>I found the bigger issue to be the stuffing supposedly neutral comitee with friends in dispute with Leibniz, so that they rule your way....
I certainly don't agree with this, but that is because my ethics are informed by a culture in which these things are considered bad. I believe there are cultures in which it is the way things are done, and in my readings of earlier centuries their ethics were not ours.
>These and others are major assholery issues, major ego issues.
There is a particular relatively famous programmer that I think of when I think 'asshole programmer', back when I used to go to conferences I would see him get up and tear down medium level programmers during their sessions. I don't want to say his name in case I ever have to confront him, as I like to keep my powder dry. I have met other programmers that were just as big jerks, although without this guy's accomplishments.
Obviously the programmer in question accomplishments pale in comparison to those of Newton. So I believe if I met Newton I would think - what an asshole!! but I would also somehow feel his contributions to the world did something to make up for his social inadequacies. So I guess I'm saying when I get my time machine after checking kill Hitler off my bucket list I probably won't be going to punch Isaac Newton in the nose for second place.
>And we even could avoid whole dicussion here, had people were not insistent on "just a slow to make friends".
Yes we could have avoided whole discussion here, if we just agreed with your viewpoint. But I don't agree, and so the discussion evidently needed to be had.
on edit: also the committee stuff sounds like a lot of the stuff I read about malfeasance in academia so - again sounds like sort of garden variety asshole there.
They were not culture where this was considered "good". Earlier centuries their ethics were not ours, but especially these interpersonal competite issues were considered ethical issues by them. Hence people pissed off be these.
It is completely absurd to make up imaginary past ethical systems. I am all for looking at past standards, but make them actual past standards. The way you do it makes all involved sound dumb.
Moreover offtopic: sometimes genius 'misunderstood' by group of people is actually group of people having healthy boundaries and acting rationally. And the while conflict starts to make sense instead of comming accross as "people in past were ridiculous".
I don't know the specific of the Newton case and am not really vested in the issue. But I am midly amused by your definitive statement on cultures' take on interpersonal competitive issues over the course of mankind history.
While we are living in an era where what you consider actual standard are not uniformely regarded as such on the surface of the globe.
I am genuinely interested in knowing how you could arrive at such an opinion ?
( regarding They were not culture where this was considered "good" and these interpersonal competite issues were considered ethical issues by them. )
I was in much better environment with much better programmers.
The programmer you mention was not a norm. He was an issue, collective inability to cut his shit off was issue. And apparently his behavior ended up normalise among programmers you know, precisely because people around you were not able to set boundaries on them.
But it was not him being neuro-atypical, was not "slow to make friends", you are talking about bullies in environment that is enabling it.
Let's call it power trip and bullying instead of absurd euphemisms.
And that bullying is not considered normal or acceptable by our general society either.
I certainly don't agree with this, but that is because my ethics are informed by a culture in which these things are considered bad. I believe there are cultures in which it is the way things are done, and in my readings of earlier centuries their ethics were not ours.
>These and others are major assholery issues, major ego issues.
There is a particular relatively famous programmer that I think of when I think 'asshole programmer', back when I used to go to conferences I would see him get up and tear down medium level programmers during their sessions. I don't want to say his name in case I ever have to confront him, as I like to keep my powder dry. I have met other programmers that were just as big jerks, although without this guy's accomplishments.
Obviously the programmer in question accomplishments pale in comparison to those of Newton. So I believe if I met Newton I would think - what an asshole!! but I would also somehow feel his contributions to the world did something to make up for his social inadequacies. So I guess I'm saying when I get my time machine after checking kill Hitler off my bucket list I probably won't be going to punch Isaac Newton in the nose for second place.
>And we even could avoid whole dicussion here, had people were not insistent on "just a slow to make friends".
Yes we could have avoided whole discussion here, if we just agreed with your viewpoint. But I don't agree, and so the discussion evidently needed to be had.
on edit: also the committee stuff sounds like a lot of the stuff I read about malfeasance in academia so - again sounds like sort of garden variety asshole there.