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> That would not have happened if he hadn't spent most of his time and money there for the past 20 years. It would have happened just like that, only the perso
by JumpinJack_Cash 4y ago
> That would not have happened if he hadn't spent most of his time and money there for the past 20 years.
It would have happened just like that, only the person doing the signing off (because that's what CEO do, they sign off stuff built by others) on those projects would have been called say "Mlon Eusk" a Swedish entrepreneur who moved to California, and right now you'd be worshipping him instead.
It's the same for everything, if Albert Einstein didn't come up with relativity it would have been Elbert Ainstain .
It's really bizzarre how any knowledge of statistics goes out of the window when disucussing people, celebrities and historical figures.
I guess it's a protection mechanism of the human brain so each and everyone of us can still believe that everyone could be a Powerball winner as long as they work hard enough or want it bad enough, whereas in reality it's just the luck of the draw, only the draw is only visible by people who manage to override that protection mechanism in their brain and look at reality as it is.
- memish 4y agoYou don't luck into the theory of relativity or into building a rocket company. Both took serious effort way beyond the norm combined with a higher than average IQ and determination, those parts you can attribute to luck of birth. They shouldn't be worshiped. No, but encouraged and recognized, yes. Einstein could have just done his 9-5 at the patent office. Elon could be hanging out on a yacht.
- JumpinJack_Cash 4y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias And specifically: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias#Highly_competitive_careers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivorship_bias#Highly_compe...
- Apocryphon 4y agoI don't think those are achievements you attain through luck, but any field involves many studying it. Jules Henri Poincaré and Hendrik Lorentz were so involved with the effort that some have accused Einstein of plagiarizing their work. While that is certainly of dubious claim, it illustrates that he was far from alone in his field. https://www.straightdope.com/21343699/was-einstein-a-plagiarist https://www.straightdope.com/21343699/was-einstein-a-plagiar... As far as building a rocket company goes, yes, SpaceX has certainly achieved much, not least with reusable rockets. But again, Musk is hardly the only one in that space. Richard Branson has been at it since 2004, for instance, and at this point it's very trendy. Even Steve Wozniak started one.