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It's not an autobiography. Whatever is written to have been said here comes from multiple sources. That also means that whatever isn't written as having been sa
by busterarm 3y ago
It's not an autobiography. Whatever is written to have been said here comes from multiple sources. That also means that whatever isn't written as having been said we know was not said.
- EA-3167 3y agoI have a lot of skepticism when it comes to biographers of living people, compromises are necessarily going to be made for the sake of access.
- busterarm 3y agoWhat purpose is served by grossly misrepresenting the number of servers in a datacenter and who said what about their status with the very real risk that they might sue you? Elon is the kind of deep-pocketed person that lawyers take cases on pro-bono against.
- saghm 3y agoThis is a ludicrous assertion. What if he said something to only one person in privacy, and there literally aren't multiple sources other than him (and the other party to the conversation might have incentive not to divulge anything he didn't approve of)? Not being an autobiography doesn't somehow imply that we know every single thing he's ever said.
- busterarm 3y agoYou're talking about a hypothetical scenario that doesn't even match the conversation described. The recounted conversation involved multiple individuals, many of whom have an adversarial relationship with the subject and would be inclined to sue. Misrepresentations of facts could have meaningful reputational damage. If you're the author you do not risk going to publication without verification that the gist of the conversation is accurate. Your editor literally will not let you. The publisher's reputation is on the line too.