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| New Biography Reveals Elon Musk Might Just Be Crazy Enough To Change The World |
| 2023-09-30 |
| [The Federalist] Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerburg’s potential cage match was the talk of the summer, and it was easy to dismiss it as idle threats made by two unathletic billionaires. After reading "Elon Musk," the new biography by Walter Isaacson, I’m not so sure. When Max Levchin wanted PayPal to use Unix rather than Musk’s preferred option, Windows, Musk challenged him to arm-wrestle to settle the dispute. Musk won the match and, eventually, the software debate. At his first start-up, he would regularly get into fights with his co-founder and brother Kimbal. The worst one ended with Kimbal biting off a hunk of Elon’s hand, sending him to the emergency room for stitches and a tetanus shot. At a Gilbert and Sullivan—themed 42nd birthday party, Musk successfully threw a 350-pound sumo champion, but blew out a disc at the base of his neck in the process. Professionally and physically, Musk seeks the thrill of danger. Musk has made a career out of navigating crises and questioning authority, and he combines that with a sci-fi-inflected concern for the fate of humanity. The problems that captivate Musk are world-altering and mind-bogglingly numerous: multi-planetary civilization, infinite energy, human-machine implants, humanoid robots, free speech, democracy, and the declining birth rate. He has sired 11 children by three women so far. Yet he remains slightly detached — seemingly a product of his Asperger’s — fixating on physics, engineering, and programming rather than human interactions. As one SpaceX employee put it, "Elon cares a lot about humanity, but humanity in more of a very macro sense." At times, this can make him a flat, robotic main character. While his rockets and cars iterate and improve, personally, he has difficulty growing. At a Christmas family gathering in 2022, he said, "My main regret is how often I stab myself in the thigh with a fork, how often I shoot my own feet and stab myself in the eye." |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #2 Without question, a brilliant fellow. I would however, enjoy learning a little more about his family's alleged support of the ANC and SA's transition to 'majority rule' in the 1990's. His cozy relationship with the CCP is also of concern. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2023-09-30 01:04 |
| #1 fixating on physics, engineering, and programming rather than human interactions I knew I liked the guy. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2023-09-30 00:59 |