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In his statement, Jobs indicated that Gates's interest in philanthropy was because he had always been unimaginative. Forget, for a moment, the hypothetical of

by jbapple 12y ago

In his statement, Jobs indicated that Gates's interest in philanthropy was because he had always been unimaginative. Forget, for a moment, the hypothetical of what Jobs would have done. Maybe he would have grown into someone who gave a single fuck about the poor, but in this statement, he called out that caring as beneath him. That's a value we should condemn, just as we should praise Cook for his stated intentions.

gress 12y ago
> he called out that caring as beneath him. Sorry - you have made this up out of whole cloth. It's not what he said, and not a reasonable inference. By calling Gates unimaginative Jobs was referring to the fact that he didn't have any more ideas about how to advance the computing industry which is why he had left to do philanthropy. He wasn't criticizing Gates for caring, rather he was criticizing him for not having more to contribute to the industry.
- jbapple 12y ago
  Here's what I think Jobs thought: "I am creative, so I stay in computing." "Gates isn't, so he left." "Leaving computing for philanthropy is for those who aren't as good as I am." Do you really read that statement differently? Do you not see it as honoring creativity over philanthropy?
  - gress 12y ago
    The first two of those statements do seem to be implied by the quote from Jobs, but the third seems like something you made up. What part of the quote justifies it?
    - jbapple 12y ago
      So, in Jobs's view, philanthropy is something that is done by a person who is lesser than Jobs, because he is lesser than jobs, but this isn't dismissive of philanthropy as a goal worthy of Jobs's attention? I don't know what to say to you then. I guess we just disagree on how to read this sentence. I think 90% of readers would agree with me, and I assume you think 90% of readers would agree with you. We seem to be at an impasse.
      - gress 12y ago
        Where does jobs say that philanthropy is done by someone who is lesser than jobs?

by jbapple 12y ago

gress 12y ago

> he called out that caring as beneath him. Sorry - you have made this up out of whole cloth. It's not what he said, and not a reasonable inference. By calling Gates unimaginative Jobs was referring to the fact that he didn't have any more ideas about how to advance the computing industry which is why he had left to do philanthropy. He wasn't criticizing Gates for caring, rather he was criticizing him for not having more to contribute to the industry.

jbapple 12y ago
Here's what I think Jobs thought: "I am creative, so I stay in computing." "Gates isn't, so he left." "Leaving computing for philanthropy is for those who aren't as good as I am." Do you really read that statement differently? Do you not see it as honoring creativity over philanthropy?
- gress 12y ago
  The first two of those statements do seem to be implied by the quote from Jobs, but the third seems like something you made up. What part of the quote justifies it?
  - jbapple 12y ago
    So, in Jobs's view, philanthropy is something that is done by a person who is lesser than Jobs, because he is lesser than jobs, but this isn't dismissive of philanthropy as a goal worthy of Jobs's attention? I don't know what to say to you then. I guess we just disagree on how to read this sentence. I think 90% of readers would agree with me, and I assume you think 90% of readers would agree with you. We seem to be at an impasse.
    - gress 12y ago
      Where does jobs say that philanthropy is done by someone who is lesser than jobs?