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U.S. Bans Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from Operating Labs for Two Years

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Re: U.S. Bans Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from Operating Labs for Two Years

#91
post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you pull a string that has the length of 1au, would it take 8 minutes for the other side to react to the tug, or would it move as soon as you pull the string?

Even rarefaction obeys the speed of light. :)

Speed of sound in the respective medium, actually. EM interactions obey speed of light, mechanical interactions obey the speed of sound.

Re: U.S. Bans Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from Operating Labs for Two Years

#92

I've talked to over 100 hematologists. This business, didn't pass a basic litmus test of objective criticism from people who work in the space. There seems to be this bravado among founders who believe they're sticking it to all the people who say something's amiss. I think if there's an elephant in the room though, it probably should be assassinated with a huge body of transparent evidence.

To be fair, that is how innovation occurs. There are many examples of "ridiculous" ideas that ended being wildly successful. Where would Elon Musk be if he listened to all of the incumbents who said that his ideas would never work? Obviously, the putative innovators massively failed in this case, but I don't think that the outcome proves that their original idea was fatally flawed, or at least that it wasn't worth at…

Innovation requires fraud?

Re: U.S. Bans Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from Operating Labs for Two Years

#93
post #44
post #9

I have no sympathy for her. It's incredibly irresponsible to do what she did- play marketing games with medical technology. Theranos' unethical behaviour has made it much more difficult for future innovation in the medical field, and has potentially cost lives. This sanction is appropriate. My fiancee works as a laboratory scientist in a hospital conducting patient sample testing, and her and her co-workers take thei…

It's a cold fusion moment for all medical innovation perceived as coming from a 'start-up.' Funding for real fusion research is still difficult to come by because of the shadow of the cold fusion debacle...

You're absolutely right. And it continues to this day (cough... Lockheed... cough).

There is a huge credibility gap in fusion research, due to no fault in the mainstream research community.

Re: U.S. Bans Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from Operating Labs for Two Years

#94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, that is how innovation occurs. There are many examples of "ridiculous" ideas that ended being wildly successful. Where would Elon Musk be if he listened to all of the incumbents who said that his ideas would never work? Obviously, the putative innovators massively failed in this case, but I don't think that the outcome proves that their original idea was fatally flawed, or at least that it wasn't worth at…

Elon Musk wasn't playing with people's lives. The FDA exists for a reason.

That's not the point. I'm claiming that it was reasonable to attempt to develop the technology in a lab. Obviously they shouldn't have launched it in the state that it was in.

Re: U.S. Bans Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from Operating Labs for Two Years

#95

Schadenfreude is probably merited in this case, but I for one think one needs to consider that this could quickly spiral down and end up in Holmes taking drastic action that we will all regret. Hope my meaning comes through here.

Not really...

Re: U.S. Bans Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from Operating Labs for Two Years

#96
Sometimes company leaders have severe problems with ethics. As mentioned in other comments, even YC has had companies that have bundled adware/malware with software, practiced dark patterns, hidden news of security breaches, etc.

I tend to see YC as being more "evolved" than other VC's, but I also think that these problems are more ingrained into the human condition.

YC could consider making funding contingent on all high level company officers attend or participate in some kind of ethics course. It could even be remote.

There could also be penalties built into VC agreements. If a company violates contracted ethical rules, then penalties could include replacement of staff, more shares being given to the VC, low share buyback prices for the VC, etc.

It could also be a two-way street. If YC violates some kind of ethical rule, then they could be punished by having to do something for the companies they represent.

Ethics are important but so far they have just been "best practices" in our industry and not something contracted and enforced.

Re: U.S. Bans Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from Operating Labs for Two Years

#97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, that is how innovation occurs. There are many examples of "ridiculous" ideas that ended being wildly successful. Where would Elon Musk be if he listened to all of the incumbents who said that his ideas would never work? Obviously, the putative innovators massively failed in this case, but I don't think that the outcome proves that their original idea was fatally flawed, or at least that it wasn't worth at…

Innovation requires fraud?

That's not at all what I said. My claim is that innovation often involves ignoring all of the incumbents who say that a new way will never work. Obviously you shouldn't inflate the results of your attempt.

Re: U.S. Bans Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from Operating Labs for Two Years

#98
post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

To be fair, that is how innovation occurs. There are many examples of "ridiculous" ideas that ended being wildly successful. Where would Elon Musk be if he listened to all of the incumbents who said that his ideas would never work? Obviously, the putative innovators massively failed in this case, but I don't think that the outcome proves that their original idea was fatally flawed, or at least that it wasn't worth at…

Theranos promised a faster, cheaper way of doing something. Tesla built a very expensive sports-car, before they advanced towards cheaper products for the masses.

I was actually thinking more about SpaceX. They promised technology that was faster (in terms of development speed) and cheaper.

Re: U.S. Bans Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from Operating Labs for Two Years

#99

I've talked to over 100 hematologists. This business, didn't pass a basic litmus test of objective criticism from people who work in the space. There seems to be this bravado among founders who believe they're sticking it to all the people who say something's amiss. I think if there's an elephant in the room though, it probably should be assassinated with a huge body of transparent evidence.

To be fair, that is how innovation occurs. There are many examples of "ridiculous" ideas that ended being wildly successful. Where would Elon Musk be if he listened to all of the incumbents who said that his ideas would never work? Obviously, the putative innovators massively failed in this case, but I don't think that the outcome proves that their original idea was fatally flawed, or at least that it wasn't worth at…

Elon Musk is himself an expert who knew rocketry. He knew his shit.

Even then, he almost failed.

Re: U.S. Bans Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes from Operating Labs for Two Years

#100

Sometimes company leaders have severe problems with ethics. As mentioned in other comments, even YC has had companies that have bundled adware/malware with software, practiced dark patterns, hidden news of security breaches, etc. I tend to see YC as being more "evolved" than other VC's, but I also think that these problems are more ingrained into the human condition. YC could consider making funding contingent on all…

Hacking sometimes puts you in a grey area :)

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http://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-co-founders-freshman-r...

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