Are Canada's top CEOs worth their millions?

[eyeball]

No you said your butt gets sniffed as often as not...

That's right, I did say that.

I just assumed you like a nose between your bottom cheeks.

I know, you've made it pretty clear you think people like butt-sniffs - which is probably the most nauseating thing about them, butt sniffs that is.

Amongst the millions of things you haven't a clue about, but fantasize instead, are my employment conditions...

So you don't actually have to bend over at work, but you do anyway?

[M.Dancer]

This is where eyeball fantasizes about butts

Don't you have a bilge to clean or placebos to sell to dimwitted hipppes?

[Shady]

I've got no problem paying CEO's $6.6 million per year.

You're not paying them anything. We're not paying them anything. Their salaries aren't funded by tax money. They earn their money in the private sector, through the services they provide, or the goods they manufacture. Consumers have a choice as to whether or not they wish to purchase said services or goods.

[August1991]

The people you listed never gained a real benefit from their research, other people did but the most any of them got was fame and gratitude. A lot of it not coming until after their deaths. The people you listed for the most part learned for the sake of learning. The exception to this being Edison, well sort of My link.

I listed: Einstein, Newton, Leibniz, Gauss and Edison.

TM, you raise a fundamental question: were these people motivated by curiousity, or material benefit.

TrueMetis, I have a hint for you: All five names were men, of European origin. (Is curiousity a singular European male genetic feature? Or, maybe the males had a monopoly of material benefits.)

I suspect that "material benefit" (however defined) motivates innovation and not curiousity.

Edited January 15, 2011 by August1991

[Guest TrueMetis]

I listed: Einstein, Newton or Leibniz, Gauss or Edison.

TM, you raise a fundamental question: were these people motivated by curiousity, or material benefit.

TrueMetis, I have a hint for you: All five names were men, of European origin. (Is curiousity a singular European male genetic feature? Or, maybe the males had a monopoly of material benefits.)

I suspect that "material benefit" (however defined) motivates innovation.

Well none of them ever gained much of a material benefit (excluding Edison to a degree) so I'm going with curiosity. And luck lots and lots of luck.

[August1991]

Well none of them ever gained much of a material benefit (excluding Edison to a degree) so I'm going with curiosity. And luck lots and lots of luck.

So, according to you, white women and "coloured" people are not curious. Or lack luck.

Huh?

TM, I suggest that you and I walk our way back through this thread.

[Guest TrueMetis]

So, according to you, white women and "coloured" people are not curious. Or lack luck.

Huh?

TM, I suggest that you and I walk our way back through this thread.

You're the one who went with the all white all male example list.

[August1991]

You're the one who went with the all white all male example list.

And you agreed to it.

But look, who invented calculus? Who discovered relativity? Who first proved that our planet moves?

-----

My question concerned motivation/incentive.

[Guest TrueMetis]

And you agreed to it.

But look, who invented calculus?

It started in Egypt, the Greeks and Chinese worked on it some more, as did some Arab and Persian scientists, before modern calculus was developed by Newton and Gottfried Leibniz.

Who discovered relativity?

Einstein, but like calculus it depended a lot on the work of others.

Who first proved that our planet moves?

The idea had been proposed many times in many cultures, and proved to one degree or another. Galileo proved it beyond a bout but his real fame comes from essentially telling the Church to feck off.

[August1991]

It started in Egypt, the Greeks and Chinese worked on it some more, as did some Arab and Persian scientists, before modern calculus was developed by Newton and Gottfried Leibniz.

---

Einstein, but like calculus it depended a lot on the work of others.

----

The idea had been proposed many times in many cultures, and proved to one degree or another. Galileo proved it beyond a bout but his real fame comes from essentially telling the Church to feck off.

TM, you live in the world of political correctness, and you entirely missed my point.

Whoever made these discoveries - whatever colour, female, male - the key question is motivation, incentive.

IMV, it is far more important to understand what motivated the discovery.

[Guest TrueMetis]

TM, you live in the world of political correctness, and you entirely missed my point.

Whoever made these discoveries - whatever colour, female, male - the key question is motivation, incentive.

IMV, it is far more important to understand what motivated the discovery.

Well since most scientific discoveries didn't make the person who discovered it much money, and most scientist now don't make much money. I'm going with curiosity.

And what I said wasn't politically correct it was just correct. Science doesn't happen in a vacuum, you can't ignore the progress of the past that made what we are doing now possible.

[dre]

Well since most scientific discoveries didn't make the person who discovered it much money, and most scientist now don't make much money. I'm going with curiosity.

And what I said wasn't politically correct it was just correct. Science doesn't happen in a vacuum, you can't ignore the progress of the past that made what we are doing now possible.

Most scientific breakthroughs come many years before they are commercialized, and quite often the inventor/scientists behind the actual ideas dont make much money.

A good example is Konrad Zuse. He invented the computer in the 1930's but went belly up because of lack of interest. Eventually IBM bought some of his patents and THEY made a pile of money.

A friend of mine has spent the last 15 years building the worlds fastest human powered bicycle, and he owns 15 world speed records. He drives a beat up Toyota and lives in a very modest home... he doesnt give a rats ass about making money... his "goal" is simply to make the worlds fatest bikes. He invents stuff because he thinks its fun... not only does he not make a whole pile of money but hes dumped everything he has into it.

A human can ride Goerges bikes at OVER 80 MPH!

In my experience most innovative people are not good businessmen, and theyre not business oriented. I think it has something to do with a certain type of brain. They have the same wiring that many brilliant artists have, and lots of them are flat broke.

Edited January 16, 2011 by dre

[August1991]

Well since most scientific discoveries didn't make the person who discovered it much money, and most scientist now don't make much money. I'm going with curiosity.

And what I said wasn't politically correct it was just correct. Science doesn't happen in a vacuum, you can't ignore the progress of the past that made what we are doing now possible.

Curiousity?

IMV, that's a weak motivation for success/discovery. It works sometimes though.

Edited January 17, 2011 by August1991

[Guest TrueMetis]

Curiousity?

IMV, that's a weak motivation for success/discovery. It works sometimes though.

It works most of the time, hell it's still working now. Think about it, scientists have to work long hours for little pay just to get their degrees, and it doesn't improve all that much once they've actually managed to get it. (In some fields it gets much much worse)

Science not for those who expect to get rich.

[Guest TrueMetis]

It started in Egypt, the Greeks and Chinese worked on it some more, as did some Arab and Persian scientists, before modern calculus was developed by Newton and Gottfried Leibniz.

Einstein, but like calculus it depended a lot on the work of others.

The idea had been proposed many times in many cultures, and proved to one degree or another. Galileo proved it beyond a bout but his real fame comes from essentially telling the Church to feck off.

Slight addendum, when I say Einsteins theory of relativity depended a lot on the work of others I mean he didn't discover it he co-discovered it along with 2 people most people probably never heard of Henri Poincaré, and Hendrik Lorentz. Without their work Einstein never would have developed his theory. Look at pretty much every invention ever, it probably either wasn't invented by who it is attributed to at all, (the telescope, penicillin,) or was mostly done by someone else who couldn't quite figure out the last bits. (relativity, the light bulb [this one could fit in either category])

In the grand scheme of things you could invent something hugely important to mankind, but odds are you will still die with no money and almost unknown.