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    #26
    Still at it. Also, a fucking bitcoin tie.

    Comment


      #27
      Of course a bitcoin tie

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        #28
        Carreyou’s book is out

        The author’s description of Holmes as a manic leader who turned coolly hostile when challenged is ripe material for a psychologist; Carreyrou wisely lets the evidence speak for itself. As presented here, Holmes harbored delusions of grandeur but couldn’t cope with the messy realities of bioengineering. Swathed in her own reality distortion field, she dressed in black turtlenecks to emulate her idol Jobs and preached that the Theranos device was “the most important thing humanity has ever built.” Employees were discouraged from questioning this cultish orthodoxy by her “ruthlessness” and her “culture of fear.” Secrecy was obsessive. Labs and doors were equipped with fingerprint scanners.

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          #29
          I especially liked that they wrote code to cover when the software had crashed to make it look like it was just processing slower than advertised.

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            #30
            https://twitter.com/nickbilton/status/1005259293954752512?s=21

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              #31
              It's probably easier to guess which tech CEOs aren't sociopaths.

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                #32
                Originally posted by Ginger Yellow View Post
                It's probably easier to guess which tech CEOs aren't sociopaths.
                Fixed...

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                  #33
                  As I may have mentioned before, even if the technology did what it said it did, it might not disrupt much of anything because that's not how diagnostics work. Detecting biomarkers earlier doesn't necessarily translate into improved outcomes - especially when the outcome in question is death. It might, depending on the disease, but that has to be proven in trials. It's not the given that many investors seemed to think it was. And telling an asymptomatic healthy person that they're at risk for this or that via regular screenings at Walgreens could certainly lead to a lot of unnecessary anxiety and overtreatment.

                  We didn't cover Theranos much because they hadn't come anywhere close to producing the kind of outcomes data they'd need to really change the diagnostics business, but figured they'd come up with something eventually and we could write about it then. It turns out we weren't nearly cynical enough. Then again, even if I'd suspected it was a total fraud, I don't have the time or resources to devote to a single story like Carreyou does.

                  I'm reminded of that scene a few seasons back in Silicon Valley.
                  https://medium.com/@bryce/when-your-...k-54ee4f4ba45d

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                    #34
                    Speaking of Theranos, Tim Draper's Quixotic plan to split California (three parts, this time) has finally qualified for the ballot.

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                      #35
                      Holmes has now been indicted on wire fraud charges, and has stepped down from whatever's left of Theranos.

                      http://money.cnn.com/2018/06/15/tech...nos/index.html

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                        #36
                        I don’t understand how it still exists as a company or how she was allowed to stay on as CEO even after she was banned, essentially, from the healthcare industry.

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                          #37
                          Just finished Carreyrou's book, one of the most entertaining and almost unbelievable nonfiction books I've read in years. Besides the basic facts of the story, the anecdotes he uncovers are well worth reading. The autographed flag she gave to the Walgreens executives still has my mind blown.

                          I was also unaware of her boyfriend/CEO Sunny Balwani throughout the initial reporting in the story, if anything he somehow manages to seem like an even worse person than her

                          The most fascinating and disturbing thing about Theranos to me is that it would still be operating today if not just for a few people willing to risk the constant harassment and intimidation by their lawyers. George Schultz's grandson is an amazing figure, and the wrap up in the book with him and on his family is really sad.

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                            #38
                            Originally posted by Hot Pepsi View Post
                            I don’t understand how it still exists as a company or how she was allowed to stay on as CEO even after she was banned, essentially, from the healthcare industry.
                            Yes, this. What do their employees do now? Are they there because they are loyal to Holmes? What is a typical workday like? It's bizarre.

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                              #39
                              Originally posted by Incandenza View Post
                              What is a typical workday like? It's bizarre.

                              Comment


                                #40
                                Originally posted by Incandenza View Post
                                Just finished Carreyrou's book, one of the most entertaining and almost unbelievable nonfiction books I've read in years. Besides the basic facts of the story, the anecdotes he uncovers are well worth reading. The autographed flag she gave to the Walgreens executives still has my mind blown.

                                I was also unaware of her boyfriend/CEO Sunny Balwani throughout the initial reporting in the story, if anything he somehow manages to seem like an even worse person than her

                                The most fascinating and disturbing thing about Theranos to me is that it would still be operating today if not just for a few people willing to risk the constant harassment and intimidation by their lawyers. George Schultz's grandson is an amazing figure, and the wrap up in the book with him and on his family is really sad.
                                It would have failed eventually when it became clear that their tech didn’t work, but more people would have died.

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                                  #41
                                  Speaking of Theranos and its delusional supporters, Draper’s referendum to split California into three states was barred by the state Supreme Court today.

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                                    #42
                                    And it's officially tits-up.

                                    https://money.cnn.com/2018/09/05/tec...mes/index.html

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                                      #43
                                      I wonder if they're going to do one of those liquidation sales where they sell off all of their office furniture and computers. Probably some nice stuff in there. Then again, most of the computers might be evidence.

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                                        #44
                                        Lot 73: a gross of black turtlenecks, women's medium

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                                          #45
                                          I wonder if they're going to do one of those liquidation sales where they sell off all of their office furniture and computers.
                                          Speaking of, does anyone know of a good second hand/refurb office furniture showroom in London?

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                                            #46
                                            More blood-related corporate shenanigans.

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                                              #47
                                              Just catching up with this (due to wingco having posted an LRB review of Carreyrou's book on his FB page). Christ, "sociopath" is an understatement, surely? "Psychopath" doesn't seem unwarranted. Leaving aside the question of whether the fraud has caused premature deaths of members of the public fooled by the phoney tests (the incidents mentioned in the LRB review fall short of fatalities), there has been a suicide of a senior scientist at Theranos due to the combination of the fraud and the culture of fear and intimidation which backed up their secrecy. Appropriately enough, Holmes has blood on her hands. I really hope she gets put away for as long as possible.

                                              One thing that stunned me from the Wiki page is that Fortress Investment apparently shovelled a further 100m dollars into Theranos as attempted rescue funding in 2017. WTF? They are professional investors, for crying out loud, what were they thinking? If I had enough money to invest in the kind of fund managed by that kind of firm, I'd be careful to avoid that particular fund manager.

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                                                #48
                                                I’d urge even those who feel they’re fully across this story to read the Carreyrou book, I thought it was excellent. Every detail is damning.

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                                                  #49
                                                  She won't see a day in a cell, though, will she?

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                                                    #50
                                                    I dunno.

                                                    Wire Fraud is wire fraud, and there is no one she could "flip" on. The greater burden tends to be getting the DOJ to bring a criminal case. That's already happened, and she's become a poster child for fraud.

                                                    She certainly isn't going to Alcatraz, but I could see less than a year in a Club Fed (perhaps the one where Martha Stewart did her time).

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