4 ms·

it's funny how threads about sbf, holmes and this guy, even musk, all have in common that readers here easily agree on them being stupid or idiots which is comp

it's funny how threads about sbf, holmes and this guy, even musk, all have in common that readers here easily agree on them being stupid or idiots which is completely nonsensical. they are all with certainty among the hn crowd intellectually deeply in the top 10% or so. you don't found a multi billion dollar corporation if you're stupid or rather not exceptionally smart. just one example of unhealthy lack of self reflection and delusion on here which i find rather tiring.

pjc50 3y ago
I'm not sure the argument is for "stupid" per se, but more a question of "delusion or crime?" If you make a set of claims and forward-looking statements that it's unlikely to be possible to deliver, get a lot of money on that basis, and then fail to deliver, was that just incredible over-optimism ("stupidity") or intentional fraud? In the case of SBF and Holmes it was unambiguously proven-in-court fraud. WeWork seems to have escaped that, although a lot of the deals make Adam's counterparties look especially stupid. Such as Softbank, who've lost a huge amount of money.
notahacker 3y ago
The obvious response to your middlebrow "if you're so smart, why didn't you make as much money as them?" dismissal is "if they're so smart, why are two of them in jail?" (ironically Neumann probably listened more to his lawyers than SBF because he wasn't such a high IQ nerd...). You can be intellectual and make decisions which are fucking stupid (in this case that applies more to the bagholders), just like you can be intellectual without the charisma, lack of scruples, connections or even ambition to pull off a multi-billion dollar real estate scam.
achenet 3y ago
there's intelligence and wisdom. To use a car metaphor - there's how fast your car can go, and what direction you're driving it in. And often the latter beats the former.

pjc50 3y ago

I'm not sure the argument is for "stupid" per se, but more a question of "delusion or crime?" If you make a set of claims and forward-looking statements that it's unlikely to be possible to deliver, get a lot of money on that basis, and then fail to deliver, was that just incredible over-optimism ("stupidity") or intentional fraud? In the case of SBF and Holmes it was unambiguously proven-in-court fraud. WeWork seems to have escaped that, although a lot of the deals make Adam's counterparties look especially stupid. Such as Softbank, who've lost a huge amount of money.

notahacker 3y ago

The obvious response to your middlebrow "if you're so smart, why didn't you make as much money as them?" dismissal is "if they're so smart, why are two of them in jail?" (ironically Neumann probably listened more to his lawyers than SBF because he wasn't such a high IQ nerd...). You can be intellectual and make decisions which are fucking stupid (in this case that applies more to the bagholders), just like you can be intellectual without the charisma, lack of scruples, connections or even ambition to pull off a multi-billion dollar real estate scam.

achenet 3y ago

there's intelligence and wisdom. To use a car metaphor - there's how fast your car can go, and what direction you're driving it in. And often the latter beats the former.