Hi all,

On Wednesday, I decided to read Ronan Farrow's New Yorker profile of Elon Musk - mainly so I would not have to read Walter Isaacson's hagiography-in-process. It'll take you an hour to read, longer if it makes your blood boil.

My tl;dr -

The TLDR - on this article by Ronan Farrow, which is worth the time -

1. Musk comes from a culture/nature/nurture in South Africa that amplified a dominating attitude. He was an abused child, saw his mother beaten, tried to defend her. The victim-perpetrator is probably the most dangerous combination. Empathy is subordinated, though Elon wishes to "save the world" - but only if he can do it. He is described as having a messiah complex. I could sense that there's a craven (and human) need for attention, winning, and success - at all costs, though, which is quite troublesome.

2. He feels the cardinal sin is "anything that gets in the way of the mission." He doesn't listen to those who disagree or try to regulate his ambitions or argue for safety, and sometimes tries to tear them down, in hints of Machiavellianism. Elon knows best.

3. He is HIGHLY obsessive, very driven, very hard working.

4. He has picked out areas of interest which are about cultural domination and wealth - Paypal for banking, EV's, Space, and now AI. Social media for shits, giggles, and potentially a lever on politics, celebrity, and intimidation of his foes. POWER.

5. Because of his positioning and technological success and cultural sway, he is warping the ecosystem - Government officials basically treat him as an unelected leader. He talks to Putin. Regulators such as the FAA basically defer to him or he downplays their objections. He has become "mission critical", so is given a wide berth.

6. He is on ketamine, which can further amplify impulsivity.

7. He is anti-trans, and his trans daughter has disavowed him. He is campaigning against "woke activism", and says he will vote Republican, though claiming to be a social liberal before. This change in politics comes as a surprise to some who have known him and say he never talked about politics. It fits his fighter instincts, including the cage match proposed with Zuck.

I don't like working with these kinds of people. Why would we empower them?

In other news, India landed a rover on the South Pole of the moon. Take that, Musk.

Here's what I posted:

From that Chandra to this Chandra. As I was saying, I read the Musk profile, then went to work. When I got home, I watched the GOP debate. Then I decided to go ahead and submit this article to Psychology Today for publication:

How to Protect Yourself From Demagogues and Disinformation | Psychology Today (August 24, 2023)

"At the pitched extremes of the American political spectrum, each side thinks the other is off the rails and taking the country toward doom. In this environment of intense perceived threats, demagogues and megalomaniacs can operate in the political, religious, business, and interpersonal spheres."

That article posted yesterday. But I still had more to say. I went for a long evening walk, with all my feelings about my patients, and the world, just sitting on my heart.

I listened to the Flaming Lips.

All this pain, sitting on my heart. Then these words:

“As the dawn began to break
I had to surrender
The universe will have its way
Too powerful to master
Oh-oh-oh-what is love and what is hate
And why does it matter
Is to love just a waste?
How can it matter?”

Tears came, for the suffering I saw coming from the men and woman on stage…and on the way back, ancient tears for the partitioning of a continent… And here we have Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley ... and little ole me. (and Vivek Murthy, and Prachi Gupta, and Amna Nawaz, and so many others, I know.

But what is happening to the South Asian soul? The Asian American soul?

Why does it have to be so?

What is love and what is hate? Is love just a waste? 

I came home, and wrote another essay. It issued forth from the lobes of humor. Maybe laughter can be the best medicine, when the engines of thought and empire cannot bear our hearts aloft.

MOSF 18.8: A Modest Proposal: Vivek Ramaswamy Takes My Civics Exam  (August 26, 2023)

Ramaswamy did not come off as deep in either policy or understanding of any of the issues or histories, from domestic affairs to national security. He’s a flashy, elbows-out, sloganeering punk who can’t be taken seriously for a second. He deserves eye rolls, not eyeballs. Maybe he’s chumming the water to prepare for the second coming of the Great White himself.

+++++

I also saw a great film recently, Shortcomings. 

MOSF 18.7: “Shortcomings”: The Call Is Coming from Inside the Asian American House (EAAPAAO Part 4) – East Wind ezine (August 5, 2023)

The beauty of Randall Park’s Shortcomings, based on Adrian Tomine’s award-winning graphic novel (which I somehow haven’t read yet), is that it comes at a time when decades of frustration about Asian American representation in media, and Việt Thanh Nguyễn’s more recent call for “narrative plenitude” have yielded actual palpable fruit. Shortcomings allows us to advance representation while also asking, “what do we really want?” This film gives us a splendid mirroring of Asian American insider talk and usually unseen and oppressively denied interiorities, and deserves a watching, and in my case, a rewatching.

It turns out there are a lot of calls coming from inside the house.

++++++

I'm a very lucky man. I love my job. I get to learn about and help people every day. I have a good network of friends and colleagues. I have creative outlets.

But the times are often on me, intensely -as they are for all thinking, feeling people. I imagine what happens to those who don't have my good fortunes...

Did you know there are 100,000 opioid overdose deaths a year?

Maybe that's part of what happens. 

I hope you find lightness, ease, family, friends, and joy in the season. I think it's going to be a tough year. Let's get ready to make a future we can believe in.

Warmly,

Ravi