Elon Musk as educator

[Hot Rats]

They have them at Taqueria Pueblo Magico on the corner of Oak Grove and Ignacio Valley near the Whole Foods. They have decent burrtios there (but I am spoiled from living the the Mission District for many years). Next time I go there I will try their California Burrito and report back here. Knowing me it won't be long.

I know that place. Looking forward to the report.

 

[slobake]

Well, that's an interesting point. I think it takes a certain type of person to do what Musk, and people like Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel have done. I am not that type of person, and neither are of any of us posting here, so, that's a bit moot, in my opinion. However, I have never held industrialists or GREAT MEN in high esteem. They are most often awful people, it seems. Musk's recent online activity indicates he may have a few things in common with Henry Ford.

It takes all kinds of people to work together to really create something amazing. I respect industrialists because they take leadership and create jobs. I don't respect arrogance and/or greed. I also respect labor unions and yes I know they are not perfect either. We need artists, engineers, craftsmen, high tech wizards, spiritual leaders, politicians , attorneys and all sorts of people to create a healthy society. No one group is more important than the other, that is where we can get off track quickly. Some of us may not like Musk as a person but I have to admit he has created some good in our society and some bad.

 

[WG Plum]

It takes all kinds of people to work together to really create something amazing. I respect industrialists because they take leadership and create jobs. I don't respect arrogance and/or greed. I also respect labor unions and yes I know they are not perfect either. We need artists, engineers, craftsmen, high tech wizards, spiritual leaders, politicians , attorneys and all sorts of people to create a healthy society. No one group is more important than the other, that is where we can get off track quickly. Some of us may not like Musk as a person but I have to admit he has created some good in our society and some bad.

I agree with you to a point. What I will say is no one, and I mean no one, does anything alone.

 

[hbarcat]

Well, that's an interesting point. I think it takes a certain type of person to do what Musk, and people like Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel have done. I am not that type of person, and neither are of any of us posting here, so, that's a bit moot, in my opinion. However, I have never held industrialists or GREAT MEN in high esteem. They are most often awful people, it seems.

You're exactly right and I think that's a great point which is central to this discussion.

The list of highly accomplished, revolutionary individuals who are morally dubious is very long.

 

[gln1955]

I'm absolutely no fan of Musk. What's in question here, though, is not him running the education system, but him endowing a private school/university. That's a venerable tradition; a great many US private schools, colleges and universities bear the names of their tycoon donors, people who often are forgotten except in the names of the schools they launched. Not many people today know much about Leland Stanford, Elihu Yale, or John and Moses Brown, though Andrew Carnegie and John and Andrew Mellon may be slightly better known. If anything, I'd take it - cautiously - as a positive sign, that one of our contemporary tycoons might actually launch a project for the common good like that.

Those benefactors had the good sense to let others develop and run the schools even if some of what resulted did not fit their own philosophy or vision. Musk has proven to be very hands on in everything he does, which can be good or bad, as we've seen.

Mr. Musk will find that building a true university which not only educates students, but also does basic research and supports the broader society (i.e. not a technical school) is an exercise in cat herding that I'm not sure he has the temperament for. If he micromanages, as is his style, I don't see it ending well.

 

[foal30]

I'm absolutely no fan of Musk. What's in question here, though, is not him running the education system, but him endowing a private school/university. That's a venerable tradition; a great many US private schools, colleges and universities bear the names of their tycoon donors, people who often are forgotten except in the names of the schools they launched. Not many people today know much about Leland Stanford, Elihu Yale, or John and Moses Brown, though Andrew Carnegie and John and Andrew Mellon may be slightly better known. If anything, I'd take it - cautiously - as a positive sign, that one of our contemporary tycoons might actually launch a project for the common good like that.

"Cautiously," though, because I don't have a whole lot of confidence in Musk to carry this off well. He may be good at tech and entrepreneurship; that doesn't make him good at everything, and he doesn't seem the type to really grasp what's needed for a great educational institution. The same attitude that makes a tech innovator successful, the conviction that their doodad is the "wave of the future" and breaking the mold of existing ways of doing things, can also lead to a very narrow-minded focus on their own preoccupations, and difficulty taking into account the rich diversity of views, experiences, methodologies and disciplines that make for a thriving learning community. The whole concept of the term "university" is precisely that universality - that it brings together in one institution so many different pursuits and approaches.

I cringe a little at the prospect of STEM-focused schools like the primary/secondary school that's reportedly supposed to grow into a university here. Two reasons for the cringe; one is that I'm an historian and narrow-minded obsession with STEM education can undercut valuable humanities education, that IMO are absolutely essential to cultivating a lifelong learning attitude and general humane understanding of life.

The other is that, when I was in grad school, I taught Latin in a charter school (this was early 2000s). I believed in the vision of that school and in the potential of the charter school movement to improve education with greater flexibility and variety. However, when I learned more about how the movement was actually playing out, I became more skeptical. An overwhelming proportion of the schools were sponsored by tech companies, and - surprise surprise - dedicated to the premise that what students needed was MORE TECH! in their learning. These tech charter schools (which I think were something like 80-90% of the institutions founded) hired fewer teachers and bought more computers and software than conventional schools, with NO actual evidence that this was a formula that led to better-educated students. The whole thing began to smell to me like a scheme to funnel taxpayer dollars into captive markets for the tech companies' products.

All in all, there's too little information to be able to tell what the prospects are for this new project of Musk's. It could be a useless vanity institution, it could be a for-profit scam passing itself off as a school, it could be a high- but narrow-minded vision that won't deliver what Musk imagines it will, it could be an odd little niche of the American education world that does its niche thing just fine, or it could actually become a meaningful and viable institution of learning. Wait and see.

Thanks for your considered reply ( Cerebus was a great comic and his appearance in Spawn #10 is a magnificent feat of storytelling, explaining comics and a sermon on the nature of Capitalism)

Given the political no talk rule I haven’t much to say from here

 

[FilterFunk]

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.

I guess you haven’t seen the Tesla truck yet, but given it’s stealth design cues, maybe it’s just flying under the radar.

Invalid Link Removed

Elon Musk's luck has finally run out

"Last month, Tesla threw a launch event to celebrate the delivery of 10 Cybertrucks. Ten. The least expensive model, priced at $60,000, will not be available until 2025, according to the company."

IMO, Musk doesn't seem to focus on any one thing long enough to make that thing as successful as it should be.

 

[ElectroVibe]

His morality be judged by his Charity, rather something as silly as a tweet.

I guarantee that those who would benefit most from his charity think nothing about things like silly comments.

 

[WG Plum]

IMO, Musk doesn't seem to focus on any one thing long enough to make that thing as successful as it should be.

Not anymore, no. Hence my earlier comment about him not being the same Musk.

 

[richntiff]

No. What's really scary and weird is so many people wanting to see an education project fail. Especially one that could help underprivileged but bright students.

or perhaps that, in the face of plummeting popularity for a Celebrity CEO, that projects such as these are undertaken in order to boost public opinion. While I applaud the potential outcome, do we really think old Elon is such a benevolent sort?

 

[FRoss6788]

or perhaps that, in the face of plummeting popularity for a Celebrity CEO, that projects such as these are undertaken in order to boost public opinion. While I applaud the potential outcome, do we really thing old Elon is such a benevolent sort?

I certainly don't. I believe him to be a malignant narcissist.

 

[gln1955]

His morality be judged by his Charity, rather something as silly as a tweet.

I guarantee that those who would benefit most from his charity think nothing about things like silly comments.

Considering what he has done to his employees in the past, I'm not impressed by his sense of charity.

 

[FRoss6788]

Considering what he has done to his employees in the past, I'm not impressed by his sense of charity.

The mechanical and piping company I used to work for up until my retirement did an enormous amount of work retrofitting the facility in Fremont that is now Tesla's manufacturing plant. They have an ongoing contract for maintenance and tool hookup.
The work atmosphere and morale in that facility is horrible. I could not imagine going to work there on a daily basis.

I don't consider him charitable in any way.

 

[WG Plum]

In fairness, he's a businessman. The focus is profit, not charity, and business is not inherently ethical, noble, or positive in nature.

 

[MJ5150]

I suppose we've come across another 'take the good with the bad' character as we often do in human history. At some point, the bad will outweigh the good and the character disappears from the public consciousness. Then we wait for the next guy or gal who we want to be everything to everyone.

-Mike

 

[Alkali Ike]

I suppose we've come across another 'take the good with the bad' character as we often do in human history. At some point, the bad will outweigh the good and the character disappears from the public consciousness. Then we wait for the next guy or gal who we want to be everything to everyone.

-Mike

I respectfully disagree that Musk's goal has ever been to be everything to everyone. His current erratic behavior and outrageous public comments, combined with having a very fragile ego that refuses to listen to dissent or criticism, says to me he's not interested at all in what "everyone" thinks. This despite his claim to be a free speech absolutist. But criticize him or one of his products, and you may be erased.

 

[MJ5150]

I respectfully disagree that Musk's goal has ever been to be everything to everyone. His current erratic behavior and outrageous public comments, combined with having a very fragile ego that refuses to listen to dissent or criticism, says to me he's not interested at all in what "everyone" thinks. This despite his claim to be a free speech absolutist. But criticize him or one of his products, and you may be erased.

Yeah, I didn't say he wanted to be so. There is nothing to disagree with in that regard.

-Mike

 

[MJ5150]

-Mike

 

[FRoss6788]

I respectfully disagree that Musk's goal has ever been to be everything to everyone. His current erratic behavior and outrageous public comments, combined with having a very fragile ego that refuses to listen to dissent or criticism, says to me he's not interested at all in what "everyone" thinks. This despite his claim to be a free speech absolutist. But criticize him or one of his products, and you may be erased.

Yep, guys like him, with that kind of wealth and influence, are actually quite dangerous, not just annoying or someone you roll your eyes at when they open their mouth.

 

[TOOL460002]

I heard he offered Saban 1.5 billion guaranteed for 3 seasons as Junior Varsity coach.