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Competition Is For Losers

lrb.co.uk

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Re: Competition Is For Losers

#11

Post by cinquemb »

mmmpop wrote: post #6

Ad hominem right out of the gate... why should I care what this intellectual bully thinks about anything? First rule I've learned about persuasion is to not behave this way, but of course it's okay when you have the "correct" politics.

Are they trying to persuade? I figure they were just trying to signal their "loyalty" to some audience they have in mind.

I found this hilarious:

"The Thiel Fellowships, which began in 2011, initially provided $100,000 each to 22 high school students with big ideas for changing the world… Unsurprisingly, these dreams came to nothing."

Because of [0]:

"He dropped out of university in 2014 when he was awarded with a grant of $100,000 from the Thiel Fellowship, a scholarship created by venture capitalist Peter Thiel and went to work on Ethereum full-time."

Which I guess is "nothing" for these sorts of people.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitalik_Buterin

Re: Competition Is For Losers

#12

Post by Causality1 »

zzzbra wrote: post #8
Causality1 wrote: post #4

What the fuck is this guy's problem? Unsurprisingly, these dreams came to nothing. One of the people he's shitting on in that sentence is Laura Deming, who's raised investment funds for companies working on stroke and biotech research as well as running a foundation that searches out disadvantaged people exhibiting special talent. We get it dude, Peter Thiel is a jerk who doesn't vote like you and that really chafes…

I think the main thrust of the article is that Peter Thiel's libertarianism is hugely unprincipled and inconsistent with itself. which might describe of lot of the more famous libertarians out there actually...

Well of course. Having a billion dollars is like having a dozen children: something is deeply wrong with you.

Re: Competition Is For Losers

#13

Post by cma »

Causality1 wrote: post #4

What the fuck is this guy's problem? Unsurprisingly, these dreams came to nothing. One of the people he's shitting on in that sentence is Laura Deming, who's raised investment funds for companies working on stroke and biotech research as well as running a foundation that searches out disadvantaged people exhibiting special talent. We get it dude, Peter Thiel is a jerk who doesn't vote like you and that really chafes…

> stroke and biotech research as well as running a foundation that searches out disadvantaged people exhibiting special talent.

Might be worth mentioning it is life extension research it is primarily focused on. The stroke thing is great, they may have initially started out trying to hibernate billionaires like bears to let them make it to the singularity, but the enzymes may prove useful for humans too.

Re: Competition Is For Losers

#14

Post by mmmpop »

cinquemb wrote: post #11
mmmpop wrote: post #6

Ad hominem right out of the gate... why should I care what this intellectual bully thinks about anything? First rule I've learned about persuasion is to not behave this way, but of course it's okay when you have the "correct" politics.

Are they trying to persuade? I figure they were just trying to signal their "loyalty" to some audience they have in mind. I found this hilarious: "The Thiel Fellowships, which began in 2011, initially provided $100,000 each to 22 high school students with big ideas for changing the world… Unsurprisingly, these dreams came to nothing." Because of [0]: "He dropped out of university in 2014 when he was awarded with a gr…

Fair enough.

That last quote reminds me of this classic Dilbert: https://imgur.com/zbTJR5o

Re: Competition Is For Losers

#15

Post by mmmpop »

Causality1 wrote: post #12
zzzbra wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the main thrust of the article is that Peter Thiel's libertarianism is hugely unprincipled and inconsistent with itself. which might describe of lot of the more famous libertarians out there actually...

Well of course. Having a billion dollars is like having a dozen children: something is deeply wrong with you.

Careful with that sarcasm.

Re: Competition Is For Losers

#16

Post by cinquemb »

mmmpop wrote: post #14
cinquemb wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they trying to persuade? I figure they were just trying to signal their "loyalty" to some audience they have in mind. I found this hilarious: "The Thiel Fellowships, which began in 2011, initially provided $100,000 each to 22 high school students with big ideas for changing the world… Unsurprisingly, these dreams came to nothing." Because of [0]: "He dropped out of university in 2014 when he was awarded with a gr…

Fair enough. That last quote reminds me of this classic Dilbert: https://imgur.com/zbTJR5o

The last quote is from the wiki, but the first one is from the article

Re: Competition Is For Losers

#17

Post by cma »

cinquemb wrote: post #11
mmmpop wrote: post #6

Ad hominem right out of the gate... why should I care what this intellectual bully thinks about anything? First rule I've learned about persuasion is to not behave this way, but of course it's okay when you have the "correct" politics.

Are they trying to persuade? I figure they were just trying to signal their "loyalty" to some audience they have in mind. I found this hilarious: "The Thiel Fellowships, which began in 2011, initially provided $100,000 each to 22 high school students with big ideas for changing the world… Unsurprisingly, these dreams came to nothing." Because of [0]: "He dropped out of university in 2014 when he was awarded with a gr…

Ethereum is 14 Mt CO2 annually or more, which is a disaster for what we got in return (ransomware), but at least they are moving to proof of stake.

Re: Competition Is For Losers

#18

Post by klipt »

Causality1 wrote: post #12
zzzbra wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the main thrust of the article is that Peter Thiel's libertarianism is hugely unprincipled and inconsistent with itself. which might describe of lot of the more famous libertarians out there actually...

Well of course. Having a billion dollars is like having a dozen children: something is deeply wrong with you.

Statistically speaking, many of our ancestors probably had an above average number of children...

Re: Competition Is For Losers

#19

Post by kjksf »

coliveira wrote: post #3
inreverse wrote: post #2

The first paragraph is misleading enough that I stopped reading; there's no evidence that Thiel has NZ citizenship "as a hedge against the looming apocalypse" (?), and he recently sold that "500 acre estate". He was given citizenship by a conservative-leaning Prime Minister in the hopes that he would invest in the local tech scene, which he has. The $50 million he invested is not a lot by silicon valley standards but…

The way he got the citizenship doesn't disprove the idea that he wanted it "as a hedge against the looming apocalypse".

It also doesn't disprove the idea that he wanted it to host sex parties in NZ for people that are exactly 6 feet 3 inches tall and have green eyes.

Both are equally made up "reasons" for Thiel getting NZ citizenship.

BTW: what kind of apocalypse exactly does one hedge against with NZ citizenship? A zombie apocalypse where zombies don't like New Zealand?

Re: Competition Is For Losers

#20

Post by cinquemb »

cma wrote: post #17
cinquemb wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are they trying to persuade? I figure they were just trying to signal their "loyalty" to some audience they have in mind. I found this hilarious: "The Thiel Fellowships, which began in 2011, initially provided $100,000 each to 22 high school students with big ideas for changing the world… Unsurprisingly, these dreams came to nothing." Because of [0]: "He dropped out of university in 2014 when he was awarded with a gr…

Ethereum is 14 Mt CO2 annually or more, which is a disaster for what we got in return (ransomware), but at least they are moving to proof of stake.

> which is a disaster for what we got in return (ransomware)

Right, that's all "we" got for it… "nothing" besides ransomware and easier ways to pinpoint CO2 compared existing systems it seeks to obsolete…

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