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Paul Allen has died

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Re: Paul Allen has died

#191

Post by adventured »

PostOnce wrote: post #181
melling wrote: post #17

Paul wrote an autobiography: Idea Man: A Memoir by the Cofounder of Microsoft https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/18/technology/18allen.html https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idea_Man

It's a good read. I often wonder what would have become of him had his parents not had the forethought to send him to Lakeside School; his family wasn't rich like Bill Gates' family; I imagine, with money, Gates would have done well whether or not he had gone to that school, but if Allen hadn't, and therefore hadn't met Gates, where would have gone? It makes me think long and hard about my children's education. They'…

It's an interesting thought experiment with Allen, because he provided the unrelenting prompting to start Microsoft. As you know from the book (and Gates has confirmed this numerous times), he urged Gates repeatedly that they should start a company focused on software to capitalize on the burgeoning personal computing era. Finally convincing him when the famous January 1975 issue of Popular Electronics came out with the Altair 8800 on the cover.

Allen very plausibly was even more of an entrepreneur personality type than Gates was. It seems likely that Allen may well have pursued founding his own company in the absence of Gates.

From a very young age, Allen apparently had a strong penchant for science and technology. Striking out on your own, then as now, is maybe the best way to leap forward with new technology, versus laboring in the corner of a stuffy, conservative corporate behemoth like Honeywell (where Allen worked) or IBM.

Lakeside at a minimum very likely accelerated by several years his introduction to computer programming, due to the resources the school had. Then on top of that, he had a small group of friends to pursue those adventures with thanks to Lakeside, and they all had access to the same tech. The amplification value of all of that, has to be considerable.

Re: Paul Allen has died

#192

Post by InclinedPlane »

ad_hominem wrote: post #150

It doesn't detract from his greatness but I didn't like his hypocrisy in giving millions to gun control initiatives while personally owning a Panzer tank, SCUD missile launcher, MiG fighter jet, etc.

This is simply ignorant. Most such "weapons systems" will be disabled before purchase , since they count as destructive devices. In some cases it is possible to own such items that are still capable of firing live ammunition but this requires paying a fee and going through an extensive FBI background check. This process has been shown to reduce crimes committed using such devices to a virtually non-existent level. Additionally, you simply cannot go out and buy SCUD missiles, tank ammunition, or air to air missiles as a civilian.

This is "gun control", very tightly regulated weapons which are expensive to obtain and require hopping through several regulatory hoops. It is not hypocrisy in the least to be willing to abide by that level of gun control for those weapons (even assuming he did, I have no knowledge that any of Allen's stuff had functioning weapons) and desire the process of obtaining small arms be made slightly more stringent as well.

Re: Paul Allen has died

#194

Post by seanmcdirmid »

dhairya wrote: post #139

I had an opportunity to work at both the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2) and the Allen Institute for Brain Science (AIBs). I was part of the 10 year strategic planning efforts at AI2. Paul Allen was both involved and hands-off in the support of the leadership AI2 and AIBs. It was a rare balance and Paul Allen knew how to create the conditions for innovation and novel research breakthroughs with micr…

> In Seattle, it was hard to not run into the influence of Paul Allen. From the Seattle Seahawks to the Museum of Popular Culture (MoPoP), Paul Allen had an impact everywhere in Seattle.

The whole South Lake Union urban office park that Amazon now dominates was Paul Allen's work also. (see https://www.seattletimes.com/business/timeline-of-paul-allen...)

Re: Paul Allen has died

#195

Post by dang »

tinkerteller wrote: post #171
MrStonedOne wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh how adorable. I hope one day when you look at somebody so loved and adored by all around him you are able to push past the hate and envy and be happy for them. Until then please keep your negativity to yourself.

This is not hate or envy. There are other 1000 billionaires in the world and most have lived less lavish lifestyle than Allen and some probably even have done more on philanthropy. I don't get depressed when they die or even think of as big event. They spend massive amount of fortunes to stroke their ego and spend money on pointless stuff (golden toilets, anyone?) and then throw breadcrumbs to science. The entire sum…

Please stop.

Re: Paul Allen has died

#197

Post by yongjik »

ad_hominem wrote: post #150

It doesn't detract from his greatness but I didn't like his hypocrisy in giving millions to gun control initiatives while personally owning a Panzer tank, SCUD missile launcher, MiG fighter jet, etc.

If someone spends millions to lobby for tighter aviation safety rules, but owns a Cessna, does that make them a hypocrite in your eyes?

Re: Paul Allen has died

#198

Post by waffle_ss »

chokolad wrote: post #185
mikeyouse wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's silly. None of those things were in working (fighting) condition. You can be a war historian and think that private ownership of war implements is a bad idea.

His tanks are definitely capable of shooting at least blank rounds. They do it weekly at the museum. I would not be surprised if they can shoot the actual live munition without issues if you can get hands on it.

As expected as there's no federal law against owning a fully-operable tank or fighter jet. Well the tank howitzer may need to be registered as a destructive device with $200 tax stamp in accordance with the National Firearms Act due to the bore width.

It's also legal to equip them with machine guns, as long as the gun's transferable under the Hughes Amendment. An M2 Browning would set one back $20K or so.[1] But a guy like Paul Allen could splurge and get a GE M134 chain gun for $500K.[2]

One could also equip them with explosive ordnance as long as each piece of ordnance is registered as a destructive device (along with $200 tax stamp).

These are minor obstacles to the wealthy. Gun control is for the poor.

[1]: https://www.morphyauctions.com/jamesdjulia/item/lot-1009-m2-...

[2]: https://imgur.com/gallery/2u9YI

Re: Paul Allen has died

#199

Post by jodrellblank »

etatoby wrote: post #189
joe_the_user wrote: post #148

I have to mention an article by Allen which I think is the single best critique of the idea fo the "singularity" which I have seen. Paul Allen: The Singularity Isn't Near https://www.technologyreview.com/s/425733/paul-allen-the-sin...

> There’s even exponential growth in the rate of exponential growth. When you know somebody didn't take calculus or didn't "get" it. Either that, or he didn't explain what he meant. (Not Paul Allen, just another interviewee.)

Interviewee? That's a quote from Google Director of Engineering Ray Kurzweil - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Kurzweil

Re: Paul Allen has died

#200

Post by VonGuard »

PostOnce wrote: post #180

Many here have noted his many large-scale philanthropic efforts, which are fantastic, and often benefit our whole species. But my personal favorite, even if it doesn't benefit large swaths of humanity in the same way as a cell research insitute: https://livingcomputers.org/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Living_Computers:_Museum_%2B_L... It's a computer museum, but they work. They're turned on, and you can use them! Y…

Seconded. Paul loved IMSAIs, and the Living Computer Museum is a national treasure. Check out their work around Maze War
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