Theranos, CEO Holmes, and Former President Balwani Charged with Fraud

Post by noxToken » Wed, Mar 14, 2018, 5:50 PM UTC

John_KZ wrote: post #143

SilasX wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>For all those entrepreneurs are trying to "fake it until you make it" be aware that the SEC considers your strategy both fraudulent and they feel they have the jurisdiction to prosecute you. Holmes was, in many ways, embodying that HN mentality, acting on the basis: - that an entire industry has been doing it wrong - that it can be fixed by a low-bureaucracy, Angel-funded startup - that once you have enough success…

- that an entire industry has been doing it wrong - that it can be fixed by a low-bureaucracy, Angel-funded startup - that any skill is just a matter of 10,000 hours of practice Some of these things are correct sometimes. Many industries have been doing things wrong for very long, and massively productive changes disrupted the industry. Who knew that boiling water would change the coal industry forever? Some guy came…

Post by fwdpropaganda » Wed, Mar 14, 2018, 5:51 PM UTC

taurath wrote: post #152

fwdpropaganda wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's extremely interesting, thanks for sharing. Think about the decision that he had to make in 2016. He had to choose between admiting his mistake and doubling down. The downside of admitting his mistake is that he's guaranteed to get negative points; the upside is that it will minimise futures downsides. By dubling down, he's guaranteed to reduce his negative points in 2016 but exposes himself to magnified upside…

My understanding is that competence only matters when other people are giving you money, and doesn't matter at all when you're giving people money. I think you're really overestimating the downsides.

Post by gowld » Wed, Mar 14, 2018, 5:54 PM UTC

matte_black wrote: post #166

abalone wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Fake it til you make it" generally refers to acting like you believe in yourself even if you're filled with self-doubt. Not actual fraud.

You can believe in yourself without faking anything, and it’s healthy to do so. Faking it implies you want to give others the impression you’re already a big shot, and it dilutes out the accomplishments of people who actually made it. The downside should be that if you’re faking it and you don’t make it, your shame should be relentless and brutal, and no one should ever take you seriously again. Also, even if you mak…

Post by the-dude » Wed, Mar 14, 2018, 5:57 PM UTC

Kliment wrote: post #170

Unfortunately pricks.com, by Blake Ross, is no longer online. However, the CDN that hosted it is still up so here is the direct link - it's a script for a comedy show based on theranos, and painfully close to reality https://web.archive.org/web/20160604083644/http://static1.sq...

Post by SilasX » Wed, Mar 14, 2018, 5:58 PM UTC

geofft wrote: post #162

SilasX wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then I'm confused: how can you a) hastily dismiss all self-doubt as Impostor Syndrome and b) believe "no one knows what they're doing either" while remaining able to accurately, honestly self-assess your skill, quality of work, and prospects for success? Edit: If you have a good answer, then I would suggest we start posting that as the advice ("here's how you know if you're good enough") rather than immediately tell…

What's the original referent of your impostor syndrome comment? As I see the term used, it generally means "I'm an impostor among this crowd of other people who do actually know what they're doing," not "I am unable to do this thing that nobody has ever done." That is, if you believe that you can't learn kernel hacking, that's (potentially) impostor syndrome. Lots of people have in fact learned kernel hacking, you ca…