And the things I can recall Gates getting laughed at for are mostly geeky inside-baseball. For instance: “640K should be enough for anybody”—he got laughed at for saying that (even though, so far as anyone can tell, he didn’t ever actually say it) but mostly by other geeks. I’ve seen him admired for being very smart, admired for being a shrewd businessman and buliding a hugely valuable company, excoriated for giving the world a lot of bad software, hated for shady business tactics, laughed at for things other geeks find funny—but I really can’t think of any occasion I’ve witnessed where he’s been laughed at for being geeky.
The Simpsons comes to mind as mocking Gates for being geeky, and I’d suggest that Gates gets mocked more than Buffett (I struggle to think of anyone mocking Buffett except Bitcoiners recently after he criticized it); that said, Gates gets mocked a lot less these days than he did in the ’90s, and your inability to think of many examples is due to the disappearance of ’90s popular media, magazines, Usenet posts, ./ comments, etc, from consciousness.
a lot less these days than he did in the ’90s [...] the disappearance of ’90s popular media [...] etc., from consciousness.
Yes, very likely. (Recall that my original answer was: “Neither, these days.”—emphasis added.) I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen the Simpsons episodes in which Gates is mocked, so of course I can’t comment on them.
Again: if—as is very likely the case—Gates has been mocked much more than Buffett, it seems clear that there are plenty of explanations for this that have nothing to do with his being geekier. I don’t see how Gates v Buffett can possibly be much use as an example of how geekiness is undesirable, given all the other factors in play there.
The Simpsons comes to mind as mocking Gates for being geeky, and I’d suggest that Gates gets mocked more than Buffett (I struggle to think of anyone mocking Buffett except Bitcoiners recently after he criticized it); that said, Gates gets mocked a lot less these days than he did in the ’90s, and your inability to think of many examples is due to the disappearance of ’90s popular media, magazines, Usenet posts, ./ comments, etc, from consciousness.
I’m reminded of this Pinky and the Brain episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyGY8AuS7rU.
Yep. Note the mockery of Gates’s monotone voice, arrogance, aversion to personal contact, overuse of computers...
Yes, very likely. (Recall that my original answer was: “Neither, these days.”—emphasis added.) I’m pretty sure I haven’t seen the Simpsons episodes in which Gates is mocked, so of course I can’t comment on them.
Again: if—as is very likely the case—Gates has been mocked much more than Buffett, it seems clear that there are plenty of explanations for this that have nothing to do with his being geekier. I don’t see how Gates v Buffett can possibly be much use as an example of how geekiness is undesirable, given all the other factors in play there.