Is Elon Musk the greatest visionary or the greatest snake oil salesman of our age?

[Aladdin]

I'm not sure I can face an hour of Musk talking about himself. Can you provide a summary of events?

The part I was interested in was his talk about his childhood and what he describes as his learning to understand others. From 42 mins on

 

[Red Cat]

The part I was interested in was his talk about his childhood and what he describes as his learning to understand others. From 42 mins on

I think the question is why is this interesting to you?

 

[Aladdin]

I think the question is why is this interesting to you?

Because its useful to know about where he has come from and the undoubted struggles he has overcome?

I realise posters despise him...and he has acted like a pompous bellend and has made mistakes... but I was interested in his early life and what made him who he is. He spent a lot of time alone as a child ..reading everything he could lay his hands on to try to figure out the world around him including people.

 

[Storm Fox]

Because its useful to know about where he has come from and the undoubted struggles he has overcome?

I realise posters despise him...and he has acted like a pompous bellend and has made mistakes... but I was interested in his early life and what made him who he is. He spent a lot of time alone as a child ..reading everything he could lay his hands on to try to figure out the world around him including people.

Do you mean mistakes like allowing racial abuse at his factories, union busting, market manipulation, lying to investors on numerous occasions, using his position to block high-speed rail and lying about his position in companies to further his image?
Those kinds of mistakes?

 

[Aladdin]

Do you mean mistakes like allowing racial abuse at his factories, union busting, market manipulation, lying to investors on numerous occasions, using his position to block high-speed rail and lying about his position in companies to further his image?
Those kinds of mistakes?

All fair points.

He is not a squeeky clean honest guy for sure despite his comments about being obsessed with the truth.

don't misinterpret me wanting to know what makes him tick with me supporting his racism, lies, and shit treatment of workers.

 

[pbsmooth]

but I was interested in his early life and what made him who he is. He spent a lot of time alone as a child ..reading everything he could lay his hands on to try to figure out the world around him including people.

So far, so incredibly normal then.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

He spent a lot of time alone as a child ..reading everything he could lay his hands on to try to figure out the world around him including people.

I reckon, based on his actions, he still has a lot to figure out. I'm not sure I would entirely trust a Ted talk about his life that he wrote himself.

 

[Red Cat]

All fair points.

He is not a squeeky clean honest guy for sure despite his comments about being obsessed with the truth.

don't misinterpret me wanting to know what makes him tick with me supporting his racism, lies, and shit treatment of workers.

It shouldn't do and in most adult educated conversations it wouldn't but this is urban p&p and you've made a grave error if you think this is a place to discuss psychology.

 

[Aladdin]

It shouldn't do and in most adult educated conversations it wouldn't but this is urban p&p and you've made a grave error if you think this is a place to discuss psychology.

Ah. Ok..

No worries.

 

[BigMoaner]

Do you mean mistakes like allowing racial abuse at his factories, union busting, market manipulation, lying to investors on numerous occasions, using his position to block high-speed rail and lying about his position in companies to further his image?
Those kinds of mistakes?

And also constantly getting his balls stroked by the far right and stroking the balls of the far right.

How he got here is one thing, what we do with him now is another.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

Is he a genius?

No. But he has called himself one.

 

[BigMoaner]

He's smart in the STEM bro kinda way. He's the archetype of what happens when the humanities decline and everything is seem as OUTCOME, bro, and GAINS. Matter hitting matter.

 

[BigMoaner]

He could have bought Twitter and been totally and utterly allusive and people would have had to fill in gaps and his ego would have remained unthreatened, and gigantic. But he couldn't resist.

 

[bimble]

He's smart in the STEM bro kinda way.

Thing is though, this isnt true. He hasn't got the first clue about, for instance, how twitter works, which would be fine if he didnt own it.

 

[NoXion]

Thing is though, this isnt true. He hasn't got the first clue about, for instance, how twitter works, which would be fine if he didnt own it.

Yes, this. Musk isn't a genius, he's a bullshitter who got lucky. All the "achievements" that his fanboys attribute to him are thanks to the actual clever people he had the money to hire.

 

[Red Cat]

Ah. Ok..

No worries.

I was being ironic. You must have noticed that I post about this kind of thing too, but in over 15 years I can tell you nobody is interested, it's a sign that you're a liberal and you don't understand that politics means clearly identifying the enemy.

 

[kabbes]

I was being ironic. You must have noticed that I post about this kind of thing too, but in over 15 years I can tell you nobody is interested, it's a sign that you're a liberal and you don't understand that politics means clearly identifying the enemy.

I don’t think that’s fair. At the very least, I’m interested in this subject. I think you know that. But what is the purpose of the psychological discourse that is being constructed here, in relation to Musk? That question was actually asked of Aladdin — what is their interpretation of the video? No answer came, other than the vague idea that it is generically interesting to hear him speak.

But if we’re talking psychology, then what are the social representations drawn upon, employed and reproduced through these rhetorical constructions both within the video and created by presenting the video without comment? I am concerned, in the absence of a more clearly defined argument, that this video and its placement in the context of this discussion has the effect of essentialising a kind of predestined template of behaviours. It draws upon and employs a reification of ASD that is linked to some pretty unhelpful stereotypes. As if Musk’s treatment of people as disposable things becomes somehow more forgivable because of it, that there is some kind of pass for his anti-humanism because bless him, didn’t the boy do good? This narrative completely leaves out his development as the scion of an apartheid-era emerald dynasty and it ignores the relevance of his billionaire positioning to his rapid adoption of alt-right rhetoric. It presents an easy and ultimately destructive excuse for the fact that his decisions have ruined people’s lives and he doesn’t care.

You know I have utmost respect for your perspective on these things, though, so I’m very ready to listen if you think I’ve totally picked up the wrong end of the stick.

 

[Red Cat]

I don’t think that’s fair. At the very least, I’m interested in this subject. I think you know that. But what is the purpose of the psychological discourse that is being constructed here, in relation to Musk? That question was actually asked of Aladdin — what is their interpretation of the video? No answer came, other than the vague idea that it is generically interesting to hear him speak.

But if we’re talking psychology, then what are the social representations drawn upon, employed and reproduced through these rhetorical constructions both within the video and created by presenting the video without comment? I am concerned, in the absence of a more clearly defined argument, that this video and its placement in the context of this discussion has the effect of essentialising a kind of predestined template of behaviours. It draws upon and employs a reification of ASD that is linked to some pretty unhelpful stereotypes. As if Musk’s treatment of people as disposable things becomes somehow more forgivable because of it, that there is some kind of pass for his anti-humanism because bless him, didn’t the boy do good? This narrative completely leaves out his development as the scion of an apartheid-era emerald dynasty and it ignores the relevance of his billionaire positioning to his rapid adoption of alt-right rhetoric. It presents an easy and ultimately destructive excuse for the fact that his decisions have ruined people’s lives and he doesn’t care.

You know I have utmost respect for your perspective on these things, though, so I’m very ready to listen if you think I’ve totally picked up the wrong end of the stick.

You're probably right that its unfair but I don't find isn't he a complete cunt very interesting to read. I'm not in favour of a narrative of 'oh look how well he's done' either. I never said anything like that, but I find it more interesting to read a discussion rather than everybody agreeing or finding the latest evidence of what an idiot he is. Generally I'm interested in what makes people tick, or how their minds work, their personalities, that's my thing, I'm not suggesting that it should be primary in terms of political analysis.

I don't see him as someone who got over his struggles, he obviously 'struggles' and yet was given/ allowed to take a lot of power, why was that?

I don't have a 'psychological' narrative or a fully developed perspective, and I don't think he should be be forgiven for anything, its just that I consider that some of the things he does might be driven by aspects of autistic thinking rather than, or perhaps alongside, more obvious aims. I find it interesting as much of my family is autistic. But ultimately he is judged on his actions.

 

[Red Cat]

Look, I'll be honest, I don't really care about Musk. My 11 year old is struggling to manage transfer to secondary school and there's no suitable alternative placement for her, and I'm trying to hold down my job, this is just a distraction.

 

[kabbes]

That’s totally understandable. Take care of yourself.

 

[Red Cat]

That’s totally understandable. Take care of yourself.

I will, thank you kabbes

 

[BigMoaner]

Not aged well

 

[Yossarian]

Looks like Paddington's fallen in with a bad crowd

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

 

[Yossarian]

 

[tommers]

Stories that he's looking at buying Man Utd. That would be pretty hilarious.

 

[gosub]

Stories that he's looking at buying Man Utd. That would be pretty hilarious.

Doesn't he live a bit too locally to be considered a proper Man U fan?

 

[a_chap]

"after Musk threatened to fire his remaining engineers, they built a system designed to ensure that Musk — and Musk alone — benefits from previously unheard-of promotion of his tweets to the entire user base."

Yes, Elon Musk created a special system for showing you all his tweets first

After his Super Bowl tweet did worse numbers than President Biden’s, Twitter’s CEO ordered major changes to the algorithm

www.platformer.news

 

[Artaxerxes]

If you are a member of twatter, block the cunt

 

[Lord Camomile]

I'm surprised by how surprised I am at how Trumpian he is becoming (/always was).