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Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

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Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#241

Post by esperent »

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?

Moral framings like this are pointless. That's a scenario that's never going to happen, so why worry about it? Instead, we have a real question to ask:

Which of these would you choose?

A. Have children and be less happy, more stressed, and have less money and less free time for your a ~25 year stretch somewhere between ages 20 and 60.

B. Don't have children, be less happy, poorer, much busier, and more stressed during those years, but potentially more happy in your old age.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#242

Post by 2muchcoffeeman »

_jal wrote: post #224
bostonpete wrote: post #223

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's pretty cynical. Giving away your entire fortune to charity and convincing others to do the same isn't just PR, it's a genuine effort to make the world a better place. He was a cutthroat businessman and made millions at the expense of other businessmen, many of whom would've done the same to him if they could. I don't think being a hardass in the board room disqualifies you from being a generous and caring pers…

> I don't think being a hardass in the board room disqualifies you from being a generous and caring person in your private life. No, but it also doesn't somehow wipe away the actions he took to make that money. He didn't just attack other businesses, he attacked open source, and would have destroyed it if he could have. By all means, you can think whatever you like about the man. Gates has done some pretty slimy shit…

> He didn't just attack other businesses, he attacked open source, and would have destroyed it if he could have. By all means, you can think whatever you like about the man. Gates has done some pretty slimy shit. Being nice now is nice, and I applaud him for it, but nobody is obligated to develop amnesia.

I’m not asking you to forget what he did as a business man. But people grow by integrating new information and changing their minds. And Gates seems to be progressing in the right direction.

But all of you anti-Gates people are hell bent on defining him by his actions as the head of Microsoft. And being cynical about his motivations.

I’m grateful that he’s changed his ways and is making a positive contribution to the world. He really does seem to try and understand the issues he wants to tackle and not just hire people to do it for him.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#243

Post by robofanatic »

AnonHP wrote: post #6

My guess, which is just a guess, is that the founders got tired of Google Search and advertising and Android and mobile hardware and privacy issues and regulatory issues so much that the “don’t be evil” motto was glaring at their faces and made them uncomfortable enough to step aside and let others run the show (or run things into the ground). This must have allowed them to enjoy their riches in relative peace. Somet…

This means that it's tougher to be running such a company at this stage. All initial fairy tale is over. Now every day the company will be scrutinized by someone, be it shareholders, customers or even your own employees. There is now less room for error hence less room to be bold and take chances.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#244

Post by jfoster »

benatkin wrote: post #15

I wondered why he doesn't have a personal website and saw that Sergey Brin, Tim Cook, and Elon Musk don't either. Ended up at gatesnotes.com and signing up for Bill Gates' mailing list.

What problem does he face that a personal website is the best solution to?

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#245

Post by ALittleLight »

esperent wrote: post #241
ALittleLight wrote: post #188

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Moral framings like this are pointless. That's a scenario that's never going to happen, so why worry about it? Instead, we have a real question to ask: Which of these would you choose? A. Have children and be less happy, more stressed, and have less money and less free time for your a ~25 year stretch somewhere between ages 20 and 60. B. Don't have children, be less happy, poorer, much busier, and more stressed durin…

The point is the realization that happiness is not the most essential thing in thing. My hypothetical is meant to be similar to the choice between two futures, one, where you have one more loved one and maybe less happiness, and the other where you have one fewer loved one and maybe more happiness - i.e the choice to have a child or not.

Happiness is a kind of short term thing. Life has better things to offer in my view.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#246

Post by stickfigure »

esperent wrote: post #157
lukaa wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is nothing from evolutionary point of view more important than having children. It would be highly unusual if nature didn't make that experience overall speaking as one of best things in life.

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…

I'm curious about these studies, how they measure happiness, and the possible confounding factors. I was really happy before kid (singular), and I'm still really happy. Happier, I think, then I would have been otherwise? I don't really know how to measure that.

As a not-yet-made-it startup guy it definitely feels like playing on "expert mode". But with a supportive partner and some careful life choices, it feels pretty good. It helps that my cofounder has a kid almost the same age as mine, and we've been going through this together.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#247

Post by rreichman »

synaesthesisx wrote: post #82
thecolorblue wrote: post #62

Building his Ex Machina home assistant. Watch your inbox closely and you can win the contest to visit his compound.

Rumor has it Larry Page has already uploaded himself to the cloud, leaving behind his abandoned, lifeless husk inside a closet in a Google data center somewhere.

Huge if true

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#248

Post by shalmanese »

ci5er wrote: post #207
throwaway45349 wrote: post #2

Retired, I presume. Sometimes people just want to spend time with their kids and not have to work all the time. And I'm sure he talks to Sundar Pichai all the time, Alphabet/Google was his baby afterall.

May I ask? In English: "I presume" means that "I have no data and am speculating". I that correct? If that is correct, why would you give an answer? My query should not imply any criticism - just that I don't understand. Could you explain to an (Sincerely, From: obvious problematic person, who does want to learn)

If we restricted discussion forums to only people who had any idea what they were talking about, you could fit all of internet discourse onto a floppy disk.

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#249

Post by ci5er »

shalmanese wrote: post #248
ci5er wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

May I ask? In English: "I presume" means that "I have no data and am speculating". I that correct? If that is correct, why would you give an answer? My query should not imply any criticism - just that I don't understand. Could you explain to an (Sincerely, From: obvious problematic person, who does want to learn)

If we restricted discussion forums to only people who had any idea what they were talking about, you could fit all of internet discourse onto a floppy disk.

Well played. Still - sometimes I would like to rank answers somehow, like: 1) I was there, 2) My best friend was there, 3) I have a PhD in that theory, 4) I built something from theoretical blocks, 5) My friends and I got high in college, and thought about building something, 6) ....

Re: Ask HN: What Happened to Larry Page?

#250

Post by CarCooler »

sixty4bit wrote: post #32

He has two "flying car" startups that he is working on: https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/19/17586878/larry-page-flyin... Considering the relative secrecy that he is building these companies in, I'd guess he has other companies going as well.

Wondering for almost two years after this news we haven't seen a single flying car demo from these companies. Of course Larry Page's money is a good financial support but Elon Musk has repeatedly rejected the VTOL idea, it can pummel populated areas.
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