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)

#381

Post by seph-reed » Thu, Aug 29, 2019, 4:54 AM UTC

perl4ever wrote: post #339

seph-reed wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the adolescents might be on to something with that. I tend to do a good job of keeping my unpopular opinions between me and close friends, but I can't say I'm thrilled with the dependency on nepotism that's creeping into my life. Perhaps being edgy is the best way to force oneself into self reliance, and self reliance being the best way to hold ground against corruption... maybe the edgelessness of "adults" i…

Being "edgy" is a symptom of still having a mindset that there are railings between you and the abyss, and/or someone whose purpose in life is to tackle you before you go over the "edge". Believing that you can avoid it in the long run, while fearing you're not an adult if you stay where it's safe.

There are some interesting adventures over the edge.

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

#382

Post by sprafa » Thu, Aug 29, 2019, 5:03 AM UTC

smcl wrote: post #274

sprafa wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would Ryanair ever have a crash? Their airplanes are usually quite new. The EU hasn’t had an accidental plane crash in ages. Have you ever flown Ryanair?

Hang on, the EU has had heaps from small (the Piper that went down over the Alps yesterday and the plane carrying Emiliano Sala come to mind) to large (Air France 447).

I meant large passenger planes. And I meant accidental crashes within the EU territory not extraterritorial. I believe the safety record is pretty good, but can’t tell you it’s perfect

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

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Post by cortesoft » Thu, Aug 29, 2019, 5:19 AM UTC

colechristensen wrote: post #292

asdfman123 wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Happiness is relative to expectation. Most people reading this will never feel extreme hunger and have all their material needs met forever, but they will probably also go through things that to them, feel like miserable failures. You might even be forced to leave your cushy jobs and take an annual salary that is what 50 African laborers make in year. And it will possibly take years, maybe well over a decade, to live…

Zoom out from specific circumstances and it seems like human misery is fairly constant. Whether you're scrambling around the forest looking for berries and killing things to eat with pointy sticks or working an office job living in a suburb – I don't really think your emotional experience really changes all that much. I think your misery and delight are driven by the best and worst things in your life and it doesn't…

> To draw an analogy: a man's suffering is similar to the behavior of a gas. If a certain quantity of gas is pumped into an empty chamber, it will fill the chamber completely and evenly, no matter how big the chamber. Thus suffering completely fills the human soul and conscious mind, no matter whether the suffering is great or little. Therefore the "size" of human suffering is absolutely relative.

- Viktor Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

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

#384

Post by smolder » Thu, Aug 29, 2019, 5:43 AM UTC

perl4ever wrote: post #333

smolder wrote: post #240

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Lexus LS400 debuted in 1989 with a very high tech v8, with the highest r&d budget of any car engine to date. The 1uz-fe was an outstanding engine however you look at it, and so were its derivatives made well into the 00s. Other auto makers including euro brands like BMW had to play catch up. Lexii weren't just glitzed up cheap cars, nor necessarily high margin. There were some models like that, though. The Lexus…

The ES is/was the FWD platform that is said to be related to the Camry. Although I seem to remember that these days the ES is more related to the Avalon, a larger, but also FWD car. The GS is a different, RWD platform. Also, in many cases, Japanese luxury models under their own nameplate were sold under the parent company name overseas, like in Japan. For instance, the original Acura NSX was the Honda NSX elsewhere.

Thanks for the correction, it was the ES line of front wheel drive cars I was thinking of.

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

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Post by arcturus17 » Thu, Aug 29, 2019, 5:50 AM UTC

sharadov wrote: post #377

fnord123 wrote: post #309

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>were single-handedly responsible for "athleisure" Pretty sure that was Nike, Adidas, and Puma.

Nope, it was Lululemon, they were all making sporting apparel which you could wear while working out, but were nowhere close to the fabric, design, and style that Lululemon had, and they were completely clueless and neglecting the women's market. They eventually realized and have IMO caught on ( UA and Nike have great lines which have great fabrics, but am a guy, if you ask my wife she will go with Athleta, which is…

Lululemon has a weak presence in many parts of the EU and we still have people wear gym clothes in their normal lives...

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

#386

Post by im3w1l » Thu, Aug 29, 2019, 5:57 AM UTC

colechristensen wrote: post #292

asdfman123 wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Happiness is relative to expectation. Most people reading this will never feel extreme hunger and have all their material needs met forever, but they will probably also go through things that to them, feel like miserable failures. You might even be forced to leave your cushy jobs and take an annual salary that is what 50 African laborers make in year. And it will possibly take years, maybe well over a decade, to live…

Zoom out from specific circumstances and it seems like human misery is fairly constant. Whether you're scrambling around the forest looking for berries and killing things to eat with pointy sticks or working an office job living in a suburb – I don't really think your emotional experience really changes all that much. I think your misery and delight are driven by the best and worst things in your life and it doesn't…

My standard counterargument to this is to look at animals. We know that treating animals better lead to happier animals. Poorly treated and well treated animals do not converge to the same happiness level.

I think there are a few key things that drive happiness. Secure food and shelter. Short commute. Nature. Being able to walk away from toxic jobs and relationships.

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

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Post by im3w1l » Thu, Aug 29, 2019, 6:02 AM UTC

saalweachter wrote: post #278

mrkstu wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The re-branded company he was forced out of is now the largest diamond retailer in the world- so I'd say that the problem was him and his mouth, not an inevitable flip in fortune.

It's also possible he wasn't a real problem, but when his remarks caused a temporary (big) problem for the company, other stakeholders saw the opportunity to take control. There's probably a counterfactual universe where he remained in his position, he learned a valuable lesson on keeping his mouth shut in public, and the company re-branded and recovered on a similar trajectory.

Zuckerbergs infamous "People just submitted it. I don't know why. They 'trust me'. Dumbfucks" springs to mind. While I'm sure there is some amount of long term damage, you'd be hardpressed to say it has crippled Facebook.

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

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Post by distances » Thu, Aug 29, 2019, 6:06 AM UTC

aianus wrote: post #360

Aeolun wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m not so certain about that actually, I’ve certainly seen people making $20k that had more free money and recreation time than some people making $100k. Especially as regards recreation time. To be fair, making $20k was almost always a choice in those cases.

I strongly agree with this. A lot of people are happy in college and they're almost all living on less than $24k a year despite working over 40h a week (although schoolwork is a lot more engaging than industry IMHO).

That's because it's expected, all their friends are living in the same way, and they see this as temporary, with a larger income not that far off.

I can say I was very happy with minimal income in my university years, but would not be anymore as my friends are out of the campus and getting forward with their lives.

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

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Post by digitaltrees » Thu, Aug 29, 2019, 6:10 AM UTC

Aeolun wrote: post #308

paulmd wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Spoken like someone who can't comprehend living hand to mouth. Happiness is definitely a hockey-stick shaped curve, going from 1M to 10M is not going to make you happier, but someone who is making $100k is going to be far far happier than someone making $20k. The difference between scrabbling to pay your bills and keep the heat on, vs actually having some savings and free money for recreation, is absolutely massive.

I’m not so certain about that actually, I’ve certainly seen people making $20k that had more free money and recreation time than some people making $100k. Especially as regards recreation time. To be fair, making $20k was almost always a choice in those cases.

That’s not consistent with the empirical evidence in sociology research. Reported happiness does drastically change between $20k in the US and $80k specifically.

And in fact it isn’t specifically a choice. Sure you can make choices that, over a long term, will boost your income but it’s rarely a choice.

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

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Post by im3w1l » Thu, Aug 29, 2019, 6:13 AM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #156

seem_2211 wrote: post #139

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Price, value and practical utility are not really correlated. A Rolex and a Timex will both tell you the time. An iPhone and a $129 Android will do mostly similar things. A Toyota Camry and a Porsche will both get you to work. But practical utility and value aren't necessarily the most important thing. Apple intuitively understood this, at a time when other computer companies didn't. Lots of people look at a Macbook…

> A Toyota Camry and a Porsche will both get you to work. That's not the practical utility people want out of a Porsche. They want the practical utility of impressing people (including the other sex), appearing well off and sporty, etc. Those are also practical considerations - just not the first that come to mind when one thinks of cars (although not very far). (Practical as in: not aesthetic but with real life impa…

> They want the practical utility of impressing people (including the other sex)

And it's not gonna do that if the CEO shits on his own product. Things that are good because they are good are less vulnerable than things whose value comes from being impressive because of marketing.