4 ms·

> self-made billionaire industrialist We've reached levels of billionaire worship that would make any court jester of the 1400's blush

vessenes 8mo ago
Well jesters are supposed to call out the BS, yes? That said, How do you (accurately) describe Ellison?
- danparsonson 8mo ago
  Greedy, ruthless and well-connected? These people are hardly genuises.
  - quesera 8mo ago
    > Greedy, ruthless and well-connected? Sure, but that's not enough. > These people are hardly genuises. You're quite wrong about this. I know it's tempting to look at a damaged person and assume that they possess no actual extraordinary capabilities, but these people are very very smart. Surely they'd be top-tier HN. :) (Defining "genius" is a whole nother thing, but using any common vernacular meaning, my statement will apply.) Not all billionaires, of course. In context, we're talking about Ellison and Musk. There may be others implied. These people are in fact extremely intelligent. What's missing is not horsepower.
    - danparsonson 8mo ago
      > Sure, but that's not enough. You're right - a healthy dose of luck, 'right place, right time', is also needed. Plus the arrogance to assume that they deserve everything they want. > You're quite wrong about this. I know it's tempting to look at a damaged person and assume that they possess no actual extraordinary capabilities, but these people are very very smart. Surely they'd be top-tier HN. :) Maybe you and I disagree on the definition of a genius; Ellison and Musk are of course smart, but there are very many smart people - that is also not sufficient, and 'genius' is not required. Elon Musk spends a lot of time arguing with random people on Twitter, and espouses some very dumb, and sometimes racist views. He's a good salesman (principally of himself), and possessed of huge self-confidence, but I don't see any evidence of genius. More like being born 3-0 up and convinced he'd scored a hat-trick, amplified by survivor bias; for every billionaire, there are thousands like them who just didn't get the right breaks. Compare Elon and 'lawnmower' Larry to everyone's favourite genius, Einstein, and they're not even in the same league.
      - quesera 8mo ago
        Underestimation is a mistake with at least equal consequences as anthropomorphization. I recommend neither.
- ginsider_oaks 8mo ago
  lawnmower
- XorNot 8mo ago
  Why does he need a description? If Larry Ellison thinks something is true he can argue the case for it using the same universal logical principles which we all have access to. Who he is is irrelevant.
fragmede 8mo ago
An off-the-cuff four word description on an Internet forum definitely exceeds the level of worship from a court jester in the 1400s that had to dress up in costume and dance at the command of a king, lest their head get cut off.

vessenes 8mo ago

Well jesters are supposed to call out the BS, yes? That said, How do you (accurately) describe Ellison?

danparsonson 8mo ago
Greedy, ruthless and well-connected? These people are hardly genuises.
- quesera 8mo ago
  > Greedy, ruthless and well-connected? Sure, but that's not enough. > These people are hardly genuises. You're quite wrong about this. I know it's tempting to look at a damaged person and assume that they possess no actual extraordinary capabilities, but these people are very very smart. Surely they'd be top-tier HN. :) (Defining "genius" is a whole nother thing, but using any common vernacular meaning, my statement will apply.) Not all billionaires, of course. In context, we're talking about Ellison and Musk. There may be others implied. These people are in fact extremely intelligent. What's missing is not horsepower.
  - danparsonson 8mo ago
    > Sure, but that's not enough. You're right - a healthy dose of luck, 'right place, right time', is also needed. Plus the arrogance to assume that they deserve everything they want. > You're quite wrong about this. I know it's tempting to look at a damaged person and assume that they possess no actual extraordinary capabilities, but these people are very very smart. Surely they'd be top-tier HN. :) Maybe you and I disagree on the definition of a genius; Ellison and Musk are of course smart, but there are very many smart people - that is also not sufficient, and 'genius' is not required. Elon Musk spends a lot of time arguing with random people on Twitter, and espouses some very dumb, and sometimes racist views. He's a good salesman (principally of himself), and possessed of huge self-confidence, but I don't see any evidence of genius. More like being born 3-0 up and convinced he'd scored a hat-trick, amplified by survivor bias; for every billionaire, there are thousands like them who just didn't get the right breaks. Compare Elon and 'lawnmower' Larry to everyone's favourite genius, Einstein, and they're not even in the same league.
    - quesera 8mo ago
      Underestimation is a mistake with at least equal consequences as anthropomorphization. I recommend neither.
ginsider_oaks 8mo ago
lawnmower
XorNot 8mo ago
Why does he need a description? If Larry Ellison thinks something is true he can argue the case for it using the same universal logical principles which we all have access to. Who he is is irrelevant.

fragmede 8mo ago

An off-the-cuff four word description on an Internet forum definitely exceeds the level of worship from a court jester in the 1400s that had to dress up in costume and dance at the command of a king, lest their head get cut off.