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Subject:Re: Sam Clemens From:Ad absurdum per aspera <JTCHEW -at- LBL -dot- GOV> Date:Mon, 3 Oct 1994 12:07:06 -0800
> And wasn't it Sam Clemens who lost all his money backing
> unripe technology?
More accurately, he backed a technology that was so ripe,
other companies were entering the market at the same time,
and one of them, Linotype, steamrollered the others. For a
modern analogy, imagine yourself correctly speculating in
the late 1970s that microprocessor-based PCs would appear
everywhere within the next several years -- and therefore
investing all your money in Zilog.
I don't think he lost all his money, but he did get soaked,
and many scholars think this catastrophe was one of the main
factors in the increasing bitterness of his later work.
They say that if you don't believe in legalized gambling you
should stay out of the stock market. Well, if you can't play
poker at ten thousand a hand and walk away whistling when you
lose, stay out of the venture capital business. Which was
exactly what he was in.
Joe
"Just another personal opinion from the People's Republic of Berkeley"
Disclaimer: Even if my employer had a position on the subject,
I probably wouldn't be the one stating it on their behalf.
