Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Elon Musk as educator
- Thread starter MoireBass
- Start date
Musk himself admits that Twitter/X has struggled since he took over. I don't think of him as having a ton of expertise in the sciences, he's more of an opportunist who's had a few good design ideas. And seeing how childishly he behaves on Twitter these days and who he associates with, my reaction to this school is...
Agreed.
I was hoping he would just be a great idea guy, a guy who would put the bulk of his time and energy into designing and developing the latest tech innovations. But in these days of omnipresent media, it seems that more and more people are unsatisfied with being known for actual worthwhile accomplishments. They have to constantly be SEEN AND HEARD no matter how trivial or ill-conceived their words and actions may be.
Last edited:
I vaguely remember him talking on a podcast about considering it a few years ago.
I wish he would just finish what he’s already started first. Address the quality issues in the Tesla cars. Make them 90s-Toyota-good. Make Xwitter profitable. Prove you can do one thing excellently. Setting up to shape future minds?
We’ve already got plenty of garbage public and private schools.
He’s got enough stans who’ll be happy to send their kids there that I bet it’ll actually happen and last at least a decade.
I wish he would just finish what he’s already started first. Address the quality issues in the Tesla cars. Make them 90s-Toyota-good. Make Xwitter profitable. Prove you can do one thing excellently. Setting up to shape future minds?
We’ve already got plenty of garbage public and private schools.
He’s got enough stans who’ll be happy to send their kids there that I bet it’ll actually happen and last at least a decade.
I saw a Tesla the other day with this sticker. I don't think the schools will be either good or long-lived.
Absolutely not. It’ll probably go the same route as Kanye West’s “school.”
This pasty-faced, egotistical, quisling has no business interacting with our children and young adults. An understanding of some of his beliefs and philosophies should make it absolutely clear why.
Can't help thinking of these schools catching on fire immediately for no reason, Simpsons style.
Dude has 11 kids. This might just be a solid business move. Private school ain't cheap.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
He'll make a lot of money. Even if he had some great expertise, one man does not make a university.
I think this is the usual unartful troll post hoping to foment unrest and illwill.
Hey... You asked for our thoughts. That's mine.
Last edited by a moderator:
A lot of people view companies as being primarily one person and ascribe all success or failure to that person. For example, while Steve Jobs was certainly instrumental in making Apple what it is, so were many, many other key contributors. In many cases the person at the top of an organization, (who gets the credit if things go well) isn't necessarily all that instrumental in making things a success. Often it's really the people who work for them who actually make things work.
I worked for a company where we had three division managers in three years. We were very hopeful about the third one. Her former group had successfully completed a tens-of-millions-dollars design-and-build contract with the U.S. Post office and we hoped that she'd be better than the two idiots we had before. She wasn't. Clearly the success in fulfilling the contract had much to do with the people who had worked for her.
Many people saw the need for encrypted payments on the internet, but Mr. Musk invested his money in a company that had a idea of how to do that. And we got Paypal. In the cases of Tesla and SpaceX, Mr, Musk had the advantages of attracting engineers who strongly believed in the concept and being able to hire people who already had some expertise in those areas. But he had the conviction to actually create the companies.
But, while Tesla changed the landscape for electric cars, and made a number of innovations, it's also clear that both their Auto-Pilot and Self-Driving Mode were pushed out too soon and were over hyped. SpaceX cheaped out on building their launch pad in south Texas, didn't put much reinforcing steel in it. And it blew up on first use and scattered concrete for miles across a nature preserve. For X-Twitter, Mr. Musk clearly didn't hire experts in the field, was sure he knew way better than they might.
He's got a point about schools. In my opinion, education in the U.S. still leans too heavily on the "sit down, shut up, regurgitate what we tell you" model of learning. Schools that incorporate more practical, hands-on, experiental learning could be a really good thing. Will he hire knowledgeable people and allow them to make something good? Or will he follow his own instincts?
I worked for a company where we had three division managers in three years. We were very hopeful about the third one. Her former group had successfully completed a tens-of-millions-dollars design-and-build contract with the U.S. Post office and we hoped that she'd be better than the two idiots we had before. She wasn't. Clearly the success in fulfilling the contract had much to do with the people who had worked for her.
Many people saw the need for encrypted payments on the internet, but Mr. Musk invested his money in a company that had a idea of how to do that. And we got Paypal. In the cases of Tesla and SpaceX, Mr, Musk had the advantages of attracting engineers who strongly believed in the concept and being able to hire people who already had some expertise in those areas. But he had the conviction to actually create the companies.
But, while Tesla changed the landscape for electric cars, and made a number of innovations, it's also clear that both their Auto-Pilot and Self-Driving Mode were pushed out too soon and were over hyped. SpaceX cheaped out on building their launch pad in south Texas, didn't put much reinforcing steel in it. And it blew up on first use and scattered concrete for miles across a nature preserve. For X-Twitter, Mr. Musk clearly didn't hire experts in the field, was sure he knew way better than they might.
He's got a point about schools. In my opinion, education in the U.S. still leans too heavily on the "sit down, shut up, regurgitate what we tell you" model of learning. Schools that incorporate more practical, hands-on, experiental learning could be a really good thing. Will he hire knowledgeable people and allow them to make something good? Or will he follow his own instincts?
Well, you would be wrong. My intent was to possibly kick off a thoughtful and reasonable discussion about something other than "will a tort pickguard make my bass sound a whole lot better, or only a little?". (Let's face it, TB has been extra boring since LBS-bass left.)
And maybe things are different now, but the names he gives his kids would have gotten them beaten up when I was in public school.
Last edited by a moderator:
He has degrees in physics and engineering. I've listened to numerous interviews with him talking about his designs with Tesla, SpaceX, and his other ventures and he really does have a rare ability to understand how to develop and create new technology in a practical and efficient manner.
He's more than just an idea man who surrounds himself with people who do the actual work. He's very much hands on in just about every part of the development process.
I think that's a valuable set of skills to learn, and if his school can teach kids how to become productive and innovative engineers, then I believe society will benefit from it.
I will add that I wasn't very impressed with the unimaginative and uninspired engineering and science education that I received at a state university back in the 90s, and I'm pretty sure that it hasn't improved since then. Certainly, high school students aren't being adequately prepared for the type of thinking required for doing high quality science as a career.
Unless you go to an elite college that specializes in science and technology, I think there's room for an alternative, and perhaps Elon Musk has the right idea.
Last edited:
A couple points...
1. Your quote above, "It's expected he'll bring the same expertise and vision that he brought to X-Twitter to the field of education," pretty much sets up the voicing of negative opinions. Few people I know, Musk fans or not, view his handling of the Twitter acquisition and revamping as being handled with any semblance of expertise. Erego, your statement indicates that the same lack of expertise will be applied to his forays into educational institutions. Hence, my response when asked for my thoughts. Evidently, they were not in line with yours, and therefore unwelcomed.
2. Your comments regarding Musk's names for his children would also seem to invite further negative commentary.
Further thoughtful comments endemic to your original post? Musk has accomplished more, employed more people, helped more people, and enriched more lives than the vast, vast majority of other people on this forum, and on this planet. He's also a very strange dude....most people with his vision, self-confidence, and seeming immunity to risk-aversion are. He's willing to try things, explore ideas, and take chances that may or may not lead to great success. Spectacular failure is usually part of the road to spectacular achievement....and unfortunately, sometimes it DOESN'T lead there. As a retired public school teacher of 31 years, and adjunct college professor for many years, I am MORE than open to improvements in the direction and results taken and resulting from those institutions especially in the past decade or so. If Musk wishes to tackle that, good for him....and good luck.
I'm not sure what to make of Musk...he's an enigma. I do very much admire many things about him, and am keenly interested in his thoughts and ventures. I also scratch my head in concern about other facets of his statements and personal choices. Such is the nature of being human.
Last edited by a moderator:
