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by ryanpers 4973 days ago

That was years ago when he was a teenager. Many people went thru an "illegal period", his was just... more successful than most.

As for sociopathic, so what? Didn't you know that most CEOs are sociopaths? I find that argument... not compelling.

Like it or not, sociopathy appears to be an integral/essential part of human organizations.

7 comments

alexhawdon 4973 days ago

"Many people went thru an 'illegal period'..." What?

I think there's a pretty massive difference between the speeding, soft-drugs, petty vandalism and theft that characterise common illegal teenage behaviours and large scale fraud. Even sat behind a keyboard far-removed from your victims I'm sure the difference becomes readily apparent when the number at the bottom of your bank statement is a few digits longer than those of your peers.

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zurn 4973 days ago

That's the problem with the "criminal" term. Don't confuse moral and legalities.

Much better to comment on whether you think he's done something inexcusably wrong or not.

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sanswork 4973 days ago

He was 20 and 27. He wasn't a kid doing stupid things. He was a career criminal.

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kleiba 4973 days ago

As for sociopathic, so what? Didn't you know that most CEOs are sociopaths?

I don't think that's true. If I'm not mistaken, the percentage of sociopaths among CEOs is somewhat higher than among the rest of the population, but that doesn't mean that the majority of CEOs are sociopaths.

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tokenizer 4973 days ago

It still means you're implicating a large group for something they are good at doing, which is manipulating an environment to suit their needs.

If you're going to attack his history or his mental state, than at least be willing to acknowledge the man isn't all bad. From what I've read, it seems like some think once a criminal always a criminal, AND that mega upload was a scam.

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bluedanieru 4973 days ago

I don't get what your point is. Are you defending sociopaths? I mean, yeah sure they are what they are through probably no real fault of their own, but they are a net negative on society's balance sheet. They are a problem that needs to be managed. Maybe back in the day when we had to worry about other animals hunting us for food, and a bit later when we had to worry about other tribes murdering us and taking our things, then yeah sociopaths served a purpose.

They don't now.

(Oh, and sociopaths aren't very great at manipulating their environment. The high-functioning ones, maybe, but most sociopaths are poor, stupid, and often in jail.)

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tokenizer 4969 days ago

I agree that to do better, especially in caring for each other, we need to re-evaluate what we value most.

In a society where money is power however, I don't think you can do much is what I'm saying. Regardless of psychological issues, if someone can function and amass money, then they're regarded as fine and maybe even successful.

My point was people vote with their money and time, and in this case is open. You can't really expect people to care about whether he was a delinquent in some's eyes, because to some, the other side is just as worse.

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mojowo11 4973 days ago

"As for sociopathic, so what? Didn't you know that most CEOs are sociopaths?"

I would ask for a source here, but I already know that you don't have one, you're regurgitating some pop-psych nonsense you once heard that sounded interesting and you assumed was true.

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mprovost 4973 days ago

Steve Jobs and Woz got their start selling Blue Boxes that let you illegally make free phone calls. They just never got caught.

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kaizendc 4973 days ago

Exactly.

It's likely that many people get away without having their "skeletons in the closet" brought into the light of day.

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CrankyPants 4973 days ago

Didn't you know that most CEOs are sociopaths?

...sociopathy appears to be an integral/essential part of human organizations.

Sources?