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Why Is Sam Altman a Free Man?

265 points · 240 comments · ragall

  1. k310 · · focus · HN ↗
    Wilhoit's law.

    “Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.”

    <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;pylimitics.net&#x2F;wilhoits-law&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;pylimitics.net&#x2F;wilhoits-law&#x2F;

    1. jongjong · · focus · HN ↗
      That&#x27;s not conservatism, that&#x27;s what any system of governance consists of.

      Humans are prone to hypocrisy because they have blind spots. The luckier a person is, the easier they have it, the faster and higher they rise, the more ignorant&#x2F;delusional they are by the time they reach the top. At the top, these people have the power to shape the world in accordance to their fanciful beliefs and severely skewed&#x2F;optimistic worldviews.

      There aren&#x27;t many people in power who understand reality unfortunately because everyone who got any power had to be very lucky to get it.

      The people who get to power are often the least qualified to use it effectively because their entire existence is colored by a myth that everything just keeps getting better if you just set your mind to it.

      No person who has ever attained power or success has ever had the first hand experience of hard work never paying off. Yet it is the normal experience of life for the vast majority of people. This realistic worldview demands a very different set of laws than what the typical person who attains power will provide.

      1. enugu · · focus · HN ↗
        Thomas Edison?

        &quot;I have not failed. I&#x27;ve just found 10,000 ways that won&#x27;t work.&quot;

        Maybe you can reframe your point as a typical trend, but there are other typical paths as well.

        Googling &quot;succesful people with history of failure&quot; gives interesting examples.

        1. actionfromafar · · focus · HN ↗
          Maybe someone worked as hard as Edison but did not succeed.
          1. blooalien · · focus · HN ↗
            &gt; Maybe someone worked as hard as Edison but did not succeed.

            Wasn&#x27;t that guy Nikola Tesla? Weren&#x27;t his achievements only finally properly recognized long after his death?

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