Thread by @LemieuxLGM

Holmes is an interesting character the Theranos story is also about what willfully gullible rubes so many of our nation's overcompensated and underachieving elites are

https://twitter.com/amandamull/status/1480251072673468428

And of those who aren't rubes, too many (cf. David Boies) are amoral nihilists who will squash anybody so their great-grandchildren can get an extra zero on their inheritance

Crucial to Holmes's ability to attract capital and thirsty old men was her intuitive understanding that having the superficial characteristics upper-class people associate with talent and success is more important than actually having any talent nytimes.com/2022/01/03/tec…

Be thin, conventionally attractive, brag about making a fetish about waking up self-punishingly early, spend lots of time at the office, a little light mystical woo-woo and you can soak venture capitalists for a lot of money even if you couldn't run an elementary school bake sale

Of course part of the reason Theranos was a massive bust is that Holmes was high on her own supply. For employee evaluation the number of hours you spent at the office was far more important than whether you actually did anything or had any useful skills