13a

Andrew Lanza
ENT3003
Professor Pryor
10/9/17

Reading Reflection No.1

For my first reading reflection, I decided to learn about billionaire engineer genius Elon Musk. Elon Musk Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future is a biography of Elon Musk by Ashlee Vance, and an option on our reading list, which I quickly took the opportunity to learn about. 

1)  a) When reading Elon Musk Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, I was thoroughly impressed by the magnitude of ventures Elon Musk has captained, and how fearlessly he tackled any situation. What most surprised me about Elon Musk would have to be about his upbringing and childhood. He came from decent means and had family that loves and cares about him, but his childhood was "miserable". Musk even declines to talk about it to the biographer for much of the book. It seems to have helped him adapt to difficult situations very well, but it certainly surprised me to read about what growing up was like for such an iconic man. 

b) Like I previously listed, Musk's fearless approach to any endeavor is an enviable trait, and clearly has helped bring him to the prominence he has come into. Even more admirable is his never-give-up attitude, and how after being knocked down so many times, he still managed to get back up on his feet. 

c) What I least admired about Musk was the multiple mentions of his rigid personality when dealing with people who he disagreed with or knew were wrong. He just knows so much that it kind of, got in the way of sorts, in many of his relationships with employees and colleagues. Like many geniuses, such as Steve Jobs, Musk is impatient with those who slack or aren't giving what he perceives to be 110% 24/7. His expectations are huge, but his patience and social skills aren't necessarily admirable. Apparently he's a little better now but along the way he has been less than kind to dozens of employees and colleagues. 

d) Musk is absolutely no stranger to failure and adversity. All growing up, Musk was picked on and singled out. He was isolated and disliked. Awkward and unhappy. He always stuck to what he knew, and he certainly knew a lot. Getting into the business world after moving to the United Stated with nothing, Musk constantly faced difficulties with disagreements between him and business partners. He was ousted out of multiple companies he headed, and continued tenaciously to be the best at innovating in the fields he knew needed the most innovation. He saw opportunity in failure, and I believe that's why he has been so successful: he failed a lot. 

2) Musk is incredibly intellectually competent, specifically spatially, logistically, and mathematically competent. He describes his brain as having the computing ability of a graphics chip of a computer. He sees things on planes that normal people cannot visualize, and brings ideas to life that other people couldn't pioneer for decades. 

3) I didn't really find much anything of the reading to be confusing. It was really straightforward and well-written. The only thing about the reading that confused me was reading about some of Musk's behavior. Musk perpetually acted awkwardly or peculiarly growing up and along the road to the tech-auto-solar-giant he is today. But like I said, like many geniuses, he's "just in his own world".

4) If I could ask Elon Musk two questions, they would be 1) What is your greatest passion? and 2) At what moment did you know that you were the most important man on earth?

I would ask him these questions because I think that he truly is the most important man for the future of humanity, at least as of now. He's brilliant and remarkable. His passions should be those of most humans, as if they were, the world might be a more sustainable and forward-looking place to live. 

5) What I perceived of Musk's view of hard work was that he had a level of work ethic I have never heard of, read about, or studied of in all of my life. Musk redefines what it means to work hard, and leaves competitors in the dust merely due to his work ethic. Musk frequently worked 20 hour days in much of his twenties and thirties to innovate and create to the best of his ability. Furthermore, he couldn't stop working. His passion for what he does and his work ethic are unparalleled. I don't share his view of hard work because I do not know what it is like to work that hard for anything. 

•