Intrade CEO dies climbing Mt. Everest • Hacker News Board

Re: Intrade CEO dies climbing Mt. Everest

#101

Post by mst » Thu, Jun 02, 2011, 12:04 AM UTC

gwright wrote: post #97

JabavuAdams wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, maybe he had kids before he got to climb Everest. Does that mean that he should give up on his dreams, due to bad timing? There's really never a good time to climb Everest. It might be much better for the kids to have a dead father than a bitter, reluctant father.

> Does that mean that he should give up on his dreams, due to bad timing? I don't know about giving up on dreams in the abstract, but yes, having kids should change the priorities in your life and that will most likely mean giving up some of your own wants, big and small, in order to care of your kids. If you aren't comfortable with that change, then you shouldn't make the choice to have kids.

He believed in this. His wife presumably knew he did.

I salute them.

Now could we please get the hell out of their personal decisions? Seriously. I'm not comfortable with HN acting as if they're entitled to judge his and her choices. I doubt any of us would want our community to judge ours.

Re: Intrade CEO dies climbing Mt. Everest

#102

Post by caf » Thu, Jun 02, 2011, 12:22 AM UTC

ColinWright wrote: post #47

There is a time and place for everything, so we are told. personally, I believe that HN is not the place for this. And if HN is now the place for this, then perhaps HN's time has now passed. Other people's personal lives are their own. They make their choices, the people they share their lives with share their choices, by choice or otherwise. Leave them alone. Leave it alone. Go build something useful.

Morals are a social construct. This kind of discussion is exactly how they are developed and passed on, and always have been.

Re: Intrade CEO dies climbing Mt. Everest

#103

Post by yelsgib » Thu, Jun 02, 2011, 1:08 AM UTC

pessimist wrote: post #9

Sad. But I have to say - climbing Everest when your wife is due to give birth - not cool. Overall death rate for Everest climbers is pretty close to 3% - pretty high (although its been falling). Edit: 3% is for climbers above base camp - for summit climbers its close to 10%! According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Mount_Everest_disaster

This comment makes me extremely angry. Do you know anything about this man or his family? Do you know anything about the reasons that he was climbing the mountain?

Disrespectful in the extreme.

Re: Intrade CEO dies climbing Mt. Everest

#104

Post by yelsgib » Thu, Jun 02, 2011, 1:09 AM UTC

samtp wrote: post #74

kloncks wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand all this harsh judgement, especially from the HN crowd. Who are you to say what he should or shouldn't do? He essentially died from a freak accident that couldn't be predicted ahead of time. Telling him that he shouldn't do something because he's married with children is like someone telling you you shouldn't pursue a dream (whether that be climbing a mountain or trying an innovative startup with a…

I think the criticism on here is not too harsh and could have been predicted by people who knew he was doing this. Many people see the father as the protector of the household. Sure, this view plays into traditional gender roles, but to deny it would be to ignore the reality of how many people think. By going off and risking his life on a personal accomplishment, he wasn't doing the best job to protect his family. Th…

You can't criticize a decision outside of the context of the person who makes it.

Re: Intrade CEO dies climbing Mt. Everest

#105

Post by samtp » Thu, Jun 02, 2011, 1:19 AM UTC

yelsgib wrote: post #104

samtp wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the criticism on here is not too harsh and could have been predicted by people who knew he was doing this. Many people see the father as the protector of the household. Sure, this view plays into traditional gender roles, but to deny it would be to ignore the reality of how many people think. By going off and risking his life on a personal accomplishment, he wasn't doing the best job to protect his family. Th…

You can't criticize a decision outside of the context of the person who makes it.

You're right. He probably had a deadly disease and the only cure was at the top of the highest mountain on earth.

Honestly what context do you possibly need? There aren't really a lot of externalities here

Re: Intrade CEO dies climbing Mt. Everest

#106

Post by samtp » Thu, Jun 02, 2011, 1:20 AM UTC

sdoowpilihp wrote: post #92

kloncks wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't understand all this harsh judgement, especially from the HN crowd. Who are you to say what he should or shouldn't do? He essentially died from a freak accident that couldn't be predicted ahead of time. Telling him that he shouldn't do something because he's married with children is like someone telling you you shouldn't pursue a dream (whether that be climbing a mountain or trying an innovative startup with a…

All these differing opinions really highlights what you hear a lot of mountain climbers say about how people either "get it", or the sport is a complete enigma to them.

Same with Pog collecting my friend. You either 'get it' or the practice is a complete act of tomfoolery

Re: Intrade CEO dies climbing Mt. Everest

#107

Post by yelsgib » Thu, Jun 02, 2011, 1:22 AM UTC

samtp wrote: post #32

peterbraden wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was his lifelong ambition. Whether it was selfish or not is between him and his wife - let's not pass judgement on the dead.

If you can pass judgement on the living then you can do the same to someone who has died. While putting the dead on a pedestal may comfort our own feelings about death, it doesn't escape the reality of their actions.

You shouldn't pass judgement on the living.

Re: Intrade CEO dies climbing Mt. Everest

#108

Post by BrandonM » Thu, Jun 02, 2011, 1:44 AM UTC

samtp wrote: post #105

yelsgib wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't criticize a decision outside of the context of the person who makes it.

You're right. He probably had a deadly disease and the only cure was at the top of the highest mountain on earth. Honestly what context do you possibly need? There aren't really a lot of externalities here

You seem to be judging people's decisions based on your own value system and dreams as opposed to theirs.

Re: Intrade CEO dies climbing Mt. Everest

#109

Post by moo » Thu, Jun 02, 2011, 1:47 AM UTC

I think the drive in people who push boundaries between what is safe and what is dangerous is beneficial to overall human survival. It puts us more in control of the surrounding natural environments.

We all take survival risks. I wouldn't climb Everest but I do ride a motorcycle and scuba dive. Both hobbies do add survival risks for only enjoying life more.

Re: Intrade CEO dies climbing Mt. Everest

#110

Post by JabavuAdams » Thu, Jun 02, 2011, 1:55 AM UTC

gwright wrote: post #97

JabavuAdams wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, maybe he had kids before he got to climb Everest. Does that mean that he should give up on his dreams, due to bad timing? There's really never a good time to climb Everest. It might be much better for the kids to have a dead father than a bitter, reluctant father.

> Does that mean that he should give up on his dreams, due to bad timing? I don't know about giving up on dreams in the abstract, but yes, having kids should change the priorities in your life and that will most likely mean giving up some of your own wants, big and small, in order to care of your kids. If you aren't comfortable with that change, then you shouldn't make the choice to have kids.

> then you shouldn't make the choice to have kids

Contributing genetic information and some parenting can be a net positive even if the parent is ultimately absent (for whatever reasons).

Take the extreme case of a parent who disappears just after the child's birth. The other parent may still be thankful to have the child, and the child may still be a credit to society.

Is the disappearing parent a good parent? Not really. Should he/she have never had the child, as you suggest? Well, that's up to the child, really.

I.e. it's hard to fault your parents for making you, whether they're good parents or not.

Do you have kids? It's relevant because I used to make arguments like yours until I had a child and realized how much more nuanced these arguments actually are.