Stop treating tech jerks like gods • Hacker News Board

Re: Stop treating tech jerks like gods

#11

Post by SimonPStevens » Mon, Sep 03, 2018, 5:41 PM UTC

bsaul wrote: post #5

This article completely misses the mark. People worship jobs or elon because they’re the modern rock stars. They entertain us with technical marvels, and we’re grateful to them. Nobody care if keith richards is a nice guy, or if kurt cobain took drugs or was nice to kids. We liked what they did professionally, and we don’t car about the rest. Nobody is saying we should copy elon work ethic, or public communication, o…

But like those rockstars, they do become role models for other's behavior.

I certainly support many of the goals Musk has, and would like to see him succeed in those. However, he seems to have made some pretty questionable decisions recently which he does need to answer for appropriately.

Re: Stop treating tech jerks like gods

#12

Post by AstralStorm » Mon, Sep 03, 2018, 5:49 PM UTC

The truth is, being rich and powerful is of much more survival benefit than being nice.

(which can in fact be detrimental at times)

If you want to take a stand against it, you're taking a stand against human condition... Good luck, you're going to need it. Even religions fail. Fighting a modern day cult is hard.

Re: Stop treating tech jerks like gods

#13

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Sep 03, 2018, 5:50 PM UTC

bsaul wrote: post #5

This article completely misses the mark. People worship jobs or elon because they’re the modern rock stars. They entertain us with technical marvels, and we’re grateful to them. Nobody care if keith richards is a nice guy, or if kurt cobain took drugs or was nice to kids. We liked what they did professionally, and we don’t car about the rest. Nobody is saying we should copy elon work ethic, or public communication, o…

[deleted]

Re: Stop treating tech jerks like gods

#14

Post by tenfold » Mon, Sep 03, 2018, 5:51 PM UTC

Why stop with Jobs and Musk? What about Einstein and Newton? These people are driving our race forward with momentous achievements and the author is picking at their character flaws?

Sorry but this article just seems like petty feminism looking for an axe to grind. Glance over the author’s other posts.

Re: Stop treating tech jerks like gods

#15

Post by ChrisSD » Mon, Sep 03, 2018, 6:04 PM UTC

SimonPStevens wrote: post #8

This was flagged and I've vouched for it as I really don't see why. I'm hopeing it wasn't because Musk fans are just flagging anti Musk content, I believe that his community is above that kind of behavior. Perhaps a mod has the ability to review,or a flagger can comment on their reasons. I think the topic of the article is something that should be discussed in the tech sector. I actually origianlly came here to say i…

RE: Gates. I think the distinction they're making is that Gates may have been ruthless in business but he's not like that on a personal level. Or at least he projects that image. I've no idea if this is true or not but I think that's what they were saying.

RE: Being flagged. To be honest these discussion can often become very unproductive so I wouldn't be surprised if it disappears into the ether.

Re: Stop treating tech jerks like gods

#16

Post by mercer » Mon, Sep 03, 2018, 6:08 PM UTC

captainbland wrote: post #2

Yeah I've been thinking for a while how strange it is that Musk, for example, seems to have a strange little cult of personality surrounding him.

I don't think it's strange. He's both a 'character', very much in the public eye, and quite successful by some measures. I think those types of people will usually cause cult-like behavior. And while I don't have a strong opinion on Musk's achievements or on whether they're good or bad, he seems at least more deserving of a cult-like following that many others who have similar fans.

Re: Stop treating tech jerks like gods

#17

Post by bsaul » Mon, Sep 03, 2018, 6:09 PM UTC

ChrisSD wrote: post #10

bsaul wrote: post #5

This article completely misses the mark. People worship jobs or elon because they’re the modern rock stars. They entertain us with technical marvels, and we’re grateful to them. Nobody care if keith richards is a nice guy, or if kurt cobain took drugs or was nice to kids. We liked what they did professionally, and we don’t car about the rest. Nobody is saying we should copy elon work ethic, or public communication, o…

Well I mean beside the fact people do say that Elon's work ethic is inspirational or that he's a great communicator. You might not but a loud and aggressive minority do. That said, although I can see why you might disagree with others on Musk I don't really understand why you'd get properly angry on Musk's behalf. Musk is rich enough, powerful enough and old enough to stand up for himself without needing an army of i…

I think "angry" is a bit strong, but i understand why some people overreact against musk critics. There aren't that many people on earth able to do what he's done at the moment. Same for jobs at his time. They're able to make the tech industry move forward, and at the same time provide a show for everyone to enjoy, and be inspired by (the show, not themselves, at least initialy).

This is rare. I don't think i've had the sensation of seeing humanity move forward as much as the day i saw that car fly around earth, and the two launcher get back to earth vertically. This was straight from a science fiction movie, and yet, thanks to Elon (and all the people he recruited), that was true.

This is something that should legitimately be admired, without being ashamed of it (as opposed to being a fan of certain music star).

Doesn't mean Elon should have a free rein for everything he does, and shouldn't be called overoptimistic when he is (if not borderline bullshiter). But at the minimum, we should feel grateful for what he already did.

Re: Stop treating tech jerks like gods

#18

Post by anothergoogler » Mon, Sep 03, 2018, 6:17 PM UTC

bsaul wrote: post #5

This article completely misses the mark. People worship jobs or elon because they’re the modern rock stars. They entertain us with technical marvels, and we’re grateful to them. Nobody care if keith richards is a nice guy, or if kurt cobain took drugs or was nice to kids. We liked what they did professionally, and we don’t car about the rest. Nobody is saying we should copy elon work ethic, or public communication, o…

We still have modern rock (or pick your genre) stars. You won't see a crowd of teenage girls holding "MARRY ME" signs and losing their minds when Zuckerberg is giving a talk. I also disagree with trivializing/ignoring the fact that these industry titans sit at the top of companies that employ thousands of people. I don't think Nirvana ever had cities competing with handouts and tax incentives to get them to tour. No, these guys aren't the rock stars, they're the record execs, and they've earned the public's disdain.

Re: Stop treating tech jerks like gods

#19

Post by RickJWagner » Mon, Sep 03, 2018, 6:27 PM UTC

bsaul wrote: post #5

This article completely misses the mark. People worship jobs or elon because they’re the modern rock stars. They entertain us with technical marvels, and we’re grateful to them. Nobody care if keith richards is a nice guy, or if kurt cobain took drugs or was nice to kids. We liked what they did professionally, and we don’t car about the rest. Nobody is saying we should copy elon work ethic, or public communication, o…

I disagree. Riches and fame are sure to draw legions of fame, no matter how offensive the misdeeds of the celebrity.

It seems part of modern day life.

Re: Stop treating tech jerks like gods

#20

Post by gcmartinelli » Mon, Sep 03, 2018, 6:40 PM UTC

can we stop telling other people what they should do?

these tech giants are worshiped for what they achieve and how they transform the world, not for their flaws. And yes, they are flawed... they are not "perfect" like the instagram role models you follow - and live vicariously thru.

and using bill gates as a good role model is just laughable to anyone who knows just a tiny bit about his work ethics as Microsoft CEO.