Bill Gates' Philanthropic Impact Put in Perspective • Hacker News Board

Re: Bill Gates' Philanthropic Impact Put in Perspective

#51

Post by dvtv75 » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 6:58 AM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #11

Bill Gates was a tough competitor, to be sure, and you had to bring your A game when dealing with Microsoft. But the complaints that he was 'evil', when you drill down to see what the actual complaint is, just seem to fade away. Most of it seems to be simply envy. See "In Search of Stupidity" by Chapman. P.S. I was in the industry throughout that era, and competed directly against Microsoft in programming languages.

It always bothers me when those who worship someone for his wealth dismiss those who dislike that same someone for his actions simply as a matter of envy.

Re: Bill Gates' Philanthropic Impact Put in Perspective

#52

Post by tunesmith » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 7:01 AM UTC

ekianjo wrote: post #41

visarga wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most of it seems to be simply envy. For me it was frustration with Windows, until I gave it up back, in 2004. I used to rage at it's instability and difficult reinstallation process when various device drivers were involved. I would never have imagined I will have such a positive view on Bill Gates a decade later. He's smart because, after spending half his life amassing a fortune, he is now spending the other half…

> He's smart because, after spending half his life amassing a fortune, he is now spending the other half of his life spending it So it does not matter how the fortune was amassed in the first place? As long as you spend some of it and polish your PR image later on ? People forget/forgive pretty fast, for me that's the only thing I retain from this story.

I don't care so much in his case, but the problem is more that it doesn't scale - if someone is able to make money through means such as those, there's no guarantee that they'll give it back in such a "socially good" way - the odds are rather against it.

But I think it's silly to put an asterisk on the good he's actually doing.

Re: Bill Gates' Philanthropic Impact Put in Perspective

#53

Post by foota » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 7:02 AM UTC

dvtv75 wrote: post #51

WalterBright wrote: post #11

Bill Gates was a tough competitor, to be sure, and you had to bring your A game when dealing with Microsoft. But the complaints that he was 'evil', when you drill down to see what the actual complaint is, just seem to fade away. Most of it seems to be simply envy. See "In Search of Stupidity" by Chapman. P.S. I was in the industry throughout that era, and competed directly against Microsoft in programming languages.

It always bothers me when those who worship someone for his wealth dismiss those who dislike that same someone for his actions simply as a matter of envy.

I would argue that many people are envious of his ability to succeed rather than his wealth.

Re: Bill Gates' Philanthropic Impact Put in Perspective

#54

Post by jacquesm » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 7:05 AM UTC

philliphaydon wrote: post #42

prodigal_erik wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we put aside that the money isn't his, he kneecapped better products with such ferocity that a generation later our industry is still struggling to make up for the lost progress.

The FDA, CDC, American Government, and Patent System, have all crippled progress far more than Bill Gates or Microsoft ever did.

SCO

Re: Bill Gates' Philanthropic Impact Put in Perspective

#55

Post by jack9 » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 7:06 AM UTC

philliphaydon wrote: post #42

prodigal_erik wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we put aside that the money isn't his, he kneecapped better products with such ferocity that a generation later our industry is still struggling to make up for the lost progress.

The FDA, CDC, American Government, and Patent System, have all crippled progress far more than Bill Gates or Microsoft ever did.

That's debatable.

Re: Bill Gates' Philanthropic Impact Put in Perspective

#56

Post by eru » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 7:09 AM UTC

vezycash wrote: post #3

mike2477 wrote: post #2

Hey there, data geeks! I am doing research on the rise of social entrepreneurship and got sidetracked by what a badass Bill Gates is. I found out that his foundation is 4x larger than the next largest private foundation in the US. And if you add up the wealth pledged as a part of The Giving Pledge it is 10x larger than that. I compiled The Giving Pledge data on my own by researching net worths of each pledgee. Planni…

How about a comparison with historical philanthropists like Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie in constant currency?

Or as ratio of nominal GDP at the time.

Re: Bill Gates' Philanthropic Impact Put in Perspective

#57

Post by eru » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 7:09 AM UTC

TheLogothete wrote: post #48

k_lander wrote: post #39

i'm curious as to whether it is more effective for an individual to hold a contribute-as-you go style to philantrophy vs a make-money-first-then-donate strategy like gates did. Given that most people aren't going to be billionaires, I would guess the former but maybe someone who has looked at the data can provide some insight.

Donating money if you are not (filthy) rich is foolish. Those money would be MUCH better spent on you. If you want to help, do it with personal efforts.

What makes you think so?

Re: Bill Gates' Philanthropic Impact Put in Perspective

#58

Post by eru » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 7:10 AM UTC

csours wrote: post #30

octref wrote: post #21

More and more I feel the best data visualization for most scenario is just bar, line, and pie charts. They need no explanation and communicate information effectively. Too many visualizations that are fun and fancy but convey ideas poorly.

Pie Charts are the Worst [1]. In this context, a single pie chart is OK. I agree bar and line charts should usually be sufficient. http://www.businessinsider.com/pie-charts-are-the-worst-2013...

Scatter plots can be decent, too.

Re: Bill Gates' Philanthropic Impact Put in Perspective

#59

Post by ignoramous » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 7:20 AM UTC

amelius wrote: post #6

dharmon wrote: post #5

If you put aside the "M$ was evil and he is just atoning" arguments, Gates is a huge inspiration, at least for me. This guy finds problems that he's passionate about and attacks them with such ferocity that it is truly awe inspiring. I'm mildly embarrassed to admit it, but he was my childhood hero through the 90's. Even later when everyone thought Jobs was the bee's knees, I wanted to be as effective as Gates.

Also worth mentioning is that, over the years, Microsoft has published an impressive amount of research, whereas (e.g.) Apple has always been disappointingly closed.

I think Apple revolutionized HCI with the Mac and then with the iPod and now with iOS. They continue to push the bar in industrial design. They're contributing in different ways. I'd not belittle their achievements. Design principles that Apple has long been following are the norm today. Every tech company has done their part. I don't like this constant bickering, I wish people were more accepting and just saw the positive side of things more often.

Re: Bill Gates' Philanthropic Impact Put in Perspective

#60

Post by specialist » Sat, Apr 23, 2016, 7:22 AM UTC

chongli wrote: post #43

atdt wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This qualifies as goodness in my books. No one is free of egoism and selfishness. People are good if they subordinate their egoism and selfishness to a higher principle of care for others, and seek satisfaction of their baser impulses through actions that are socially constructive and beneficial.

It's hard to guess what motivated the grandparent's comment but if I had to guess, it has something to do with the cultural aversion to public philanthropy which traces back to Matthew 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: As an atheist who was raised Catholic, many of the teachings of Jesus still make sense to me from a moral standpoint. This one does not. Keeping your c…

Presbyterian here. We were taught you can't buy your way into Heaven. Yes, donate to charity. But don't publicly congratulate yourself.

I've worked to overcome my WASP reluctance to talk about money. As a geek, we should be comparing salaries. As an activist, to be effective you need resources, which is a nice proxy for buy-in, so you learn how to ask for money.