A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018) • Hacker News Board

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#51

Post by pmiller2 » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 5:50 PM UTC

Ididntdothis wrote: post #42

dragontamer wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, the best "public shaming" talk I've seen are the ones given by Monica Lewinsky. When you consider that Monica Lewinsky was 22 years old during the time of the scandal, a lot of the stuff going on was simply outside of her control. Seeing things from her perspective is pretty interesting, to say the least: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq7Eh6JTKIg John Oliver starts the discussion, but there is a Lewinsky…

I never understood why Lewinsky got ridiculed that much. If anything she was a victim in the whole thing. Or am I missing something?

She is a woman who spoke out about sexual harassment in the 90s. That’s how women got treated then. Take a look at the treatment Anita Hill and Paula Jones got sometime.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#52

Post by whatshisface » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 5:50 PM UTC

sysbin wrote: post #40

dumbfoundded wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course, everyone who bought it already knew it was crap. It's the same thing for buying $15K engagement rings. Everyone knows it's a stupid use of money and that the rings have no value. Same goes for clothing, cars, and many other things. These types of products succeed because of a shared delusion. Take fashion for instance. Everyone believes some clothes are more fashionable than others. The way you dress says…

That's a far leap from engagement ring cost being the result of society sharing a delusion and believing there is a delusion with some clothes being more fashionable than others. Psychology has a definition named the halo effect and it's very real. A person definitely gains advantages in society when they appear more attractive than less attractive. Naturally people associate good health with attractiveness and it's…

If that were the whole story then fashion would never change. The idea that your clothes should be the right size doesn't have much to do with the weird color cycling that clothing companies try to foist on people.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#53

Post by rando444 » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 5:51 PM UTC

cmauniada wrote: post #29

mjw1007 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He'd made the same jokes in speeches several times before, and it had gone down well with the audience. Presumably he just didn't consider the possibility that the press would think it worth making a story out of.

I don't get it. So he made these jokes infront of shareholders just for kicks? Why would someone even say this infront of anyone, I don't understand. I am starting to think he might have been under the influence.

In the other article that is posted in this thread it mentions he was kicked out of grammar school at 15 for 'being too stupid'.

Some people are just like that.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#54

Post by roland35 » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 5:51 PM UTC

gdy wrote: post #49

Ididntdothis wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never understood why Lewinsky got ridiculed that much. If anything she was a victim in the whole thing. Or am I missing something?

How is she a victim?

Whenever there is a huge power mismatch in a relationship - that is generally not a situation where you can't say someone is not coerced in any way. Especially when the person in question is the president of the United States!

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#55

Post by deckar01 » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 5:51 PM UTC

krustyburger wrote: post #7

What kind of jewelry did people think they were getting for a few quid?

Cheap status symbols are a bit of a paradox. They are purchased with the intent of being indistinguishable from luxury status symbol at a distance, even though the quality of the item is what gives it status. There is an entire industry of forgery and a culture of shaming because of this.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#56

Post by dragontamer » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 5:51 PM UTC

gdy wrote: post #49

Ididntdothis wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I never understood why Lewinsky got ridiculed that much. If anything she was a victim in the whole thing. Or am I missing something?

How is she a victim?

I think you'd have to be a 90s kid to really understand. It was the Lewinsky affair, or the Lewinsky scandal. Lewinsky's name was attached to the event more so than even Bill Clinton.

As such, it was Lewinsky's name who appeared in songs, raps, TV shows, movies, etc. etc. to describe the political drama at the time.

https://genius.com/Saint-jhn-monica-lewinsky-lyrics

Lewinsky also had to describe her sexual acts to Congress, publicly aired across television networks nationwide, before the age of social media. Lewinsky basically got to experience the entire "social media outrage" machine before social media even existed. EDIT: Of course, Bill Clinton just lied about it, so there's the whole Lewinsky is just "trying to get attention" angle as well going on.

It was Lewinsky's word vs the President's. It was very much a a big political drama at the time, and Lewinsky drew the short-stick of the arrangement as the 22-year old intern. And again: the powers that be were the Republicans pushing to impeach the President, and Clinton who was lying to defend himself. Etc. etc. It was a very big scandal, but I don't think Lewinsky actually did anything wrong throughout it all. But her name was unfairly attached to the whole event.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#57

Post by mixmastamyk » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 5:51 PM UTC

archgoon wrote: post #17

mjw1007 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He'd made the same jokes in speeches several times before, and it had gone down well with the audience. Presumably he just didn't consider the possibility that the press would think it worth making a story out of.

Interesting; what was difference about this audience? Or was it just a slow news day this time?

A large gathering of business leaders with press attending + random chance.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#58

Post by indigoabstract » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 5:51 PM UTC

dumbfoundded wrote: post #21

krustyburger wrote: post #7

What kind of jewelry did people think they were getting for a few quid?

Of course, everyone who bought it already knew it was crap. It's the same thing for buying $15K engagement rings. Everyone knows it's a stupid use of money and that the rings have no value. Same goes for clothing, cars, and many other things. These types of products succeed because of a shared delusion. Take fashion for instance. Everyone believes some clothes are more fashionable than others. The way you dress says…

yes, that's known as the famous "emporer's new clothes" effect

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#59

Post by ghaff » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 5:52 PM UTC

the8472 wrote: post #43

cat199 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

calling it 'crap' is quite a different thing from saying it is 'affordable' and 'a good value', even if both imply the same thing w/r/t cost:quality vs absolute quality in that product family - one will get you bad press and social stigma, the other will win you fans. it's all about presentation.

seems like a bug in humans, since the material reality underlying those statements is the same.

The connotation is a lot different even if the reality can converge. A mass market pen I pickup in an office supply store can probably be reasonably described as affordable and good value. It's not as nice as one of the good pens I keep at home but I don't think it's fair to describe as "crap" in most contexts.

Re: A man who destroyed his multimillion dollar company in 10 seconds (2018)

#60

Post by whenchamenia » Wed, Aug 28, 2019, 5:52 PM UTC

PhasmaFelis wrote: post #19

I think a lot of people, then and now, miss the important takeaway here. It's not about Ratner or his products; it's about all the other products that we continue to use and trust every day, because their creators are smart enough to maintain the lie.

Most people on HN just treat it as a cautionary tale, as the implicit lies that underlie most SV companies are piled high and deep. Everyone knows they are standing on a rug, and are anxiously looking around for any pulling.