# Now that Elon Musk has bought Twitter - now the Pit edition (Part 1) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 25, 2022, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442 "2022-04-25T22:50:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 186
**Author:** ![wevets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9a140/32.png) [@wevets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wevets)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3704 "2023-03-10T14:13:04Z")
I’m not particularly well-versed in the finances & corporate regulation identified as the major threats to Twitter within the next year in this substack piece - [How long does Twitter have left? - by Dave Karpf](https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/how-long-does-twitter-have-left) > Twitter operates under a consent decree with the FTC. Just last May, [the company was fined $150 million for user privacy violations](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2022/05/twitter-pay-150-million-penalty-allegedly-breaking-its-privacy-promises-again). That was back when Twitter had thousands of employees and was notoriously slow and careful in rolling out new features. Twitter is required under the consent decree to dutifully report any changes in how it “maintains and protects the security, privacy, confidentiality, or integrity of any nonpublic consumer information.” > European regulators have also sent [repeat](https://www.npr.org/2022/10/31/1132809675/elon-musk-twitter-eu-margrethe-vestager) [warnings](https://www.ft.com/content/20141fb1-d8f7-4c9e-a0d0-ded1ac8c7947?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email) that, if the company is in violation of the Digital Services Act, it will face several hundred million dollars in fines. Europe has a stronger regulatory state than the U.S. They do not fuck around. Is this how Twitter will actually collapse in the end? ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3705 "2023-03-10T14:33:51Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > You should adjust your priors when your repeated calls for evidence doesn’t produce something, that’s not because it doesn’t exist or is particularly difficult to find, it’s just that most people can’t be bothered spending the time doing work to win an argument on the internet. Well said. And though you used “you”, this is applicable to all of us, myself included. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3706 "2023-03-10T15:07:59Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > > [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > > > Evidence that Musk is a genius would be him talking about something technical at a genius level. To date, anything public that we know about his ideas have been remarkably unimpressive for a so-called genius. I invited @Sam_Stone to show me evidence of Musk speaking in a technical capacity at a genius level quite some time ago (or anything similar that is direct concrete evidence), but to date, nothing. I’m 100% willing to be convinced that Musk is a genius, but I require actual evidence. ⁢ > > Since sentiments like this have been brought up multiple times in this thread already, such evidence is not extremely difficult to find but it’s also not someone else’s job to do your homework for you. It is 100% the job of someone making a claim to back it up. Sam was the one who argued that Musk was a genius. And Sam very clearly _was_ trying to win an argument on the Internet. He definitely could be bothered. And, in fact, he did try to provide evidence. It just got picked apart. So I wouldn’t even say you were doing Sam’s homework for him. Providing the evidence is great, but I completely disagree with your lecture. That last paragraph is technically true, but it did not apply in this situation. And providing evidence of a claim is not doing their detractors’ homework for them. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3707 "2023-03-10T15:32:25Z")
I appreciate you posting the video. As others have pointed out, the lecture was not necessary. I have asked for something like this for quite some time. If it was so easy to find I’m a little surprised none of the Musk fanboys had posted it previously. I still wouldn’t say Musk is a genius based on this, but he certainly comes across as more knowledgeable than I would have expected. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3708 "2023-03-10T16:49:18Z")
It’s funny that you get proven wrong, but choose to attack ME because I couldn’t be bothered to seek out evidence to satisfy peoole who constantly personally attack me. Let me make this clear: In the pit, I will do whatever the fuck I want to people who constantly assassinate my character. That includes ignoring them, laughing at them, mocking them, and telling them to go fuck themselves when they demand cites for things that should be obvious to anyone with a functioning brain. You want a reasonable debate? Start one outside the pit. You want to attack your fellow dopers for sport? Do it in the pit, but don’t expect reasoned debate in response. If you act like a child, expect to be treated like one. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3709 "2023-03-10T17:02:04Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > If you act like a child, expect to be treated like one. Sound advice. 😐 ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3710 "2023-03-10T17:21:50Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > I still wouldn’t say Musk is a genius based on this, but he certainly comes across as more knowledgeable than I would have expected. Yeah, that’s the odd thing. Plenty of posters, particularly naysayers, have stated they think he’s probably smarter than the average person, but that he doesn’t come across as a tech genius who is personally responsible for most of the technical innovation at SpaceX or Tesla. And certainly most people agree he’s been a flaming dungheap as CEO at Twitter. Yes, it’s to his credit that he takes a serious interest in such work at SpaceX and Tesla but that’s a far cry from “genius”. There’s a whole generation of 6 year olds who could give a similar presentation about dinosaurs, but that doesn’t make them genius paleontologists or personally responsible for the current state of the art in dinosaur research. I still haven’t seen anything that contradicts any of that. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3711 "2023-03-10T17:30:44Z")
Are you replying to me? I wasn’t attacking you. But since you mention it the last time it came up I said: > [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > They why does he _NEVER_ sound like the smartest guy in the room? Like ever. Please, point me to any speech where Musk is talking on a technical issue and actually sounds like a genius and says truly profound things. I’ve never seen one. I’ve seen plenty where he sounds like a guy who likes to think he’s the smartest guy in the room. Which was true. I had never seen a speech by Musk in which he sounded bright. I guess somehow I missed some obscure YouTube channel. You provided quotes from people again, and I said: > [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > I’m not impressed with quotes from people that may have any number of reasons to compliment Musk, especially given what we know about his personality. > [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > Again, I want evidence. Not quotes. And you said this: > [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > No, you don’t. You want to maintain your epistemic closure in the face of any evidence I provide. If I gave you the most brilliant speech ever given, you’ll claim it was just written for him. Now, somebody actually posted a video where Musk sounds informed. If you could point to where I said “Pfft. It must have been written for him”, then I would be ever so grateful. Unlike some people, I’m actually open to having my mind changed based on _strong evidence_. It doesn’t bother me to be wrong. I’m wrong a lot. Every day. Such is the nature of doing science. I still wouldn’t go so far as to say Musk is genius. There’s too much counterevidence for that, but he is seemingly knowledgeable about the Raptor engines, and the at least the basics of rocket design. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3712 "2023-03-10T17:37:57Z")
> [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > Are you replying to me? I wasn’t attacking you. I guess he got lonely up on that cross. ---
**Author:** ![BeepKillBeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9e8a1a/32.png) [@BeepKillBeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeepKillBeep)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3713 "2023-03-10T17:40:37Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Plenty of posters, particularly naysayers, have stated they think he’s probably smarter than the average person, but that he doesn’t come across as a tech genius who is personally responsible for most of the technical innovation at SpaceX or Tesla I may have called him a moron from time to time, but in the same context I call myself a moron. Or my friends. When you do something dumb it is like “BKB, you moron”. I think most of the time when answering in a serious way I’ve said “He’s probably a bit above average” or something to that effect. I don’t think I’ve said he’s a total idiot except perhaps as a reaction to something specific like “Oh my god, what an idiot, I cannot believe he did X”. As with many others, I’ve said, I don’t think he’s a genius and I still don’t think he’s a genius. I’m still willing to have my mind changed on that, not that it is particularly important. This is after all just “winning” an argument on the internet. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3714 "2023-03-10T17:41:15Z")
Y’know… there is a wide range of categorization between “genius” and “moron”. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3715 "2023-03-10T17:50:57Z")
There are also geniuses whomact like morons from time to time, and people whomhave genius in particular areas due to obsession or focus on a small portion of one field, which makes them rather dumb in a lot of other ways. For example, there are a lot of scientists who sound like idiots when they opine on politics. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3716 "2023-03-10T17:55:29Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Y’know… there is a wide range of categorization between “genius” and “moron”. There is also a wide range for what I can suspect Elon could have. > **[Savant syndrome](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savant_syndrome)** > > Savant syndrome (/sæˈvɑːnt, səˈvɑːnt, ˈsævənt/) is a phenomenon, sometimes following a brain injury, where someone demonstrates exceptional aptitude in one domain, such as art or mathematics, despite significant social or intellectual impairment. > Those with the condition generally have a neurodevelopmental disorder such as autism spectrum disorder or have a brain injury. About half of cases are associated with autism, and these individuals may be known as "autistic savants". While the conditio... ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3717 "2023-03-10T17:55:52Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > > [@BeepKillBeep](#): > > > > I still wouldn’t say Musk is a genius based on this, but he certainly comes across as more knowledgeable than I would have expected. > > Yeah, that’s the odd thing. > > Plenty of posters, particularly naysayers, have stated they think he’s probably smarter than the average person, but that he doesn’t come across as a tech genius who is personally responsible for most of the technical innovation at SpaceX or Tesla. And certainly most people agree he’s been a flaming dungheap as CEO at Twitter. > > Yes, it’s to his credit that he takes a serious interest in such work at SpaceX and Tesla but that’s a far cry from “genius”. There’s a whole generation of 6 year olds who could give a similar presentation about dinosaurs, but that doesn’t make them genius paleontologists or personally responsible for the current state of the art in dinosaur research. > > I still haven’t seen anything that contradicts any of that. I agree with all of this and I think it’s worth highlighting. Anyone who OWNS a freaking rocket company and is exposed to its work day after day is inevitably going to absorb far more information about (for instance) rocket engines than the average guy in the street, unless they’re purely a bean-couinter flaunting their MBA with zero interest in the technology. Even someone of substandard intelligence would appear impressively knowledgeable in that situation. Except, overall, they’d probably do a better job than Musk because they wouldn’t be horrible managers creating a toxic work environment, or getting sued by the state of California for running a racist workplace. No one has claimed that Musk is of substandard intelligence or has no idea about anything his businesses do. The claim that’s being challenged is the implication that he’s a genius who is personally responsible for Tesla cars and SpaceX technology. The Twitter misadventures reveal him to be comically inept on many different levels. The only thing that the posted video proves is that Elmo has cleared a very low bar. And, to be fair, that he does have an interest in his companies’ technology. But certainly not that he created all of it, or, indeed, any of it, though being an egomaniac he certainly loves to represent himself that way. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3718 "2023-03-10T18:07:19Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > No one has claimed that Musk is of substandard intelligence People on this fucking board have claimed repeatedly that Musk is the stupidest person on Earth. ---
**Author:** ![Airbeck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/airbeck/32/6574_2.png) [@Airbeck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airbeck)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3719 "2023-03-10T18:12:20Z")
I’ve never seen that stated. Stupidest person on earth is a very specific statement. Not as smart as the mythology surrounding his genius is not the same as saying he is literally the dumbest human being in existence. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3720 "2023-03-10T18:12:59Z")
> [@Toxylon](#): > > People on this fucking board have claimed repeatedly that Musk is the stupidest person on Earth. You should look up the definition of “hyperbole” sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3721 "2023-03-10T18:15:01Z")
Musk was the smartest person on Earth when the left thought he was part of their tribe. He only became a moron when he dared to step off the reservation. The modern left, like all religions, saves their highest level of hatred for apostates. ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3722 "2023-03-10T18:18:06Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > The modern left, like all religions, saves their highest level of hatred for apostates. I think this is funny and true. I saw @wolfpup starting to say something, so I’ll wait for that. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442/3723 "2023-03-10T18:19:21Z")
This argument always cracks me up. I typically see it on sports boards, where it takes the form of “So this reporter is a moron until he likes your guy?” It is not hypocritical to point out stupidity and to agree with something smart, even if both instances come from the same person. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=185) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-that-elon-musk-has-bought-twitter-now-the-pit-edition-part-1/963442.md?page=187)