Tim May wrote... "Way too many people think they can become the next Tony Robbins, that Neanderthal on late night t.v. selling motivational tapes" Well, I think a lot of people actually get some real $$$ doing this kind of stuff. And as an engineer/physicist by training, I can't help thinking this is bulsshit as well at best, and a real danger at worst...I can't imagine how much damage George Guilder caused in Telecom. Nevertheless, if people are wiling to regularly pay for "motivational speakers" (I'm thinking of Chris Farley), perhaps they are providing some kind of value that is not so easily assessed...a lot of folks probably grew up in Church-going homes and they are used to be Preached at. So...companies pay for oporae preachers to give their sales folks (for instance) a warm-and-fuzzy. BUT...it's clear to me that there's a lot of money going to sheisters like this. -TD

From: Tim May <timcmay@got.net> To: cypherpunks@lne.com Subject: The last detritus of the dot bombs Date: Tue, 5 Aug 2003 11:40:09 -0700

As I'm feeling chatty this morning, I'll comment on another trend I've been seeing a lot of. While reading the Andrew Orlowski piece on Robin Hanson and the PAM/terror futures thing

( the URL is <http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/6/32170.html> )

I got to thinking about "What ever happened to Max More?" (the founder of the Extropians group)

I did some Googling and found out he and his wife (Natasha Vita-More...the Extropians often change their names to more future-sounding monikers) are some kind of "motivational coaches" or involved in software to do the same.

Then while Googling on Omnivora Policy Systems, or whatever that "disappearing ink" company is, I ran across the name Jeff Ubois, the guy who attended some of my parties. His resume is chockfull of references to "motivational' and "coaching" and similar squishy-soft consulting gigs.

Way too many people think they can become the next Tony Robbins, that Neanderthal on late night t.v. selling motivational tapes.

The good ideas, the good companies, the good technology...it comes from good ideas and good products, not from EST nonsense, not from motivational coaches, not from late night hucksters.

Having talked to some of these folks, though not for the past few years, it really bugs me to see them going down this bullshit path.

--Tim May "The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant." --John Stuart Mill

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