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Why is this comment noteworthy? He is a smart guy irrespective of whomsoever makes this observation.

belter 3y ago
You would not find worth of self-reflection, if an indicted war criminal would be publicly praising you? "Elon Musk spoke with Vladimir Putin directly, Pentagon official says" - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/elon-musk-putin-colin-kahl-pentagon-ukraine-starlink-b2397109.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/elon-musk-pu... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_indicted_in_the_International_Criminal_Court https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_indicted_in_the... "CC judges issue arrest warrants against Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova" - https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-ukraine-icc-judges-issue-arrest-warrants-against-vladimir-vladimirovich-putin-and https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-ukraine-icc-judges-is...
- deleted 3y ago
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- somenameforme 3y ago
  In the [excellent] interview with Putin, Putin also called many US Presidents quite smart. Are you now also quite dubious of them, because of literally the exact same sort of "praise"? Calling it praise is not even rational - it is an observation. One may call Musk many things, but denying he's both quite intelligent and willful would be absurd.
  - belter 3y ago
    But it did not say it only in the interview.It seems Putin the KGB man, can't stop praising Musk. For example back in Sep: "Russia’s Putin praises Elon Musk as an ‘outstanding person’ and ‘talented businessman’" - https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/12/russias-vladimir-putin-praises-elon-musk-as-an-outstanding-person.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/12/russias-vladimir-putin-prais...
  - actionfromafar 3y ago
    In what way is the interview excellent?
    - somenameforme 3y ago
      It was not like an interview with a typical politician, which is perhaps not a surprise, but interesting nonetheless. He was happy to acknowledge when he didn't know things, gave numerous interesting insights in conversations he has had with other world leaders - while actively avoiding betraying their trust of confidence. He also displayed a rather encyclopedic knowledge of history which I found fascinating as a history buff myself. In fact most of the section about Ukraine was largely a lengthy history lesson, including a reasonable overview of how people like Bandera came to be national heroes in Ukraine. I suppose seeing a world leader who actually seems intelligent and "real" was just something novel. The political personality all Western politicians use now a days is something I find irritating. Giving focus tested answers, or no answers at all, while speaking endlessly nonetheless. Even on topics he clearly found irritating, he didn't try to spin things. E.g. - on the Wallstreet Journal guy, he simply focused on the fact that he broke Russian law, and wanted to trade him for a Russian citizen. Basically it felt much more like a diplomat speaking to another diplomat instead of a politician trying to give you the answers he thinks you want to hear, regardless of what he actually thinks.
      - actionfromafar 3y ago
        It doesn't sound like an interview at all, at least not a hard hitting interview with tough questions. More like a promotional tour for a new book or something.
        somenameforme 3y ago
        Well it wasn't a "trap" interview, if that's what you mean. It also wasn't a "pr tour" type interview of the sort we have repeatedly given Zelensky. I think the thing it reminded me most of was the old school days of interviews with people like Larry King.
- itishappy 3y ago
  Not really. Praise is free and regardless how you feel about him, Elon is one of the world's most successful businessmen. He's done things worthy of praise. (He's also done things worthy of scorn.) Are the reasons for praise problematic? What are they, and why? Here's a few other quotes by Vlad that contain praise: > It's a historical phenomenon that in 250 years, a nation could move from a colony into the most prosperous nation of the world and the leader of the world. It is indeed an achievement, a tribute to the talent of the American nation, the American people and an optimal political and economic system. He's praising all of America! Worthy of self-reflection? > History proves that all dictatorships, all authoritarian forms of government are transient. Only democratic systems are not transient. Whatever the shortcomings, mankind has not devised anything superior. Democracy itself has been praised by a war criminal! What should we do with this knowledge?
  - belter 3y ago
    Evil doesn't hand out gold stars for attendance. When a war criminal beams a spotlight of praise onto someone, it's not because they're dazzled by their moral compass; it's more like they see a bit of themselves, or rather, something exploitable that aligns with their nefarious schemes. It’s the dark mirror of endorsement—'I like how you think; it reminds me of, well, me.' It's not about falling for a logical fallacy; it's about recognizing the dance floor where these accolades are given. Evil's endorsements don't come from a place of benign admiration but a strategic calculation of how such qualities or actions serve their agenda. To ignore the context and implications of such praise is not only ingenuous but dangerously naïve.
- amarant 3y ago
  No. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. This is the argument from authority fallacy but in reverse. Just because a idiotic war criminal praises someone does not mean that person is bad. Neither is it an indication that person is good. You should not pay attention to idiots. If you always do the opposite of idiots, you're letting idiots control you, and what does that make you?
toss1 3y ago
Because Putin's statements are not mere random utterances of 'fun facts'. How many times has Putin said 'Garry Kasparov is a smart guy'? (Kasparov is a former world chess champion, Russian Presidential Candidate, and now works on Renew Democracy Initiative, a pro-democracy NGO, which opposes spread of autocracy). Or, for that matter, the same abt Navalny or any of his other opponents ? Reductionist thinking is convenient, but far too often misleading.

You would not find worth of self-reflection, if an indicted war criminal would be publicly praising you? "Elon Musk spoke with Vladimir Putin directly, Pentagon official says" - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/elon-musk-putin-colin-kahl-pentagon-ukraine-starlink-b2397109.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/elon-musk-pu... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_indicted_in_the_International_Criminal_Court https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_indicted_in_the... "CC judges issue arrest warrants against Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova" - https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-ukraine-icc-judges-issue-arrest-warrants-against-vladimir-vladimirovich-putin-and https://www.icc-cpi.int/news/situation-ukraine-icc-judges-is...

deleted 3y ago
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somenameforme 3y ago
In the [excellent] interview with Putin, Putin also called many US Presidents quite smart. Are you now also quite dubious of them, because of literally the exact same sort of "praise"? Calling it praise is not even rational - it is an observation. One may call Musk many things, but denying he's both quite intelligent and willful would be absurd.
- belter 3y ago
  But it did not say it only in the interview.It seems Putin the KGB man, can't stop praising Musk. For example back in Sep: "Russia’s Putin praises Elon Musk as an ‘outstanding person’ and ‘talented businessman’" - https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/12/russias-vladimir-putin-praises-elon-musk-as-an-outstanding-person.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/12/russias-vladimir-putin-prais...
- actionfromafar 3y ago
  In what way is the interview excellent?
  - somenameforme 3y ago
    It was not like an interview with a typical politician, which is perhaps not a surprise, but interesting nonetheless. He was happy to acknowledge when he didn't know things, gave numerous interesting insights in conversations he has had with other world leaders - while actively avoiding betraying their trust of confidence. He also displayed a rather encyclopedic knowledge of history which I found fascinating as a history buff myself. In fact most of the section about Ukraine was largely a lengthy history lesson, including a reasonable overview of how people like Bandera came to be national heroes in Ukraine. I suppose seeing a world leader who actually seems intelligent and "real" was just something novel. The political personality all Western politicians use now a days is something I find irritating. Giving focus tested answers, or no answers at all, while speaking endlessly nonetheless. Even on topics he clearly found irritating, he didn't try to spin things. E.g. - on the Wallstreet Journal guy, he simply focused on the fact that he broke Russian law, and wanted to trade him for a Russian citizen. Basically it felt much more like a diplomat speaking to another diplomat instead of a politician trying to give you the answers he thinks you want to hear, regardless of what he actually thinks.
    - actionfromafar 3y ago
      It doesn't sound like an interview at all, at least not a hard hitting interview with tough questions. More like a promotional tour for a new book or something.
      - somenameforme 3y ago
        Well it wasn't a "trap" interview, if that's what you mean. It also wasn't a "pr tour" type interview of the sort we have repeatedly given Zelensky. I think the thing it reminded me most of was the old school days of interviews with people like Larry King.
itishappy 3y ago
Not really. Praise is free and regardless how you feel about him, Elon is one of the world's most successful businessmen. He's done things worthy of praise. (He's also done things worthy of scorn.) Are the reasons for praise problematic? What are they, and why? Here's a few other quotes by Vlad that contain praise: > It's a historical phenomenon that in 250 years, a nation could move from a colony into the most prosperous nation of the world and the leader of the world. It is indeed an achievement, a tribute to the talent of the American nation, the American people and an optimal political and economic system. He's praising all of America! Worthy of self-reflection? > History proves that all dictatorships, all authoritarian forms of government are transient. Only democratic systems are not transient. Whatever the shortcomings, mankind has not devised anything superior. Democracy itself has been praised by a war criminal! What should we do with this knowledge?
- belter 3y ago
  Evil doesn't hand out gold stars for attendance. When a war criminal beams a spotlight of praise onto someone, it's not because they're dazzled by their moral compass; it's more like they see a bit of themselves, or rather, something exploitable that aligns with their nefarious schemes. It’s the dark mirror of endorsement—'I like how you think; it reminds me of, well, me.' It's not about falling for a logical fallacy; it's about recognizing the dance floor where these accolades are given. Evil's endorsements don't come from a place of benign admiration but a strategic calculation of how such qualities or actions serve their agenda. To ignore the context and implications of such praise is not only ingenuous but dangerously naïve.
amarant 3y ago
No. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. This is the argument from authority fallacy but in reverse. Just because a idiotic war criminal praises someone does not mean that person is bad. Neither is it an indication that person is good. You should not pay attention to idiots. If you always do the opposite of idiots, you're letting idiots control you, and what does that make you?

toss1 3y ago

Because Putin's statements are not mere random utterances of 'fun facts'. How many times has Putin said 'Garry Kasparov is a smart guy'? (Kasparov is a former world chess champion, Russian Presidential Candidate, and now works on Renew Democracy Initiative, a pro-democracy NGO, which opposes spread of autocracy). Or, for that matter, the same abt Navalny or any of his other opponents ? Reductionist thinking is convenient, but far too often misleading.