means absolutely nothing to 99.999% of the planet. Yes, but could mean a lot to the talent pool discussed in the open letter, in the face of growing competition to SpaceX and Tesla, which ultimately will impact the product, revenues and value. Seems shortsighted or almost as if he’s done working on hard problems.
  - _Tev 4y ago
    > growing competition to SpaceX Umm no. Just no. Ignore media hype and look at the numbers - SpaceX is arguably closer to monopoly in all areas of its business than ever before.

whymauri 4y ago

Literally digital opium. I say as I type into a seperate social network. It's hard to escape, honestly...

dont__panic 4y ago
Lots of civilizations have struggled with drug problems in the past. The Americas, China, India all had lots of problems with opium addictions during colonial times, IIRC. And of course the USA post-WWII has dealt with a slew of drug problems, from cocaine heroin to meth. How have past civilizations broken free from the yoke of drug addiction? Maybe we can take some cues from the past.
- iamcurious 4y ago
  Seeing how smoking cigarettes went from being popular to being rare in a lots of places I would say: 1 - make it uncool (no more james bond smoking in cinemas, packaging that reminds of diseases) 2 - make it expensive (tax the hell out of it) 3 - make it a hassle (no smoking in closed spaces, airplanes, universities etc) The thing is, both weed and social networks became popular right about when smoking stopped being popular. So maybe there is an extra step, a perverse one: 4 - provide a substitute addiction.
  - achenet 4y ago
    I like to think that for step 4, you can provide a healthy substitute. Personally, the thing that got me to quit smoking weed was getting really into brazilian jiu-jitsu. It may be possible to generalize this. Besides that, I really like your post, the 1st 3 points are solid. ^_^
  - meatsauce 4y ago
    Sin tax is fascism. I don't need you squeezing me because you THINK you know what's best for me. It is a slippery slope. What's next? No more cup cakes because sugar gives you diabetes? How about no more hip hop music because it largely celebrates violence and influences kids to join violent gangs? No more cars because AOC might whine with another 24 tweet wall of bar-stool wisdom?
    - generj 4y ago
      If it is a slippery slope, why have sin taxes have been limited to nicotine and alcohol despite existing for literally centuries? Internalizing externalities is one of the primary functions of government. I’m incredibly happy I rarely have to smell cigarette smoke.
      - assttoasstmgr 4y ago
        Many countries and some (mostly left-run) cities in the US have implemented a sugary drink tax: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugary_drink_tax https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugary_drink_tax
- che_shirecat 4y ago
  that's the thing, they don't break free without some exogenous factor that forces a total reckoning. e.g. China with opium, getting humiliated by western powers in the opium wars. this sort of thing always marks the end of a declining empire. even after the opium wars, it took a century before resurgence. stuff like trafficking drugs in China now are punishable by death, they've learned their lesson for sure.

tmp_anon_22 4y ago

> His accomplishments are long and impressive What are Elon Musks accomplishments? His ability to get financing? Hiring the right people to push the success of SpaceX and Tesla? His ability to inflate the stock price of his company (above that of a historic bull market). This isn't a cynical comment, I'm honestly trying to understand his actual accomplishments other then the ancillary praise one gets in America just for getting rich(er).

Qub3d 4y ago
> Hiring the right people to push the success of SpaceX and Tesla? Probably this. Its not easy to do. I think there is also something to be said about the singularity of vision Musk brought to these companies. Its easy to dismiss (and I haven't been a fan of him much since the whole Thailand incident) but its one of those annoying aspects that eludes the desire of developers' (i.e. the average reader of this site) desire to quantify everything. It makes me think of the story of Steve Jobs after his return to Apple, where he called a meeting of team leads, made a quadrant on a white board with the edges labeled "desktop" and "portable" on the vertical, "consumer" and "professional" on the horizontal, and demanded the company only produce 1 product to fill each of the four squares, eliminating the rest.
- tmp_anon_22 4y ago
  > Hiring the right people to push the success of SpaceX and Tesla? I'm obviously not a fan but I agree he likely deserves a lot of credit for this. But at the same time, don't a lot of people participate in hiring decisions throughout a company? The board? Other executives? It irks me that Musk should get all the credit of what is undeniably a team effort.
  - thraway11 4y ago
    Today, yes probably a lot of people participate in hiring decisions. But in 2002, not so much. If you're actually curious there is a good book on SpaceX early days. Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/53402132-liftoff https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/53402132-liftoff If you read the book I think you'll agree, desperate is the correct word in the title of that book and Elon did plenty. I still can't believe they're landing rockets backwards. When I took control systems it was the canonical example of an unstable system. Guess those books need updating. :)

AceJohnny2 4y ago

> it seems social media has distracted, if not corrupted his line of sight Social media is the effect, not cause, of his bad behavior. He was known to be an impulsive bully long before he ranted on Twitter.

meatsauce 4y ago
He's a hard boss for sure. That's why he is successful. He doesn't take your shit and pushes you to do your job at its maximum potential. Of course, you don't need to work there, McDonalds' is always hiring and I hear they will be nice to you.
- TrumpRapedWomen 4y ago
  [dead]
- scollet 4y ago
  No he's just a cunt and you are gullible.

meatsauce 4y ago

Or, maybe, and hear me out; you just don't like what he has to say, which in the real world, means absolutely nothing to 99.999% of the planet.

testbjjl 4y ago
> you just don't like what he has to say, which in the real world, means absolutely nothing to 99.999% of the planet. Yes, but could mean a lot to the talent pool discussed in the open letter, in the face of growing competition to SpaceX and Tesla, which ultimately will impact the product, revenues and value. Seems shortsighted or almost as if he’s done working on hard problems.
- _Tev 4y ago
  > growing competition to SpaceX Umm no. Just no. Ignore media hype and look at the numbers - SpaceX is arguably closer to monopoly in all areas of its business than ever before.