Hacker News Reader

Comment by x2398dh1 | Hacker News Reader

What he's really saying is, "I'm taking an extreme materialist view of the mind in order to grab headlines in a time when AI is becoming hot, which will further my access to human resources." Elon Musk does not really think that we are in a simulation. He's not saving the world. He's not trying to help humanity escape earth and colonize Mars. I think we've had enough of this. He's playing a massive chess game against other billionaires, and he's playing it extremely well, having amassed millions of intelligent, talented tech followers in the process who are willing to work for him in exchange for prestige and a lower salary, thereby helping him reach his goal of beating Bill Gates / Warren Buffet / etc.

View on HN

This is such a basic way to think. How is someone supposed to save the world? How is someone supposed to help humanity escape earth and colonize Mars?

Elon Musk is as close to doing those things as anyone has ever been in history. What else is he supposed to do to appease you?

"Talented tech followers in the process who are willing to work for him in exchange for prestige and a lower salary"

To be fair these engineers are taking a lower salary but are getting paid really well in terms of stock options.

You really think he's motivated by greed?

Not greed for money, but ego. One of my coworkers used to report to Musk and says Musk is competitive.

You really think there's a rich man in this world who isn't?

Is there a poor man who isn't?

Sure, and I know several of them personally. They tend to be freelancers, homesteaders, or involved in modest lifestyle businesses where they're scraping by doing what they love. Anything else?

I know rich people like that, too.

I sincerely doubt that you do. It takes a certain mindset to profit off the work of others.

Look at Bill Gates and tell me the man is greedy.

Ok, done. Now what?

Yes.

For you to have to say "He's not saving the world"

Someone had to say Elon is Saving the World.

Of course that's ridiculous but we put guys like Gates and Musk on a pedestal

and then we're being so edgy when we say they're not really that great.

He's doing some interesting things and saying some interesting things.

I don't think he's playing a chess game. I think he was having fun.

A person asked him a question outside of his expertise and he answered it.

The boring thing to do is say "I don't know ask an expert".

Of course people are only paying attention because he's a celebrity Intellect.

You're preaching to people who either don't understand what you're saying, or don't want to believe what you're saying.

Or don't want to live sad cynical lives.

P.S: I understand it is a balance but Musk has done nothing to warrant this derision...yet.

There is a vast middle ground between cynicism, and giving a successful billionaire the benefit of the doubt on the pseudo-philosophy he spouts.

Or perhaps you could say, the religio-corporation he has created...but instead of selling jewelry in the midwest through multi-level marketing and talking about how great Jesus is, he's talking about how tech will create a utopia and doing it in Silicon Valley.

Well, what he gave is an opinion. And a possibility. But there is no proof of it. So far Musk has not been on any major scandal, nor has he been caugh to financial fraud, talking giant lies, etc. So on the scale of billionaires, he is currently in the top 25 percentile. And because what he does capture the imagination, people want to believe he is just building stuff out of passion. And that's another opinion. And a possibility. From now, either you prove it, or you believe. And I guess most of us just believe.

I think you're missing one thing, which is that history has a lot to teach us about the kind of people who seek this level of success, achieve it, and are capable of risking so much to do so. People who thrive where Musk is, but again, it's still a matter of belief and not proof.

A lot of life is, until it's too late and we're speaking in terms of hindsight. If you want to believe in something, at least believe in something that's likely to be true.

> he's paying it extremely well

heh.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com