alt Hacker NewsMarc Andreessen is a philosophical zombie
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Interesting how a person who wrote something as thoughtful as The Techno-Optimist Manifesto could hold views like these at the same time. Whether you agree with the manifesto or not, Andreessen has achieved a rare level of insight that can only come through serious introspection about society, and then he denies the existence of introspection outright.
I guess the level of open-mindedness needed to become a successful tech entrepreneur also enabled that same cohort to consider extremely counter-intuitive ideas - the ones that would have been immediately dismissed by most.
Interesting thing to tell people - this means any change of heart or apology from Marc should be viewed purely through a cold realist self interest lens and not be afforded any of the trappings of humanity.
Don’t anthropomorphise the lawnmower indeed.
I think when Andreessen said “long-term memory is mostly fake” he probably meant that we fabricate a lot of our memories, not that it’s impossible for a human to ever remember something. The author could keep in mind the principle of charity.
I wonder if this lack of interiority is a common trait amongst the most economically successful. I wouldn’t be surprised. The less introspection I do the more I end up optimizing for wealth, it’s pretty much the default in our society unless you consciously pick something else.
forrest gump with better luck
From the crew that ruined tech investing with VC bubbles, commandeered innovation to make a surveillance state, sold out the middle class to H1B and DEI, politicized tech media, then laid everyone off.
I don’t think I like that guy
he simply revealed himself, but we all knew
Poor Marc, such a victim of his own success. I’ve seen him speak live, and it was clear from listening to him that he was very out of touch with reality. He was insightful on technology, and he definitely had a good understanding of business, but I had a feeling this was somebody who did great things long ago and has been coasting on their reputation and their money ever since. I wonder if in his personal life anyone ever tells him he's wrong or pushes back on him.