Paul Allen commits majority of his wealth to philanthropy

Post by brianobush » Sat, Jul 17, 2010, 3:46 AM UTC

anigbrowl wrote: post #64

yumraj wrote: post #22

Even at the expense of sounding like a troll, it always amazes me, really it does, that Bill Gates and Paul Allen the two founders of the so called "evil" MS have given so much money to charity while we haven't seen any such moves from Jobs and Woz the founders of "think-different" Apple. Makes you wonder, doesn't it.

That's a bit unfair. Woz donates, Jobs has thrown money and time into improving organ donation, and in any case Jobs has only become super-rich in the last few years - Gates passed that point somewhere in the mid-90s, so he has had much more time to think about it. I imagine Jobs wants to groom a credible successor for the next few years, so that the company's price doesn't plummet when he retires.

Post by mistermann » Sat, Jul 17, 2010, 6:27 AM UTC

andreyf wrote: post #51

parallax7d wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not only does gates throw lots of money at problems, they follow up the results with effectiveness studies.

And what makes his definition of "effectiveness" any good? When goals are as clear as "maximize profit", I have no doubt Bill Gates is one of the most competent in the field. However, when it's as vague as "improve education", I have serious doubts. I'd trust a passionate fifth grade teacher to make good judgements of what's best for their students' education over a billionaire entrepreneur any day.

Post by jacquesm » Sat, Jul 17, 2010, 7:37 AM UTC

andreyf wrote: post #74

anigbrowl wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do you think the mantra of 'smaller class sizes = better education' came from in the first place? Though I don't doubt the advice was was honestly intended, teachers do have an economic interest in reducing class sizes (as it increases demand for their educational skills and accordingly, wages). It's got to be easier to teach 10 kids than 20, and we generally feel we're more productive when we're not overly str…

I don't regard that as a waste - it may have been an expensive lesson, but I presume the money was spent on subsidizing smaller class sizes in schools. I can assure you that when a smart teacher who spends every day with kids says one thing about what's better for their education, and the Gates' Foundation's research says another, I have trouble seeing the validity of the latter. What I'm saying is that yes, smaller…

Post by Yaggo » Sat, Jul 17, 2010, 9:27 AM UTC

yumraj wrote: post #22

Even at the expense of sounding like a troll, it always amazes me, really it does, that Bill Gates and Paul Allen the two founders of the so called "evil" MS have given so much money to charity while we haven't seen any such moves from Jobs and Woz the founders of "think-different" Apple. Makes you wonder, doesn't it.

Post by shard » Sat, Jul 17, 2010, 12:25 PM UTC

andreyf wrote: post #74

anigbrowl wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where do you think the mantra of 'smaller class sizes = better education' came from in the first place? Though I don't doubt the advice was was honestly intended, teachers do have an economic interest in reducing class sizes (as it increases demand for their educational skills and accordingly, wages). It's got to be easier to teach 10 kids than 20, and we generally feel we're more productive when we're not overly str…

I don't regard that as a waste - it may have been an expensive lesson, but I presume the money was spent on subsidizing smaller class sizes in schools. I can assure you that when a smart teacher who spends every day with kids says one thing about what's better for their education, and the Gates' Foundation's research says another, I have trouble seeing the validity of the latter. What I'm saying is that yes, smaller…