Live data from Hacker News

Bill Gates: My Plan to Fix The World's Biggest Problems

online.wsj.com

211–212 of 212 posts

Re: Bill Gates: My Plan to Fix The World's Biggest Problems

#211
I'm very glad he's doing what he's doing.

It is also fair that when someone proposes a certain set of objectives, and then declares a plan to accomplish those, that you can criticize the plan to accomplish those objectives as being less than optimal. IMO, since this is his own money, he has every right to pick the objectives he thinks most important.

I think a marginal $1b spent to end the drug war would do more for his stated goal of fixing underperforming urban schools than a marginal $1b spent on teacher measurement. The irony is he wouldn't even need to spend $1b to make a huge impact on ending the drug war -- just showing through data that the drug war is responsible for many of the problems in schools and urban culture ($10mm to study this?) and then having the courage to promote that result (free or priceless) would accomplish it.

Re: Bill Gates: My Plan to Fix The World's Biggest Problems

#212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'll say them. I assume it was one of these three: Fuck You! Fuck off! Eat Shit! These four are from me though: Fuck off and die.

Mr. Steve Jobs was your role model, wasn't he?

Not at all, I can't stand the guy. I'm more of a Carmack and Torvalds fan actually. But I really can't stand pussyfooting around and shielding people from negative perceptions. If something is bad they ought to know it and know why it is bad. One of the more valuable traits of a good professional is having the guts to say what needs to be said, albeit with quite a bit more tact than I demonstrated above and without resorting to insults of course. Truth to power and all that. Get it out in the open or it will fester quietly and blow up at the worst possible time. I think it's also very important not to take personal offence when someone disagrees with a design decision or says they don't like your implementation of something. Entirely too many people take engineering critiques personally and that simply should not happen. How many structural engineers would be butthurt if you showed them how to do something cheaper stronger and safer?
Post reply on HN