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Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

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Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#191

Post by TheOtherHobbes »

2muchcoffeeman wrote: post #145
dddbbb wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's still relatively young, and likely realises the near absolute power he holds over one of the largest companies in the world is not something he can get back once he gives it up. Also Gates, to put it in very uncharitable terms, has shown that it doesn't matter if you're seen as a hated, greedy CEO as long as you do enough philanthropy later in life.

What would Bill Gates have to do to finally shed his reputation as a business man? Honestly, Gates seems like a pretty good guy from interviews he’s given and he’s doing something good with his money.

When you're as rich as Gates and Buffet you not only have a teams of people managing your money, you also have teams of people dedicated to managing your image.

So yes - Gates seems like a pretty good guy. And he'll have paid a lot of money to create that impression.

Zuckerberg doesn't seem to be running the usual PR operation - possibly because he's too young to be bothered, and possibly because he doesn't really care much.

Likewise Bezos. But you can be sure that if/when they turn to philanthropy, they'll consider the option of a similarly wholesome transformation and proceed if it seems likely to provide extra social leverage.

The alternative will be managed media invisibility, which is also an option at that level.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#192

Post by rossdavidh »

jolux wrote: post #175
rossdavidh wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of people say they "believe" that, but really the question they are answering is, "do you like Bill Gates, or do you think him morally capable of doing this horrible thing?" Bill Gates was one of the early, big proponents of Common Core, and educational testing and reform movement which ended up becoming very unpopular on the right.

That’s a massive cop out. You either believe in conspiracy theories or you don’t. People who don’t believe in conspiracies don’t say they do as a way of expressing they don’t like the people involved.

In my experience, your second statement is, factually, incorrect. Nothing personal, but I find that not to be an accurate reflection of human behavior.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#193

Post by tehjoker »

chrisco255 wrote: post #121
tehjoker wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

During the monarchy, liberals were left wing (the "radical republicans"). After they won, liberals became the defenders of the status quo and are thus the right wing. There are people further right that wish to roll the clock backwards.

The Radical Republicans refers to a group of anti-slavery congressmen in the 1800s up to, during, and after the American Civil War. There was no monarchy at the time.

That was one later instantiation. Republican radicalism was feared by the aristocracy in the 1700s-1800s. Perhaps they weren't uniformly called "radical" but republicanism was hated.

The group you're referring to was part of the "Republican Party" which was created after republicanism was victorious in the united states after the revolution. I'm not intimately familiar with the iconography around that period, but I would speculate that they were drawing on the old symbols of radicalism when creating that name.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#194

Post by krapp »

ALittleLight wrote: post #188
esperent wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet, all the studies of people with children show that they make you less happy, while they are around, although more happy later in later, presumably once they have moved out. Years of relief built up I guess (just kidding, more likely the benefits of having an extended close family when you are older). Speaking for myself, I know that I would hate to have my freedom taken away by having children. I also know th…

Happiness is overrated. Like picking a food to eat because it's sweeter. If you could choose between a future where your happiness doubled but one of your loved ones died, or the unadjusted future, which would you prefer?

>If you could choose between a future where your happiness doubled but one of your loved ones died, or the unadjusted future, which would you prefer?

You'd really have to hate your loved ones for that first option to be viable.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#195

Post by refurb »

scotty79 wrote: post #123
ksec wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It was clear years ago that neither he nor Brin were interested running Google day-to-day anymore. I'm actually surprised that every billionaire doesn't do the same after reaching a certain point of success. “For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’…

> ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ Am I weird for rarely ever answering 'No' to that question? These days I mostly play computer games and still I'd answer 'Yes'.

It’s also kind of a dumb question because there is a 99% chance it’s not the last day of your life AND most people would spend their last day of their life with loved ones, but if I’m alive for the next few decades, my loved ones have better things to do than hang out with me.

It sounds deep, but it’s not.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#197

Post by tehjoker »

phkahler wrote: post #110
tehjoker wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All billionaires are right-wing. They uphold and embody social inequality. Whether they endorse rigid social divisions along cultural lines is just extra gravy.

>> All billionaires are right-wing. Not sure about their beliefs. I suspect they just endorse the party most likely to give them a tax break. This may also explain why many are going against Trump - he's been telling the public they've been given a bad deal and he's spoken against some big pork behavior. Who knows what he might do. Biden OTOH seems business friendly enough.

That's kind of what I'm talking about. Social inequality and economic inequality are tightly intertwined.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#198

Post by refurb »

goatherders wrote: post #45
refurb wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More power? I would disagree. Maybe more impact, but not more power or influence.

Disagree completely. Bill Gates is easily one of the dozen most powerful people on earth due to connections and money. He is not beholden to shareholders and can apply his considerable influence wherever he likes without getting board approval.

We can disagree.

I think once he’s no longer at the helm of one of the largest tech firms in the world, he’s lost a lot of leverage.

Not to say he isn’t still very influential, but he’s on the sidelines of business now. And being a leader in business means having a lot of power.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#199

Post by andrekandre »

shadowprofile77 wrote: post #155
ethbr0 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're not anti-science: they're ignorant. If we had better basic education, presumably people would be able to understand how things work.

I don't buy that they're simply ignorant. Yes, perhaps they are but tied into that ignorance for many, many people (that I've met anecdotally and, i'm sure in statistical terms) is a strong willfulness about their postures. In other words, despite being shown any evidence you'd like, no matter how concrete about the incorrectness of their beliefs, they'll simply disregard said information, because to accept or even c…

> Again, this is not simple ignorance, it's something much more deliberate

what is it? i couldnt get it from the comment... just curious

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#200

Post by refurb »

brianobush wrote: post #80
refurb wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

More power? I would disagree. Maybe more impact, but not more power or influence.

Gates foundation with an endowment of 46.8 billion, and around 5 billion annually to research. That is a lot of influence to direct.

Oh he’s still very influential, but in a much smaller pond of philanthropy. When he was CEO of Microsoft he captained a much bigger ship.
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