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Sure. This is a reasonable analogy. I simply think that he started from an a priori belief that a) he is brilliant, and therefore b) ideas he comes up with are

Sure. This is a reasonable analogy. I simply think that he started from an a priori belief that a) he is brilliant, and therefore b) ideas he comes up with are similarly brilliant, thus c) this idea is brilliant. It wasn't. That said, I don't think it should matter whether or not he came into this plan with an intent to defraud or if he mistakenly thought this was a foolproof investment strategy. The man is guilty as all hell and ought to face consequences for the outcome regardless of intent. I just think it's amazing to watch him continually try and explain how brilliant and complicated this idea was and how a few small mistakes brought him down while it's actually pretty simple to understand at a high level what happened and this outcome was virtually guaranteed from the start.

lazide 4y ago
You see the same thing with most con-men (and women) when someone finally pulls back the curtain. Most won’t admit they were doing anything wrong even once they are in prison. Near as I can tell, it’s the rationalizing part of the mind trying to protect them by trying to convince themselves and everyone else they are actually not bad. It’s why it is so important to ignore what people say, and look at what they are doing and the results of their actions over time.
nwienert 4y ago
I have to add a preface of this is my opinion, but - I think it's impossible he didn't know he was committing fraud. Now he's playing dumb, but I've know at least two people in situations like this. One was doing super risky real estate stuff which blew up in a surprisingly similar way - maniacal plans for world domination, mansions, lots of cocaine and adderall, sex with the co-workers, tons of leveraging, the whole thing. He was absolutely thrilled by the schemes and knew they were illegal. Ways to increase and manipulate the leverage was the daily conversation! I know it's just an example, but this is all SBF would be doing all day besides press - talking about the funds and what they're doing with them. People imagine CEO's as being insanely busy and it's true, but there wouldn't be a day that passed that he wouldn't be making decisions with the finances - where they're going, what to do, etc. He's lying about dashboards and not knowing. Smart sociopaths will convince even themselves it didn't happen when caught. Don't buy it.

lazide 4y ago

You see the same thing with most con-men (and women) when someone finally pulls back the curtain. Most won’t admit they were doing anything wrong even once they are in prison. Near as I can tell, it’s the rationalizing part of the mind trying to protect them by trying to convince themselves and everyone else they are actually not bad. It’s why it is so important to ignore what people say, and look at what they are doing and the results of their actions over time.

nwienert 4y ago

I have to add a preface of this is my opinion, but - I think it's impossible he didn't know he was committing fraud. Now he's playing dumb, but I've know at least two people in situations like this. One was doing super risky real estate stuff which blew up in a surprisingly similar way - maniacal plans for world domination, mansions, lots of cocaine and adderall, sex with the co-workers, tons of leveraging, the whole thing. He was absolutely thrilled by the schemes and knew they were illegal. Ways to increase and manipulate the leverage was the daily conversation! I know it's just an example, but this is all SBF would be doing all day besides press - talking about the funds and what they're doing with them. People imagine CEO's as being insanely busy and it's true, but there wouldn't be a day that passed that he wouldn't be making decisions with the finances - where they're going, what to do, etc. He's lying about dashboards and not knowing. Smart sociopaths will convince even themselves it didn't happen when caught. Don't buy it.