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Comment by acruns | Hacker News Reader

At what point did Bill become an expert on everything? It's cute that he takes his little bag of books and secluded himself in his she-shed and reads. But honestly, why do we now trust him to be an expert on so many subjects when he hasn't even gotten an undergraduate degree in anything, let alone spent decades studying a field. I can't tell you how many books I have read by experts that later turned out to completely off base or wrong to a certain degree. Just because he chats with experts and reads books on subjects doesn't make him an expert, it makes him well informed but not an expert. I am an expert in what I do and have spent over a decade on it, and I am wrong or have to look things up all the time, am I missing something? Did he go back and get a doctorate that I missed? He seems to be an expert on too many subjects.

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Where is this rage coming from? It doesn't take an expert to see the damage bitcoin is causing for the planet, the exernalities are pretty clearly outlined (although conspicuously ignored by crypto-evangelicals). His quote in the article is true.

I also don't understand the attacks on his academic credentials. He had been working in his field since he was 13, he's published in CS, and he was taking graduate level classes at Harvard as an undergrad before he dropped out to found Microsoft. So yes, he has spent decades studying a field. The man is unarguably a credentialed engineer, and anyone in this field should know that you don't need a B.S. in CS or a PhD in C.S. for that.

I think it's coming as a reaction to Bill Gates's status as media darling; his own fondness for the limelight; and the fact that someone somewhere thought it was a good idea to make a documentary deifying his brain.

It's coming from the fact that Bill Gates is one of the richest men in the world and has massive sway over his followers. This is dangerous. It's the same reason celebrities speaking on issues they have no idea about is dangerous. People will take his word for truth when he's no more informed than the average citizen on what's happening.

People do that for everyone. It doesn't have to be bill gates. You might believe some conspiracy theory because your uncle shared it on facebook and you trust his opinion more than some domain expert.

Yes.. and how does that make anything I said incorrect?

I'm not sure anyone is being swayed by Bill Gate's opinion. Who is pushing the idea that he is an expert, or that expertise is even required to have an opinion?

Uh the media... I mean he's everywhere being interviewed constantly on what his opinion is on everything. This obviously promotes the idea (right or wrong) that he has some idea of what he's talking about.

The media also interviews Kanye, Elon, and the cookie monster because they are celebrities but that doesn't mean we have to believe what they say.

I think it is reasonable to think that bill gates has some idea what he is talking about, especially because in this case he is essentially saying 2+2=4. Still, he is not the definitive authority on crypto.

It has nothing to do with whether WE HAVE to believe what they say. It has to do with the fact that their status gives their words more power. Whether YOU personally believe them is irrelevant. Many people DO take his words for fact just because of who is and that creates an issue. This is exactly how celebrities sway public thinking on many issues and then down the road certain politicians get voted in and then what you believe and actual facts take a backseat to the policy the majority has voted on.

If your primary point is that mainstream news isn't educational, then I agree. Most news is entertainment, pure and simple. The more people realize this and the sooner, the better.

My point was that celebrity status gives the appearance of truth. People like Bill Gates that have tons of money and are famous are able to sway more people. Whether they're experts or not doesn't matter because their fame will convince many people of what they're saying.

> At what point did Bill become an expert on everything?

When he made billions in a society which values making billions above (almost) everything else

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