tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973827.post8206153915960816822..comments2024-01-11T07:40:01.736-05:00Comments on The Stopped Clock: Character Flaws of the Rich and PowerfulAaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16523334580402022332noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973827.post-32225472143662018642010-10-08T14:14:02.232-04:002010-10-08T14:14:02.232-04:00I think Brooks overstates his case with Zuckerberg...I think Brooks overstates his case with Zuckerberg who, yes, as depicted in the movie has some social deficits but who at another level seems to both understand that. The depiction isn't far off from some computer types I've known who interface very well with computers and numbers but not so well with people. That has to do in part, I think, with the social hostility toward "nerds" that still exists, particularly at the jr. high to high school level, but some of it is organic - in a prior generation the same people might have been poring over accounting books in a back office. Computers and the information age make it possible for them to achieve phenomenal things despite some social difficulties.<br /><br />But I think Brooks is confusing that with the type of antisocial personality that has often appeared at the top of the economic food chain. There was a Simpsons episode a good number of years back in which Homer started a website that became popular, until it reached the point 'every developer dreams about', gaining takeover interest from Microsoft. The takeover turned out to involve Bill Gates and a couple of goons smashing Homer's equipment in the manner of Goodfellas mobsters.<br /><br />Humor, yes, but highlighting something important - the type of conduct attributed to the antisocial "nerd" who leads a company by the likes of Brooks is simply another form of the antisocial behavior - "Looking out for Number One" - that has manifested itself in traditional scions of business including Hearst, but also the scions of industry who attempted to break the early union movement with brutal violence, who happily had children working 14 hour days, who locked young women in firetrap sweatshops because otherwise they might gossip or take too many breaks, etc., with no sign that they value or even regard their workers as human beings.<br /><br />I suspect that there will be more of the type of issue you describe as our society continues to move online for social interaction. When your socialization occurs through a screen, losing most of the social cues of face-to-face conversation, you're not going to learn facial cues and you're not going to practice traditional social interaction.Aaronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16523334580402022332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5973827.post-22092012495325068722010-10-08T12:12:50.099-04:002010-10-08T12:12:50.099-04:00This isn't limited to folks like Zuckerberg......This isn't limited to folks like Zuckerberg...we are seeing so many kids who simply have neither prior knowledge nor social skills. Some are (often incorrectly, IMO) being labeled as "autistic". It's amazing how many times I say something that the kiddos have NO idea what I mean or have no idea how to react. I know that when I was in elementary school, I had had enough conversations with adults (to be fair, I was the only child/only grandchild so I had lots of opportunities) to know how to react to things, how to be social and so on.TeacherPattinoreply@blogger.com