Post ArvarjbtsriStc2HLs by andyhilmer@mstdn.social
(DIR) More posts by andyhilmer@mstdn.social
(DIR) Post #ArvQPPHWs9f4CLMQzo by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-03-10T22:18:32Z
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If you asked me in my 20s if I admired Steve Jobs or Bill Gates I would have scoffed. But, back then I thought there was something there more than luck, privilege and vision ruthlessness. Sure I didn't believe in magical mercurial auteurs, a handful of remarkable individuals who shaped all of human culture and invention.But, I did think that men in those positions had to be smarter than the average bear. A little more driven. Lucky. And... LOL "good with people."How cynical I have become!
(DIR) Post #ArvQfFGPt2G5lGOPb6 by nazokiyoubinbou@mastodon.social
2025-03-10T22:21:21Z
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@futurebird Not to mention they generally at least were less evil. Not to say they weren't plenty evil enough, but geez what a world of difference. Not even in the same universe as people we're getting now like Musk.
(DIR) Post #ArvQgdeqfwtxhwU8cS by futurebird@sauropods.win
2025-03-10T22:21:40Z
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A lot of stage dressing and effort has gone into the institutions, traditions, and stories that focus admiration on the wealthy. But, I always thought at least some of it was organic, to their own credit. Not all of it, not even most of it, but some. I really don't know about that at all anymore. There are levels of wealth that now just make me assume people are, well, criminals. Avoid at all costs. I don't think this shift in perception is personal, I think it's a wider trend.
(DIR) Post #ArvRghW2QqGhcvxR7g by promovicz@chaos.social
2025-03-10T22:32:49Z
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@futurebird I read “The Way Ahead” a long time ago. It talks of IoT, iirc? It talks about information economy. Stupid, he is not.
(DIR) Post #ArvSEuJzKLtHBldGJE by taurus@thicc.horse
2025-03-10T22:38:57Z
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@futurebird in my youth I had the same flaw
(DIR) Post #ArvSn2iGdMbN3pGWvY by sophieschmieg@infosec.exchange
2025-03-10T22:45:11Z
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@futurebird I have to say, I'm still somewhat impressed by the fact that some of Elon's companies did not implode. Like how does the guy on top seemingly not matter at all?
(DIR) Post #ArvTnH6REUIBe0FJE8 by alanmoore@mastodon.social
2025-03-10T22:56:25Z
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@futurebirdI don't think one should draw conclusions from today's Tech Oligarchs, a lot were just in the right place at the right time and got financial help from their family. They are the modern equivalent of pirates or knights who just robbed their way to generational wealth.But I do believe other generations needed more talent (and "vision ruthlessness", as you call it, _is_ a talent who only a few possess - Steve Jobs, James Brown spring to mind) as well as hefty amounts of luck
(DIR) Post #ArvV0pqpS0YF8HyUq0 by mw@toot.community
2025-03-10T23:10:02Z
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@futurebird One of the things I like about podcasts like "Behind the Bastards" or "You're Wrong About" is that you can start to see patterns that people fall into.
(DIR) Post #ArvarjbtsriStc2HLs by andyhilmer@mstdn.social
2025-03-11T00:15:39Z
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You're not crazy, every generation has the "rich people are at the center of every story" dynamic. Sometimes a generation or three are allowed to say "...at the center of every story as a villain". Trump and Musk and Bezos and Putin etc. are just tired of allowing that. Rich Man Good Man Pledge Thy Fealty is what they want from stories.@futurebird
(DIR) Post #Arwn6ICJTlZapRjfjE by gooba42@mastodon.social
2025-03-11T14:07:27Z
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@futurebird Right? It seemed reasonable that they must have been good at *something* but as time wears on, the list of things that might be is getting very short
(DIR) Post #ArzTAShEyHqEwJnAnI by craignicol@glasgow.social
2025-03-12T19:45:08Z
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@futurebird it definitely helps to succeed in the computer industry when your mum is friends with the IBM CEO 🤔 So someone in the family was good with people.