When searching to verify the veracity of this, this post made me laugh: <a href="https://www.cringely.com/2020/01/23/not-dead-yet-what-bob-cringely-has-been-up-to/" rel="nofollow">https://www.cringely.com/2020/01/23/not-dead-yet-what-bob-cr... (Circa 2020).
Everyone should read the above.
Cringely had so many stories where he seemed to be part of, or present to witness, significant events in the computer industry - after a while you become suspicious that one person could really do/see all these things. Like he was a 'Forrest Gump' of technology.
I really liked the guy, and his speculations about IBM.
But it's wild to get involved in a Kickstarter involving the star of Plane Crazy. When I watched Kickstarters fail and the people who started them grow increasingly unstable, I would always think about Plane Crazy.
Too bad that it didn't get a lot of distribution; there's a link on this HN thread pointing to a copy on youtube that was taped off PBS in Chicago, and I literally saw it on WTTW in Chicago. I don't know where it could really be marketed - it might be great to reedit it into a feature.
But its theme is that Cringely would bite off more than he can chew during what one might not recognize as a mania. You would see this pattern in almost everything he did, unless he was lucky enough to get it right on the first try.
1) he would make a lot of promises based on a dream of accomplishing something that no one had ever done before,
2) experts he would consult would tell him that they didn't think it was possible, but that they'd be happy to be surprised,
3) as the problems would pile up and he would gradually come to the realization that he was going to fail, he would first look at those problems as interesting challenges,
4) improvise inadequate solutions to show he could meet those challenges,
5) ignore the experts who criticize those inadequate solutions, and that tell him that these were the problems that made them think this was impossible in the first place,
6) mock and attack the experts who criticized his inadequate solutions (likely as stuck in the past or jealous of a non-expert invading their turf),
7) then start to conceal new and compounding problems,
8) then fully and knowingly lie about the problems (likely justified to himself as simply buying time for one fix he's obsessing upon to work),
9) then start to blame people who don't believe those lies for inadequately supporting him (he just needs a little bit more time),
10) then attack those people - his investors, friends and family (I just need another day or two!),
11) then attack himself for being low enough to attack the people who believe in him and love him,
12) then consider suicide.
Have there been any "Plane Crazy"-style documentaries about any of the spectacular Kickstarter failures?
The weird thing is that a lot of people that are ultimately successful share a lot of these traits. But I think the big differentiator is in how you deal with any of them, you can have the trait of not immediately rolling over when an expert says something can't be done. That's fine. But if ultimately you can't do it either you simply admit the experts were right after all and you move on. The further down the list you go the bigger the success if you eventually do manage to deliver, but the bigger the loss if you don't.
Where Cringely went from interesting to a risk to himself and others is where he refused to stay connected to reality.
I can relate: I start a lot of projects where I'm usually in over my head. But I always learn, sometimes learn a lot and some of those projects eventually do work out. But I don't have my ego invested in any project and I think that is one of the bigger differences, some stuff works and is obvious, some stuff could work and is not obvious, some stuff can't work but it is not obvious (to me at least) and some stuff simply can't work and it is obvious. The third category is where you lose the money, the second is where you make it, the dividing line between the two will give you Theranos, UBeam and Moller on one side of the line and CISCO on the other.
havaloc · · focus · HN ↗
derekdahmer · · focus · HN ↗
<a href="https://www.jeremyreimer.com/rockets-item.lsp?f=true&p=272" rel="nofollow">https://www.jeremyreimer.com/rockets-item.lsp?f=true&p=272
GaryBluto · · focus · HN ↗
PlunderBunny · · focus · HN ↗
HarHarVeryFunny · · focus · HN ↗
stevenwoo · · focus · HN ↗
chillup · · focus · HN ↗
testplzignore · · focus · HN ↗
wyclif · · focus · HN ↗
stonedivot · · focus · HN ↗
specialist · · focus · HN ↗
Like Dvorak and others, twas just a bit of entertainment, until it wasn't.
Thoroughly enjoyed his works (warts and all), learned a few things, and remain deeply disappointed that NerdTV didn't become a thing.
RIP
pessimizer · · focus · HN ↗
But it's wild to get involved in a Kickstarter involving the star of Plane Crazy. When I watched Kickstarters fail and the people who started them grow increasingly unstable, I would always think about Plane Crazy.
Too bad that it didn't get a lot of distribution; there's a link on this HN thread pointing to a copy on youtube that was taped off PBS in Chicago, and I literally saw it on WTTW in Chicago. I don't know where it could really be marketed - it might be great to reedit it into a feature.
But its theme is that Cringely would bite off more than he can chew during what one might not recognize as a mania. You would see this pattern in almost everything he did, unless he was lucky enough to get it right on the first try.
1) he would make a lot of promises based on a dream of accomplishing something that no one had ever done before,
2) experts he would consult would tell him that they didn't think it was possible, but that they'd be happy to be surprised,
3) as the problems would pile up and he would gradually come to the realization that he was going to fail, he would first look at those problems as interesting challenges,
4) improvise inadequate solutions to show he could meet those challenges,
5) ignore the experts who criticize those inadequate solutions, and that tell him that these were the problems that made them think this was impossible in the first place,
6) mock and attack the experts who criticized his inadequate solutions (likely as stuck in the past or jealous of a non-expert invading their turf),
7) then start to conceal new and compounding problems,
8) then fully and knowingly lie about the problems (likely justified to himself as simply buying time for one fix he's obsessing upon to work),
9) then start to blame people who don't believe those lies for inadequately supporting him (he just needs a little bit more time),
10) then attack those people - his investors, friends and family (I just need another day or two!),
11) then attack himself for being low enough to attack the people who believe in him and love him,
12) then consider suicide.
Have there been any "Plane Crazy"-style documentaries about any of the spectacular Kickstarter failures?
jacquesm · · focus · HN ↗
Where Cringely went from interesting to a risk to himself and others is where he refused to stay connected to reality.
I can relate: I start a lot of projects where I'm usually in over my head. But I always learn, sometimes learn a lot and some of those projects eventually do work out. But I don't have my ego invested in any project and I think that is one of the bigger differences, some stuff works and is obvious, some stuff could work and is not obvious, some stuff can't work but it is not obvious (to me at least) and some stuff simply can't work and it is obvious. The third category is where you lose the money, the second is where you make it, the dividing line between the two will give you Theranos, UBeam and Moller on one side of the line and CISCO on the other.
wyclif · · focus · HN ↗