Elon Musk Biographer: No Evidence Billionaire Has Any Intellectual Achievements

https://www.thewrap.com/elon-musk-biographer-says-no-evidence-billionaire-has-intellectual-achievements/

by axiologist • 1 year ago

51 24 1 year ago

axiologist2• 1 year ago

Actual subject line is "Author of Upcoming Elon Musk Biography Says ‘There Is No Evidence’ Billionaire Has Any ‘Intellectual Achievements’".

https://xcancel.com/SethAbramson/status/1892710698683142638

axiologist2• 1 year ago

https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1892710698683142638.html

jasdi• 1 year ago

It doesn't matter how many people say it.

In the Attention Economy, that social media platforms create, he knows how to capture Attention. The question is not Elon but about why we tolerate these platforms that prop up people like Elon or what the alternatives are.

Michael Goldharber pointed out at the dawn of the Internet => info explodes but Attention does not + ppl have a limited capacity to pay attention but unlimited capacity to receive attention.

The truth is Everyone needs a bit of Attention (it is a source of self esteem), that's why sites like HN work because people feel they are seen or heard even if its one upvote.

But then there are Elon and Trump types who are born with a need to be loved and respected by everyone. Plant them in the social media environment, where attention capture is rewarded, and is the main source of profit for the platforms, and we get the abnormal fruits we sow.

UltraSane5• 1 year ago

I have never seen a Musk tweet that seemed very smart.

moralestapia• 1 year ago

SpaceX Musk is pretty good!

tim3332• 1 year ago

If you see video of him talking about spacex he's obviously reasonably smart eg. https://youtu.be/cIQ36Kt7UVg?t=55

In fact in that video from minute 1-7 you can pretty much see how he beats the likes of Boeing and gets stuff out faster and cheaper than NASA. It's hard to say - ah that's a good idea, that's how he beats the other rocket scientist guys and then argue he's stupid. At least when it comes to rockets. Politics I'm less convinced.

Jimmc4142• 1 year ago

Sure Musk is abrasive and has a ton of flaws, but you lose a lot of credibility pretending the guy isn’t smart.

quantified• 1 year ago

He is smart. His achievements appear to be in seizing opportunity and attracting various other smart people. Unlike Trump, he hasn't destroyed too much wealth along the way.

scarab922• 1 year ago

He is smart, and progressives in general lose credibility by claiming otherwise, but short tempered.

Also, this headline is misleading. This wasn't said by Walter Isaacson who actually wrote the biography on Musk. It's a random dude, who seems to have a personal vendetta against Musk, compiling a bunch of his tirades into something he optimisically calls a "biography".

UltraSane5• 1 year ago

Smart people do not lie as much as Musk does. Smart people care a lot more about their credibility than musk does.

scarecrowbob• 1 year ago

Is it more than the credibility you lose pretending he -is- smart?

Jimmc4142• 1 year ago

My point is that if you want to convince other people, you should try to argue from a place of intellectual honesty instead of gaslighting or willful blindness. Valid arguments could be made for “I don’t like what he is doing” or “he is dangerous” but just stating that he is not intelligent as the starting point for your argument doesn’t pass the smell test, so it clouds the rest of your argument. For me at least.

It seems there are plenty of legitimate areas he is open for valid criticism.

I know this will be downvoted, but I’m not discouraged by that outcome because it would only reinforce the point that a good faith discussion based on facts and logical persuasion is not welcome in this discussion.

SR2Z2• 1 year ago

The difference I guess is how much you care about the facts. The man is very intelligent (or at least he was before he started doing tons of ketamine).

This is beyond reasonable dispute. Whether or not people get mad when you say it out loud is more of a reflection of them than of me.

not_your_vase• 1 year ago

Really? At least 4 more years of this?

  > Haha, Elon is dumb, he should be fired!
  > Trump smells, to the dungeon with him!
  > All republicans have a lot of dandruff, they must be traitors!
  > Scientists discovered that right leaning people fart more than nice people.

Pulitzer-worthy journalism.

GianFabien• 1 year ago

Elon was too busy hustling to waste time on academic pursuits.

I'm sure he has hundreds of PhDs, etc working for his various companies.

tim3332• 1 year ago

He went from having student debt to the richest man on the planet, transforming two industries, cars and rockets, on the way. That's not so easy to do. At least I haven't managed it yet.

Seth Abramson the "Musk biographer" who as far as I can tell has not written an actual biography seems pretty bitter.

(edit: He has some sort of biography but it's not on Amazon etc - you get it free if you subscribe to his substack)

Zigurd• 1 year ago

Clearly a greater intellect than the guy in second place who sells overpriced handbags and booze.

Elon Musk Biographer: No Evidence Billionaire Has Any Intellectual Achievements

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