Cats do not do what you want, an owner is a passive partner to the cat. You have to make the cat like you, so it voluntarily comes for pets. Running a business is similar - no one automatically likes you or wants what you are selling, you must give the customer pets and treats to encourage them to reward you back. In this way cat owners have a vision of life more attuned to entrepreneurship.
Toxoplasmosis associated with entrepreneurial initiation and performance (2020)
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Re: Toxoplasmosis associated with entrepreneurial initiation and performance (2020)
#12fun thought: i wonder if famed "entrepreneur" martin shkreli had a toxoplasmosis infection... he famously bought the patents for the drug that treated the infection (mostly required for immunocompromised folks) and raised the prices by some huge factor. if he was, then maybe his "entrepreneurial performance" was in service to the bug he was infected with!
yes, this is a joke! (or is it?! brb. off to start a company that moderates online discussions...)
Re: Toxoplasmosis associated with entrepreneurial initiation and performance (2020)
#13I wouldn't be surprised if this is a correlation. My quality of life increased significantly after I got my cat about 2 years ago (just before COVID!). I say to anyone who ask, getting a cat was likely the best decision I ever made. Since then I became a lot more entrepreneurial and productive. I don't believe neither me nor my car has Toxoplasmosis gondii (my cat was tested for this when I brought him home). My cat…
Was your car tested too?
Re: Toxoplasmosis associated with entrepreneurial initiation and performance (2020)
#14We should not interpret this to mean TP makes you better at entrepreneurial thinking. It means you are more likely to try to start a business without a sound rational basis.
Occasionally, a business without a sound rational basis succeeds: Pet Rocks made certain people lots of money. (Yes, really! Look it up.) But it's not the way to bet.
Infection with TP caused men to become reckless drivers, and (incidentally) less attractive to women. It affected women the opposite way: they became more risk-averse and conformant, and presumably more attractive to those men who seek that out.
Re: Toxoplasmosis associated with entrepreneurial initiation and performance (2020)
#15We have to earn money to make a nice life for our cats.
I don't know about yours, but mine just requires a human as a bed and mice to murder. She's a cheap date.
Re: Toxoplasmosis associated with entrepreneurial initiation and performance (2020)
#16I wouldn't be surprised if this is a correlation. My quality of life increased significantly after I got my cat about 2 years ago (just before COVID!). I say to anyone who ask, getting a cat was likely the best decision I ever made. Since then I became a lot more entrepreneurial and productive. I don't believe neither me nor my car has Toxoplasmosis gondii (my cat was tested for this when I brought him home). My cat…
Cats are quieter and less needy than dogs. They take care of themselves and don't bark at neighbors. How are you supposed to start a new company with a dog pawing at you?
Re: Toxoplasmosis associated with entrepreneurial initiation and performance (2020)
#17I think a study of bipolar individuals would yield similar results. I still wouldn't like to be bipolar or have toxoplasmosis.
Re: Toxoplasmosis associated with entrepreneurial initiation and performance (2020)
#18We should not interpret this to mean TP makes you better at entrepreneurial thinking. It means you are more likely to try to start a business without a sound rational basis. Occasionally, a business without a sound rational basis succeeds: Pet Rocks made certain people lots of money. (Yes, really! Look it up.) But it's not the way to bet. Infection with TP caused men to become reckless drivers, and (incidentally) les…
In reflecting on life, I'd say a good percentage of the most enjoyable, worthwhile and meaningful things in life usually don't start with a "sound rational basis."
This is not to say that everyone should YOLO their way through life but if you always think something through to the nth degree and wait for it to make complete sense, a lot of life will pass you by.
Re: Toxoplasmosis associated with entrepreneurial initiation and performance (2020)
#19Past related threads:
Risky business: linking Toxoplasma infection and entrepreneurship behavior - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18762544 - Dec 2018 (30 comments)
Toxoplasma gondii may help promote the entrepreneurial spirit? - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17615209 - July 2018 (4 comments)
Re: Toxoplasmosis associated with entrepreneurial initiation and performance (2020)
#20I wouldn't be surprised if this is a correlation. My quality of life increased significantly after I got my cat about 2 years ago (just before COVID!). I say to anyone who ask, getting a cat was likely the best decision I ever made. Since then I became a lot more entrepreneurial and productive. I don't believe neither me nor my car has Toxoplasmosis gondii (my cat was tested for this when I brought him home). My cat…
Cats are quieter and less needy than dogs. They take care of themselves and don't bark at neighbors. How are you supposed to start a new company with a dog pawing at you?
Because with a dog you have something worth fighting for