[HN Gopher] Sam Bankman-Fried is not a child
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       Sam Bankman-Fried is not a child
        
       Author : cheeseface
       Score  : 52 points
       Date   : 2023-02-04 20:25 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (newsletter.mollywhite.net)
 (TXT) w3m dump (newsletter.mollywhite.net)
        
       | latchkey wrote:
       | I agree a lot with what she's saying about press trying to build
       | an image of him as a young kid. But, at the end of the day,
       | regardless of how the press frames things, it isn't like he's
       | going to end up in juvenile hall. He will be tried as an adult.
       | 
       | As someone who's turning 50 soon, 30 seems like several lifetimes
       | ago for me. Age is this weird thing and you only realize it more
       | and more as you get older.
        
         | roundandround wrote:
         | At least since the OJ case I think it's pretty clearly a part
         | of a legal defenses goals to win or at least do damage control
         | in the media for a high profile case, assuming resources to do
         | so.
         | 
         | Even if sequestering worked better than it does, I think there
         | are a lot of other subtle influences from mainstream consensus
         | that affect all the participants in the process.
        
       | LewisVerstappen wrote:
       | [flagged]
        
         | latchkey wrote:
         | Molly's career is now based on being a 'cryptocurrency
         | critic'... so as long as cryptocurrency is around, the answer
         | is: until she stops
         | 
         | She owns crypto and is paid by a Filecoin fund...
         | 
         | https://www.mollywhite.net/crypto-disclosures
        
           | greenyoda wrote:
           | > She owns crypto
           | 
           | An insignificant amount, according to that URL: "I own small
           | amounts (less than $500 worth at time of purchase) of crypto
           | tokens or other crypto assets, which belong to an undisclosed
           | address I use for research purposes. These do not represent a
           | significant portion of my assets, and are used primarily to
           | access token-gated projects and experiment with smart
           | contracts rather than for any attempt to earn a return. If I
           | do somehow end up with more money than I put in as a result,
           | I intend to donate it."
           | 
           | > and is paid by a Filecoin fund
           | 
           | "The fellowship has no strings attached as far as my
           | independence in researching and analyzing the crypto
           | industry, and I am not obligated to do any work relating to
           | Filecoin (nor am I obligated not to). Although my focus at
           | the LIL will not involve Filecoin specifically (unless it
           | independently happens to crop up in my work), I still wish to
           | disclose it as a potential conflict of interest, should it
           | come up."
        
             | latchkey wrote:
             | Yes, thanks for the extended summary, but that's why I
             | included the link.
             | 
             | I'm also doing an experiment with crypto. I bought $100 of
             | BTC and $100 of ETH on paypal in Nov 2020, because well...
             | paypal added that feature. It is now worth a combined
             | $512.39. During the last bull run, it was near $2k. I plan
             | on donating it some day as well! Regardless of your
             | personal view of crypto, I think it would be pretty cool if
             | more people did that.
             | 
             | Edit: of course, getting downvoted. i'll take the full -4
             | in the hopes that my comment spawns some future donations
             | to charity.
        
               | blitzar wrote:
               | What null hypothesis are you testing with your
               | experiment?
        
               | latchkey wrote:
               | I've been saying for 10 years that "magic internet money
               | always goes back up" and so far I haven't been wrong.
        
         | dpatterbee wrote:
         | This seems like an overly dismissive comment. Do you feel like
         | this story is no longer worthy of discussion? Why?
        
       | rossdavidh wrote:
       | I don't think I've ever read any substantive analysis that
       | thought he was too young to know he was committing fraud. Not
       | saying it never happened, but none of the analysis I've seen is
       | suggesting he shouldn't be tried as an adult.
       | 
       | However, I have seen (and agree with) quite a bit of analysis
       | suggesting that a person in their mid-20's with limited
       | experience in the world of finance should not have been given
       | this much money to work (gamble) with. He didn't just make a lot
       | of money on crypto; he was given a lot of money by VC investors,
       | who should have known better. The emphasis on his youth is, I
       | think, meant to suggest that the investors were not doing their
       | job, which is after all to determine whether a person should be
       | given money to invest, and if so how much. Someone who plays
       | video games during a pitch, unless they are pitching their new
       | video game, should not have been given other people's money.
        
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       (page generated 2023-02-04 23:01 UTC)