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Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 13, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Sunday Fun Thread

Walter Isaacson: I got this text message from Elon Musk at 4:44am CT showing a screenshot of some text messages in which he tells Mark Zuckerberg they should fight this Monday at Zuckerberg’s home in Palo Alto.. The message to zuck appears to be sent at 1 AM.

Is this all just an elaborate joke? If not, it's hilarious that Elon's unparalleled skill at running companies coexists with this.

I think he's not a bad person, and I believe Talulah Riley when she said he was actually sweet and very shy in person, but I think becoming a 'media personality' over the last few years has rotted his mind. Some people just aren't cut out to be public figures. They need a PR team, need someone else handling media, need to stay away from directly interacting with the public. The problem is that Elon doesn't seem to realize this, and he enjoys the attention too much.

Funny, I get the feeling he's a great showman, and that his talents are wasted on SpaceX, Tesla, etc.

Funny, I get the feeling he's a great showman

His great show was "shutting the fuck up 50% more and letting people think he was Tony Stark".

This "overly online dweeb gets way too much validation and goes full cringe" arc is nowhere near as effective as his previous branding.

I, for one, believe that Musk getting the shit beaten out of him by Zuckerberg at the Roman Colloseum would have been a great show. I am assuming he's doing the whole thing with a certain ironic detachment, which would make it hilarious rather than cringe.

Oh, I have no doubt that, as an overly online troll, he's at least partly self-aware.

But it brings to mind the ancient parable of the man who only pretended to be retarded.