4 ms·

It's unlikely he changed, he just stepped away from business management and so doesn't need to don that cap any longer. Personality compartmentalization is a f

It's unlikely he changed, he just stepped away from business management and so doesn't need to don that cap any longer. Personality compartmentalization is a fascinating thing.

bugglebeetle 2y ago
He hasn’t changed at all. He pulled the exact same bullshit with opposing efforts to waive intellectual property rights for vaccines during the pandemic, using Gates Foundation money and influence to block anyone who attempted. If anything, he’s even more of a monster, now playing his malevolent games in the domain of global public health.
- bayindirh 2y ago
  While portraying a "retired and calmed down rich man" with his blog posts and "books of the year" lists. Ugly.
  - WillAdams 2y ago
    For a look at what his non-retired, non-calm management style was like see: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2006/06/16/my-first-billg-review/ https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2006/06/16/my-first-billg-rev...
    - bayindirh 2y ago
      That's a good tale, but I also read "The Halloween Documents", so that's more than enough knowledge about that guy's ethics. Ah, and the "hidden Microsoft Trademark" in every BASIC image. I think Apple guys found and nullified in theirs, and pissed off Bill a little.
eesmith 2y ago
The billions Gates has dropped on "education reform", including support for Common Core, is the sort of thing a rich ass convinced of the rightness of his techno-managerial views would do.
- mmastrac 2y ago
  Is Common Core really that bad? It seems to be yet another globalist boogeyman for the online ultra-independent-personality types like "15 minute cities" and similar quips.
  - eesmith 2y ago
    It's pointless numbers which don't provide any insight into a student's learning while on the school level are used to punish schools rather than provide more support. Since it isn't meaningful to learning, students won't actually care about the test unless there are severe consequences, like taking away the ability to graduate, for not doing well. Since it's high-stakes for the school as well, they develop lesson plans around teaching for the test (eg, taking time away from subjects which aren't tested), and setting up school rally events to add emotional reinforcement. This is all opportunity cost taking away from actual effective teaching. I don't know how you turn that into 'globalist boogeyman'. It's techno-managerial blind faith in measurement rather than trust in educators, combined with the classist view that most people should be trained as meat widgets for corporations, not citizens.
    - nxobject 2y ago
      Are you sure you mean No Child Left Behind (HW Bush 1)/Race to the Top (Obama 2)'s emphasis on measurable objectives backed by standardized tests? The Common Core is a program/sequence of Grade 2-12 curriculum objectives. https://corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ELA_Standards1.pdf https://corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ELA_Sta... https://corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Math_Standards1.pdf https://corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Math_St... I say this as someone who hates exams as assessment in general, because I'm simply not wired to do any meaningful thinking given a piece of paper, no ability to walk around and think, and always just too little time to gather my thoughts. (I always enjoyed tough problem sets instead.)
      - eesmith 2y ago
        I could well be wrong on the details, but note that Bill Gates and his foundation funding enabled Common Core to meet RttP goals, in a way that https://dianeravitch.net/2014/06/08/the-inside-story-of-how-bill-gates-bought-the-common-core-standards/ https://dianeravitch.net/2014/06/08/the-inside-story-of-how-... describes as a "coup". Curriculum standards only work if people follow the standards, which for the US means tests, along with the artificial high-stakes I mentioned.

It's unlikely he changed, he just stepped away from business management and so doesn't need to don that cap any longer. Personality compartmentalization is a fascinating thing.

bugglebeetle 2y ago

He hasn’t changed at all. He pulled the exact same bullshit with opposing efforts to waive intellectual property rights for vaccines during the pandemic, using Gates Foundation money and influence to block anyone who attempted. If anything, he’s even more of a monster, now playing his malevolent games in the domain of global public health.

bayindirh 2y ago
While portraying a "retired and calmed down rich man" with his blog posts and "books of the year" lists. Ugly.
- WillAdams 2y ago
  For a look at what his non-retired, non-calm management style was like see: https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2006/06/16/my-first-billg-review/ https://www.joelonsoftware.com/2006/06/16/my-first-billg-rev...
  - bayindirh 2y ago
    That's a good tale, but I also read "The Halloween Documents", so that's more than enough knowledge about that guy's ethics. Ah, and the "hidden Microsoft Trademark" in every BASIC image. I think Apple guys found and nullified in theirs, and pissed off Bill a little.

eesmith 2y ago

The billions Gates has dropped on "education reform", including support for Common Core, is the sort of thing a rich ass convinced of the rightness of his techno-managerial views would do.

mmastrac 2y ago
Is Common Core really that bad? It seems to be yet another globalist boogeyman for the online ultra-independent-personality types like "15 minute cities" and similar quips.
- eesmith 2y ago
  It's pointless numbers which don't provide any insight into a student's learning while on the school level are used to punish schools rather than provide more support. Since it isn't meaningful to learning, students won't actually care about the test unless there are severe consequences, like taking away the ability to graduate, for not doing well. Since it's high-stakes for the school as well, they develop lesson plans around teaching for the test (eg, taking time away from subjects which aren't tested), and setting up school rally events to add emotional reinforcement. This is all opportunity cost taking away from actual effective teaching. I don't know how you turn that into 'globalist boogeyman'. It's techno-managerial blind faith in measurement rather than trust in educators, combined with the classist view that most people should be trained as meat widgets for corporations, not citizens.
  - nxobject 2y ago
    Are you sure you mean No Child Left Behind (HW Bush 1)/Race to the Top (Obama 2)'s emphasis on measurable objectives backed by standardized tests? The Common Core is a program/sequence of Grade 2-12 curriculum objectives. https://corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ELA_Standards1.pdf https://corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ELA_Sta... https://corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Math_Standards1.pdf https://corestandards.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Math_St... I say this as someone who hates exams as assessment in general, because I'm simply not wired to do any meaningful thinking given a piece of paper, no ability to walk around and think, and always just too little time to gather my thoughts. (I always enjoyed tough problem sets instead.)
    - eesmith 2y ago
      I could well be wrong on the details, but note that Bill Gates and his foundation funding enabled Common Core to meet RttP goals, in a way that https://dianeravitch.net/2014/06/08/the-inside-story-of-how-bill-gates-bought-the-common-core-standards/ https://dianeravitch.net/2014/06/08/the-inside-story-of-how-... describes as a "coup". Curriculum standards only work if people follow the standards, which for the US means tests, along with the artificial high-stakes I mentioned.