I am writing an Elon Musk biography • Hacker News Board

Re: I am writing an Elon Musk biography

#51

Post by SuperChihuahua » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 11:00 AM UTC

scheff wrote: post #45

This is what I have been asking for - the Elon Musk biography. However, the one thing that I'm after, and the only thing I would be willing to buy it for, is answer to the question - "How did surmount his challenges?" He must have faced a thousand naysayers, both at the business level and at the technical level. People who he had to convince to make his successes happen. What is it that he has that enables him to ove…

I've for example included how he convinced experts to join a new rocket company. In the beginning, no one wanted to join SpaceX because so many other rocket companies had failed. So what he did was to pay the experts to participate in a series of meetings so they could convince themselves.

One paragraph from the book:

After the meetings ended, the conclusion was that it would be possible to build better rockets than had been made before. The experts were now convinced that SpaceX was different and wouldn't be yet another failed rocket company. "I essentially led them to a conclusion that they created," Elon said. "It was sort of a Socratic dialogue on a technical level. The essence of a Socratic dialogue is that people wind up convincing themselves. People are much more willing to change their opinion if you're not forcing it."

Re: I am writing an Elon Musk biography

#52

Post by SuperChihuahua » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 11:08 AM UTC

omarforgotpwd wrote: post #47

Looks like a shit on a plate

Don't judge a book by its cover :)

Re: I am writing an Elon Musk biography

#53

Post by someperson » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 1:16 PM UTC

SuperChihuahua wrote: post #37

swamp40 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should at least ask . Maybe you are destined to be a modern day Napoleon Hill?

The only question I have unanswered is what the name of the game was that Elon Musk sold when he was 12. I had to include Blastar, Blast Star, and Blaster. I tried to ask that question on Twitter, but it got lost in the spam... @alanctgardner2 I meant questions that will improve the material I have. You can always ask more questions, but I didn't want the book to be too long either. Well, I wrote it because he's an e…

There's a clip on YouTube ;) It has a title screen

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqrqU_wTPAw

Re: I am writing an Elon Musk biography

#54

Post by someperson » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 1:20 PM UTC

biography wrote: post #4

SuperChihuahua wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It succeed if people like it after they've read it, but those who have read it said it was "good shit"

"good shit" sounds pretty good :)

Yes, just to clarify for non-native speakers, this is a positive (but very colloquial) expression in English. The person who said it was giving a complement.

Re: I am writing an Elon Musk biography

#55

Post by michaelbuddy » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 2:04 PM UTC

jonnathanson wrote: post #24

mbesto wrote: post #19

Slightly meta - Just a recommendation on your "pitch". When you are trying to get someone to buy something using the word "try" makes you sound less serious. I understand you're trying to be humble, but confidence in your work will get you more book sales. Be confident and people will take you more seriously. That being said...the book looks interesting! Grattis for shipping.

Good advice, though when sharing with the HN audience, humility is probably a decent strategy. In fact, I might have suggested "I am writing ..." rather than the past-tense "I wrote" or "I tried to write." This would imply that the writing is an ongoing process, of which sharing on HN is the first major feedback stage.

no, when I read "try" I thought the book isn't finished. And of course Elon is what 40 years old. He's not really cooked well enough for a true bio yet. So I'm also not ready to buy the book yet.

Re: I am writing an Elon Musk biography

#56

Post by moocowduckquack » Fri, Aug 23, 2013, 6:29 PM UTC

SuperChihuahua wrote: post #50

InclinedPlane wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All of that is eccentricity compared to Columbus' very real crimes against humanity that he committed during his voyages. He enslaved huge numbers of people and put them to work in forced labor under brutal conditions. It was so egregious that the Spanish had to remove him from his governorship. He should rightly be one of the most controversial figures in history. Comparing him to anyone in modern history (except ma…

Thanks for the input. I didn't know that it was wrong to compare Elon with Columbus. Others have complained about it as well, so I will probably find a another explorer.

Not being funny, but if you are writing a book about someone and intend on comparing them to historical characters, you probably should go through history a bit more generally and find people who genuinely reflects the person you are describing, rather than go and decide that you just want an explorer and then seek one to wedge in.

Re: I am writing an Elon Musk biography

#57

Post by SuperChihuahua » Sat, Aug 24, 2013, 9:38 AM UTC

someperson wrote: post #53

SuperChihuahua wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The only question I have unanswered is what the name of the game was that Elon Musk sold when he was 12. I had to include Blastar, Blast Star, and Blaster. I tried to ask that question on Twitter, but it got lost in the spam... @alanctgardner2 I meant questions that will improve the material I have. You can always ask more questions, but I didn't want the book to be too long either. Well, I wrote it because he's an e…

There's a clip on YouTube ;) It has a title screen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqrqU_wTPAw

That's another game released in 1993 by Core Design. Elon's game was released in 1983. I've written in the biography that the two games shouldn't be confused.