Michael Lewis on knowledge

In the arenas of human ambition, in Hollywood or Silicon Valley, or Washington or Wall Street, there's a knowingness about people.  They don't want to seem like they don't know.  They think that if they don't know, they're going to seem stupid.  And that leads to greater stupidity.

~ Michael Lewis, "Michael Lewis on what he learned by studying the elites," Brief But Spectacular, November 4, 2024

Luc Olinga on effective altruism's omnipresence in Silicon Valley and prestigious universities

Bankman-Fried had adopted a posture, nourished by the current philosophy of Effective Altruism, omnipresent within Silicon Valley and the prestigious universities.  The EA ideology boils down to "the most good can be done by choosing to make the most money possible in order to give it all away."  Earn-to-give is the community’s leitmotif. 

The FTX debacle shows that those who sign the checks are inspired by those who look like them, who have been to the same schools as them, who come from the same socioeconomic backgrounds as them, who share their realities.  If you're different, you're almost out of luck.

~ Luc Olinga, "Crypto Is Full of FTX's Bankman-Fried," TheStreet.com, November 24, 2022

Kevin Duffy on diversity and Big Tech

The greatest long-term threat to Silicon Valley in general and the tech behemoths in particular may be the corrupting influence of egalitarian groupthink, all in the name of "diversity."

~ Kevin Duffy, The Coffee Can Portfolio, August 11, 2020