4 ms·

I always wonder why people go out of their way to dig up old quotes which contradict current behavior. People change their minds. Or come up with new ideas. Or

I always wonder why people go out of their way to dig up old quotes which contradict current behavior. People change their minds. Or come up with new ideas. Or have a breakthrough of some kind. I highly doubt Bezos would have spent $250m (even if that is small time money to him) if he still believed what he said last year. Or maybe he still believes that, and he feels he can still do something with a major news paper that sits within those lines. Either way I am unsure why this is making it as an HN post.

VLM 13y ago
There's also the corruption angle. I wanna buy xyz. "Hey guys XYZ sucks don't buy it". I get xyz for cheaper price.
pessimizer 13y ago
Because it's interesting, and there are a lot of possibilities about what may have caused his change in thinking - I highly doubt Bezos would have spent $250m (even if that is small time money to him) if he still believed what he said last year. Of course, there may not have been a complete change in his thinking, and he feels he can still do something with a major news paper that sits within those lines. Either way, Bezos is currently finding print news a worthwhile thing to invest in, and if your business intersects with either of his (or you're just curious), it might be interesting to read a post on HN in which he expresses a very different opinion a very short time ago simply in order to have a historical perspective on the evolution of his views.
HelloMcFly 13y ago
An oldie but a goodie from John Maynard Keynes: “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” I'm more interested in what exactly changed his mind than I am in the fact that his mind has changed.
- mmorris 13y ago
  Not the same meaning, but potentially also applicable, is Walt Whitman's quote: "Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes."

VLM 13y ago

There's also the corruption angle. I wanna buy xyz. "Hey guys XYZ sucks don't buy it". I get xyz for cheaper price.

pessimizer 13y ago

Because it's interesting, and there are a lot of possibilities about what may have caused his change in thinking - I highly doubt Bezos would have spent $250m (even if that is small time money to him) if he still believed what he said last year. Of course, there may not have been a complete change in his thinking, and he feels he can still do something with a major news paper that sits within those lines. Either way, Bezos is currently finding print news a worthwhile thing to invest in, and if your business intersects with either of his (or you're just curious), it might be interesting to read a post on HN in which he expresses a very different opinion a very short time ago simply in order to have a historical perspective on the evolution of his views.

HelloMcFly 13y ago

An oldie but a goodie from John Maynard Keynes: “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” I'm more interested in what exactly changed his mind than I am in the fact that his mind has changed.

mmorris 13y ago
Not the same meaning, but potentially also applicable, is Walt Whitman's quote: "Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes."