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

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

#342

His name is Tyler Shultz. He is the main reason we know know what Theranos was doing. He had his life destroyed, he knew it would happen, what Theranos would do to him, and he did the right thing all the same. Tyler Shultz is a hero. Never let someone tell you that you don't matter. Try hard to do what is right. We need more people like him, be one of them too. Be like Tyler Shultz. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/20…

I had a similar thought when this story appeared this morning.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/theranos-whistleblower-shook-th...

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

#344
From the Financial Times:

Here's the nuance of her formula:

Commit fraud as an attractive, well-connected WASP woman who happened to be neighbors with well-connected VC Draper family.

Tell a great story: Stanford drop-out who studied Chinese, afraid of needles, wants to help the world.

Leverage Silicon Valley connections to pull in other really big fish, such as Kissinger, et al, who would be really, really embarrassed that they were so hoodwinked by an ingenue.

Use that cognitive dissonance to raise more and more money, while having no technology whatsoever.

Get even more and bigger fish such as Biden to vouch for you.

Wrap your company in total mysterious secrecy.

Declare anyone against you as against women in business. Works like a charm and will happen again in the future.

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

#345

His name is Tyler Shultz. He is the main reason we know know what Theranos was doing. He had his life destroyed, he knew it would happen, what Theranos would do to him, and he did the right thing all the same. Tyler Shultz is a hero. Never let someone tell you that you don't matter. Try hard to do what is right. We need more people like him, be one of them too. Be like Tyler Shultz. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/20…

[deleted]

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

#346

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think schadenfreude is a negative personality trait or a personality disorder? It is just a name for a specific emotional state. It seems perfectly apt here.

It means taking joy in someone else's suffering, which is basically sadism. I don't see that as being the same thing as being happy to see the truth come out and justice finally happen.

I don't think justice and schadenfreude are terribly different.

Schadenfreude is taking joy in someone else's suffering.

Justice is taking joy in the meting out of suffering to people who deserve it. People argue about who deserves what, and laws and justice systems exist to manage those arguments. But the idea of righteous retribution for a wrong is pretty close to universal, and looks like schadenfreude to me.

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

#347
post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My (limited) understanding is that they've demonstrated a level of wireless power transmission, but nothing approaching some of the early hype that had things like mobile phones recharging in people's pockets whilst they were in a coffee shop. The controversy there isn't whether you can transfer wireless power or not, but whether you can transfer enough in an easy enough way to make a practical consumer product. If y…

> mobile phones recharging in people's pockets whilst they were in a coffee shop. While not using the same Qi-like charging mechanism, the physics has been proven: https://www.disneyresearch.com/publication/quasistatic-cavit...

Without commenting on the viability of the method in that link one way or another, I will point out that the physics is described are completely different than what uBeam has said they are working on.

uBeam has said they are wirelessly transmitting power via high frequency sound. This link describes a method that uses magnetic fields.

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

#348

I still find it crazy that her response to a question on how the tech worked was: "A chemistry is performed so that a chemical reaction occurs and generates a signal from the chemical interaction with the sample, which is translated into a result, which is then reviewed by certified laboratory personnel."

This sounds like Vincent Adultman from Bojack Horseman.

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

#349

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It means taking joy in someone else's suffering, which is basically sadism. I don't see that as being the same thing as being happy to see the truth come out and justice finally happen.

I don't think justice and schadenfreude are terribly different. Schadenfreude is taking joy in someone else's suffering. Justice is taking joy in the meting out of suffering to people who deserve it. People argue about who deserves what, and laws and justice systems exist to manage those arguments. But the idea of righteous retribution for a wrong is pretty close to universal, and looks like schadenfreude to me.

Well, in my mind, retribution and justice aren't closely related. Taking revenge on wrongdoers and making things right are not inherently the same thing. I can think of lots of situations where taking revenge on the wrongdoer in no way makes anything right.

"Two wrongs don't make a right" and all that.

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

#350

Earlier quoted context omitted.

no. people are better off with a quick resolution because professional attorneys at the SEC decided that the legal case against Holmes is not strong enough to waste taxpayer money trying to PROVE she committed a crime. Calling their decision into question without a shred of evidence that they did something suboptimal, based on your political beliefs alone, is what I am advocating against. EDIT: Which part of this sta…

Actually I'm relying on the SEC's statement that she was an active participant in a large multi-year fraud. True, I've always thought Theranos was Too Good To Be True and had doubt about la Holmes' probity. But I think you're getting downvoted because you're arguing that white collar crime, even at scale, isn't worth prosecuting, and ignoring the perverse incentives that result from such decision-making.

that's a bizarre reading of what I said, given that I am talking only about her specific case.
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