Fake It 'Till You Make It...

[Jamie123]

...is (according to Wikipedia) "an aphorism that suggests that by imitating confidence, competence, and an optimistic mindset, a person can realize those qualities in their real life and achieve the results they seek". The problem comes when having faked it, you realize too late that you can't make it, and both you and everyone you won over with your fake confidence are heading for a train wreck.

The first time I encountered this, I was about six years old. One night as I was getting into bed, I had a "brilliant idea" for making a robot. Actually my "idea" only covered the robot's head, but I was so sure that my run of of inspiration would continue, that the rest of the robot would follow:

Next morning, having procured a custard tin and some string from the kitchen, I ran to the garden shed and got to work...

My "big idea" was that by pulling the string, I could make the head move in the required direction. It worked beautifully!

Then came Phase 2... the neck, torso, arms and legs? Hmmm...

Foresight had failed.

I showed the "robot" to my mother, hoping she might have some ideas. However, her best suggestion was to tie a second custard tin to the other end of the string and make a tin-can telephone. But I didn't want a telephone. I wanted a robot.

Luckily I had no big stakeholders in my project; my one shareholder was my mother, whose investment consisted of one empty custard tin and a couple of feet of string.

Elizabeth Holmes was not so fortunate. Her big idea was to perform every imaginable blood test using a pinprick of blood, which could be taken at a supermarket counter, and analyzed by a device called an "Edison" which - despite being the size and shape of desktop computer - contained an entire blood testing laboratory. Not only would this make bloodwork much more affordable, it would be more accurate. It would detect health problems well in advance, and no one would have to "say goodbye too soon".

Now poor little Elizabeth got quite a lot of pooh-pooh for this. But like the true-blooded American she was (star-spangled apple pie land-of-the-free etc.) she didn't let that put her off. After all, every great visionary get's pooh-poohed. Don't they? They pooh-poohed Columbus. They pooh-poohed the Wright brothers. They pooh-poohed Thomas Edison. They pooh-poohed me for my rob...

Oh dear...

With her charismatic personality and Steve Jobs roll neck, Elizabeth Holmes raised seven hundred million dollars from venture capitalists. At it's height, her company Theranos was valued at 10 billion. She even had Henry Kissinger on her board of directors! She was on magazine covers everywhere as the world's youngest ever female self-made billionaire.

The trouble was, she had no more idea of how to make a desktop-sized blood testing laboratory that ran off a single drop of blood, than I had of how to make a robot. And no matter how much she whipped, beat and starved the scientists she hired (few of them put up with her for very long) they couldn't figure it out either.

And now she's in prison for defrauding her investors.

Three morals to this story:

• If you're going to "fake till you make", be sure that you can make it.
• Much as we all hate pooh-poohers, there are times when they can be worth listening to. (It would have saved Elizabeth Holmes the bother of going to jail!)
• A tin-can telephone may not be a robot, but it's better than nothing!

Edited October 3, 2023 by Jamie123

[Carborendum]

21 hours ago, Jamie123 said:

• If you're going to "fake till you make", be sure that you can make it.
• Much as we all hate pooh-poohers, there are times when they can be worth listening to. (It would have saved Elizabeth Holmes the bother of going to jail!)
• A tin-can telephone may not be a robot, but it's better than nothing!

I will point out that Holmes was not following the idea of "fake it till you make it."  She was outright defrauding people.

"Fake it till you make it" like many aphorisms has many qualifiers that are not immediately apparent from the isolated aphorism alone.

• While the end goal is not currently a reality, it has to be based on reality and truth. (If I decided I'm going to "fake it till I make it" as an NBA player, that's not going to go very far.)  
• There has to be a true intent of purpose.  (Her purpose was to bilk people out of a lot of money, not finding a real technology).
• There has to be a method of getting from point A to point B that is based in reality.  (Musk is actually applying true principles of rocket science to get to his goal of colonizing Mars.  While his goal may not be realized in his lifetime, he is laying groundwork for future generations.)

Holmes had none of these.

We have no idea if #1 was satisfied in her goals.  But it appears not.  And given the path her father took, one can understand why she thought she'd get away with it -- not really.

She never had enough intent of purpose to take the steps necessary to get to the end goal.

The third point is the one that people get stuck on.  Do they know how to get there?  Most don't at the beginning.  But that is the point of the journey.  A starting point has to be education on the topic.  While she did have some years of study in Chemical Engineering, she never graduated.  So, we have no way of knowing how much she understood about the process which she presented.  But by virtue of the end results, we realize she probably didn't know much at all.

[Traveler]

The point is that if you are going to fake it before you make it – you should definitely go into politics – certainly not anything technical or realistic.

 

The Traveler

[Jamie123]

5 hours ago, Carborendum said:

I will point out that Holmes was not following the idea of "fake it till you make it."  She was outright defrauding people.

I can only see two possibilities here:

• She knew all along that she was talking nonsense, and that it would catch up with her in the end. She was making hay while the sun was still shining. Maybe this isn't so implausible: she may have a few uncomfortable prison years ahead of her now, but after that she's on easy street living off the wealth of Billy Evans. (And even if Evans sees sense and dumps her, she'll soon charismatize some other poor sucker.)
• The charisma with which she manipulated others also worked on herself. She deceived herself into thinking that her idea would really work, and that she'd enter history alongside Edison and Ford.

In the second case she's like Sean Connery's character in the movie The Man Who Would be King: an ex-soldier claims that he's Alexander the Great reincarnated, and eventually starts believing it himself!

Edited October 4, 2023 by Jamie123

[prisonchaplain]

There is so much cynicism, realism, negativity, and polarization today that many people will be seduced by anyone who can communicate well and who is passionate about their message. She succeeded for so long because those duped wanted her to be right. Scarier yet, perhaps she had convinced herself. Believing she was sincere is a tougher pill to swallow than thinking she was scamming from the get-go.

[LDSGator]

10 hours ago, prisonchaplain said:

There is so much cynicism, realism, negativity, and polarization today that many people will be seduced by anyone who can communicate well and who is passionate about their message. She succeeded for so long because those duped wanted her to be right. Scarier yet, perhaps she had convinced herself. Believing she was sincere is a tougher pill to swallow than thinking she was scamming from the get-go.

That’s all true, but even in the (I hate this phrase) “good old days” there were still fraudsters like her. 

[mikbone]

Reminds me of the above link.

[prisonchaplain]

4 hours ago, LDSGator said:

That’s all true, but even in the (I hate this phrase) “good old days” there were still fraudsters like her. 

I taught US History to 1865 to seventh graders last years, so yes--AMEN. Sadly, many of them worked for the US or state governments. 😞 

[Jamie123]

1 hour ago, mikbone said:

Reminds me of the above link.

Quote

A little learning is a dangerous thing ;

Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring :

There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain,

And drinking largely sobers us again.

Fired at first sight with what the Muse imparts,

In fearless youth we tempt the heights of Arts ;

While from the bounded level of our mind

Short views we take, nor see the lengths behind,

But, more advanced, behold with strange surprise

New distant scenes of endless science rise !

So pleased at first the towering Alps we try,

Mount o’er the vales, and seem to tread the sky ;

The eternal snows appear already past,

And the first clouds and mountains seem the last ;

But those attained, we tremble to survey

The growing labours of the lengthened way ;

The increasing prospect tires our wandering eyes,

Hills peep o’er hills, and Alps on Alps arise !

 

[Vort]

On 10/3/2023 at 7:25 AM, Jamie123 said:

With her charismatic personality and Steve Jobs roll neck, Elizabeth Holmes raised seven hundred million dollars from venture capitalists. [...] The trouble was, she had no more idea of how to make a desktop-sized blood testing laboratory that ran off a single drop of blood, than I had of how to make a robot.

She's a victim, don'tcha know. A victim of oppression and prejudice against ambitious young women. Anyway, it wasn't her fault. It was the guy's fault, her loverboytoy. He got a stiffer sentence than her, so that pretty much proves it. Poor, poor Elizabeth, dragged against her will into shady dealings. She is not to blame. She's the victim, just as much as all those people who lost all their investments.

[LDSGator]

6 minutes ago, Vort said:

She's a victim, don'tcha know. A victim of oppression and prejudice against ambitious young women. Anyway, it wasn't her fault. It was the guy's fault, her loverboytoy. He got a stiffer sentence than her, so that pretty much proves it. Poor, poor Elizabeth, dragged against her will into shady dealings. She is not to blame. She's the victim, just as much as all those people who lost all their investments.

I totally, 100% agree with you that’s how they tried to spin it. But don’t you think it failed? I do. She’s (correctly) hated by pretty much everyone. 

[Vort]

3 minutes ago, LDSGator said:

I totally, 100% agree with you that’s how they tried to spin it. But don’t you think it failed? I do. She’s (correctly) hated by pretty much everyone. 

Don't pay me any mind. I'm just being cynical for the unsullied joy of rotting in my own private hell. In the end, Holmes will receive a small fraction of what should be legally due her. Those with political motivations will happily overlook her pure criminality so that they can tout their bottom line. Such is life in this fallen sphere. And I fear we are all guilty to some extent, though I believe honest people (present company included) try mightily to avoid doing such.

It's been a bad few weeks, and I'm kind of grouchy. As I said, pay me no mind.

[LDSGator]

15 minutes ago, Vort said:

I'm just being cynical for the unsullied joy of rotting in my own private hell.

 

[Carborendum]

On 10/4/2023 at 12:39 PM, Jamie123 said:

In the second case she's like Sean Connery's character in the movie The Man Who Would be King: an ex-soldier claims that he's Alexander the Great reincarnated, and eventually starts believing it himself!

I don't remember it that way.  However, I may be mixing up the movie with the book.  I remember that it stuck pretty close to the book.  But there were some slight differences.  But it has been too long for me to remember which was which.

I recall that the big thing was that power went to his head.  It made no sense for Connery's character to ask his friend to bow before him because the locals believed them BOTH to be gods.  So, if it was because "he started to believe it himself" it would make sense that he believed his friend was also a fellow god.

One thing that I don't remember being in the movie was that they both made a pact to swear off boos and women until they became kings.  That is why Connery's character wanted to marry.  They had fulfilled their goal of becoming kings.  So, he wanted a wife.  And if he was king, then why not have a queen.

[Jamie123]

8 hours ago, Carborendum said:

I don't remember it that way.  However, I may be mixing up the movie with the book.  I remember that it stuck pretty close to the book.  But there were some slight differences.  But it has been too long for me to remember which was which.

I recall that the big thing was that power went to his head.  It made no sense for Connery's character to ask his friend to bow before him because the locals believed them BOTH to be gods.  So, if it was because "he started to believe it himself" it would make sense that he believed his friend was also a fellow god.

One thing that I don't remember being in the movie was that they both made a pact to swear off boos and women until they became kings.  That is why Connery's character wanted to marry.  They had fulfilled their goal of becoming kings.  So, he wanted a wife.  And if he was king, then why not have a queen.

Maybe you're right - this wasn't such a good analogy. However, I seem to recall a scene where Connery - now accepted as "Son of Gazander" - tells Michael Caine "this was meant to be" - that he really was a fulfilment of prophecy. But this is in any case fiction.

[Carborendum]

6 hours ago, Jamie123 said:

Maybe you're right - this wasn't such a good analogy. However, I seem to recall a scene where Connery - now accepted as "Son of Gazander"

"Segunda"

6 hours ago, Jamie123 said:

- tells Michael Caine "this was meant to be" - that he really was a fulfilment of prophecy. But this is in any case fiction.

I don't remember that part.  If so, yes, he began to believe it.  Fiction or not, I can see that sort of thing playing out in real life.

[Jamie123]

2 hours ago, Carborendum said:

"Segunda"

I've been searching for the Red Dwarf scene, but can't find it. We'll have to make do with my recitation from memory:

Quote

Rimmer: When I visited the palace in Macedonia, I remembered it. That had once been my home. Years later I went to a psychic - Donald - and he regressed me through all my past lives. My instincts had been quite correct! For...believe it or not, Lister...I, in a past existence [his chest swells with pride] was Alexander the Great............'s chief eunuch!"

Lister: You know...I believe you.

 

[Carborendum]

6 minutes ago, Jamie123 said:

I've been searching for the Red Dwarf scene, but can't find it. We'll have to make do with my recitation from memory:

LoL.

I meant that in the film he was "Segunda, son of Segunda."  It was meant to be a local linguistic bastardization of Alexander.

I don't recall what the name was in the book.  Did he have one that the locals used?

-- I never saw that episode of Red Dwarf.  I loved that series.  Did you ever read the fan-fic of Red Dwarf meets Star Trek: TNG?

Edited October 9, 2023 by Carborendum

[Jamie123]

13 hours ago, Carborendum said:

I meant that in the film he was "Segunda, son of Segunda."  It was meant to be a local linguistic bastardization of Alexander.

I knew what you meant I somehow remember it as "Gazander" but I'm sure you're right.

I'm like Mrs. Oleson in Little House on the Prairie who always called Amanzo "Zaldamo".

Edited October 10, 2023 by Jamie123

[Jamie123]

12 minutes ago, Carborendum said:

Did you ever read the fan-fic of Red Dwarf meets Star Trek: TNG?

No I've never seen that - do you have a link?

I do remember Patrick Stewart being interviewed about Red Dwarf, saying he was initially outraged that they were sending up TNG, and was already in the process of dialing his lawyer when he suddenly saw the funny side!

Edited October 9, 2023 by Jamie123

[Carborendum]

1 minute ago, Jamie123 said:

No I've never seen that - do you have a link?

I just tried looking for it.  I can't seem to find it.  I read it like 20+ years ago, shortly after TNG's final episode.

It linked up people between the two series.  Data and Crighton, of course.  Then Rimmer was trying to be all tuff while hanging out with worf.  Lister was hitting on Counselor Troi.  The cat spent time with Guinan (I think).  And, of course, Captain Picard was teamed up with Toaster.

Toaster offered that this guy with a British accent couldn't possibly be French.  He even offered him an English muffin instead of toast.  But when he turned that down, he offered a croissant.  So, he offered to give up if he could just ask one more question: Would you like some toast?

In the end Picard was wielding a claw hammer to destroy this infernal contraption.

1 minute ago, Jamie123 said:

I do remember Patrick Stewart being interviewed about Red Dwarf, saying he was initially outraged that they were sending up TNG, and was already in the process of dialing his lawyer when he suddenly saw the funny side!

You know, a lot of people got it wrong about Stewart.  While he was uptight for a lot of the first season, the rest of the cast was so mischievous that by the end of the first season, I believe Marina Sirtis said, "We whipped that right out of him until he was worse than the rest of us combined."  So, that jocular Picard personna we saw at the wedding reception in Nemesis was close to who Stewart had become in real life.

[Jamie123]

Maybe a better analogy is Christopher Lee's character in The Wicker Man. *SPOILER ALERT* Lee (or to be more precise his grandfather) is a botanist who has developed strains of crops which will - he believes - thrive on a remote Scottish island. To consolidate his control over the islanders, he pretends the bumper harvests are thanks to his re-introduction of the old pagan religion, with himself as high priest/magician/king. Eventually the experiment fails as nature reasserts itself. With no backup plan, Lee takes refuge in his own deception: he convinces himself that that the gods really must be appeased, and arranges offer Edward Woodward as a human sacrifice. Woodward points out that if the harvest fails again, the islanders will sacrifice Lee himself, but Lee is convinced this will not happen. The movie ends with them all singing "Summer Is a Coming In" (Woodward singing against them with "The Lord's My Shepherd"). The sun sets over the ocean as poor Edward Woodward is burned. We never find out if it worked or not. 

Edited October 10, 2023 by Jamie123

[Vort]

20 hours ago, Jamie123 said:

I knew what you meant I somehow remember it as "Gazander" but I'm sure you're right.

I'm like Mrs. Oleson in Little House on the Prairie who always called Amanzo "Zaldamo".

I just learned something from my wife a week or two ago that I had never known. Laura called her husband "Manly" because she had misheard his friends. His name was Almanzo, and his friends called him "Manzo", which Laura misheard as "Manly". She became aware of her error, but at that point she decided to just keep calling him Manly.

I find it tragic that Laura and Almanzo had only one child to survive to adulthood, and that that daughter suffered a miscarriage and was subsequently unable to bear children. I think that, of Ma and Pa Ingalls' daughters, Laura's child was the only surviving grandchild. They lost their son Freddy when he was a baby. Mary, who of course was blind, never married or had children. None of the daughters produced an ongoing line, so Ma and Pa Ingalls' line ended with their granddaughter. Seems a terrible thing.

[Jamie123]

3 minutes ago, Vort said:

I just learned something from my wife a week or two ago that I had never known. Laura called her husband "Manly" because she had misheard his friends. His name was Almanzo, and his friends called him "Manzo", which Laura misheard as "Manly". She became aware of her error, but at that point she decided to just keep calling him Manly.

I find it tragic that Laura and Almanzo had only one child to survive to adulthood, and that that daughter suffered a miscarriage and was subsequently unable to bear children. I think that, of Ma and Pa Ingalls' daughters, Laura's child was the only surviving grandchild. They lost their son Freddy when he was a baby. Mary, who of course was blind, never married or had children. None of the daughters produced an ongoing line, so Ma and Pa Ingalls' line ended with their granddaughter. Seems a terrible thing.

I take it you're talking about the real Ingalls family, not the people in the show. I remember Mary in the show did marry, but I can't remember whether she ever had children.

[Carborendum]

1 hour ago, Vort said:

I just learned something from my wife a week or two ago that I had never known. Laura called her husband "Manly" because she had misheard his friends. His name was Almanzo, and his friends called him "Manzo", which Laura misheard as "Manly". She became aware of her error, but at that point she decided to just keep calling him Manly.

I take it that was from the books.  In the show, he was called "Manny."  And Laura only called him "Manly" once or twice.  Yes, she misheard it, but it seemed to be because she was dazzled with his manly visage and physique.  She was corrected, and began calling him "Manny" from then on.