Sorry for asking so bluntly but: Can someone explain to me what exactly makes Myhrvold such a dick?
I mean he's already rich - and unlike some lawyers put under the pump to do evil things he has absolutely no reason to do so.
I mean he's already rich - and unlike some lawyers put under the pump to do evil things he has absolutely no reason to do so.
Assholes never think of themselves as assholes. If they're assholes in a socially acceptable manner, then they see themselves as simply following the crowd. If they're assholes in a legally acceptable manner, they see themselves as hacking the system. If they're assholes in a manner most people detest, they may either not care, or see themselves as crusaders bringing truth to the unwashed masses.
Myhrvold is an asshole in all three senses. He's a patent troll who games the system; he brings harm to everyone by "protecting business interests", and he likely sees himself as a crusader against the evils of copyright infringement perpetrated by those who are too ignorant to know better.
In short, he's a grade A asshole, but he likely views himself as unjustly persecuted and justified in his actions.
It was quite convincingly written (and before all the patent troll stories surfaced). I guess he sees himself as that person.
I looked for it, and think it was this one, or a similar piece: http://www.technologyreview.com/featured-story/401437/the-in...
Clearly Myhrvold has made the world a worse place. The only thing I can think of that's worse was IBM's patenting the process of patent trolling.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/08/01/157743897/can-you-...
As CTO at Microsoft he probably had to deal with lawyers and patent issues constantly. Maybe they upset him? Or they excited his curiousity?
I could be wrong, but with IV, he is running what amounts to a patent law firm or a corporate patent department that has no corporate client. They just obtain patents and collect payments. They produce nothing, except patents and lawsuits, hiding behind shell companies. They take no risks and thus can offer no gains to society. They just collect money. They are a tax on creativity and production.
You are not the only one who has pondered this question. Why? He put up his own money to finance this business.
Sometimes I just don't understand how people think.