Theranos Trial Begins

 
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angrypuppy
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 7:43 am    Post subject: Theranos Trial Begins

There are actually two trials as the two principals (Elizabeth Holmes and "Sunny" Balwani) will be pointing fingers at one another before separate juries.

To me Elizabeth Holmes is the ultimate "Hello Kitty" doll. You can ascribe whatever you want to her motives and treatment as she's an ambiguous blank slate.

If you're a woman, you might say she had to lie and fake it because it is almost impossible for a woman to get funding in Silicon Valley.

If you're a minority, you might say she got funding and undeserved superstar treatment because she's white and blonde.

If you're a conservative, you might say she's the product of the leftist political culture in that everyone wants a woman to succeed and will thus turn a blind eye to the obvious.

If you're a liberal, you can claim that she was the product of the Reagan Era ransacking of the regulatory agencies that were designed to product us from charlatans and their false claims. Note that it was a Wall Street Journal reporter who brought her down, not any prior action initiated by the federal government prior to publication.

And if you hate the entire aspect of legacies that are embedded in our country, you might say she benefited from family access to a level of government and money that isn't available to 99.99% of the population.


And there might be truth within each of the aforementioned perspectives.
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lakersken80
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 8:35 am    Post subject:

That blood testing technology they were trying to do was straight out of Star Trek, it was never going to work with todays technology and limitations. That being said when they got some powerful people onboard everyone else followed like lemmings.
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angrypuppy
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 9:06 am    Post subject:

From what I recall, a medical professor from Stanford advised Holmes not to pursue her attempting to create diagnostic testing from such a tiny sample size of blood. The prof basically said that the skin and debris alone from the pinprick would invalidate any result. And of course that objection set aside the other problem that later emerged: the more tests you claim that you can perform, the more blood you'll need.

The underlying technology wasn't really that groundbreaking even if it worked. She was simply attempting to miniaturize known technology which led to engineering problems. And of course they drew far more blood than advertised, diluted it, and sent it out to their labs which used the diagnostic equipment manufactured by competitors.
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LarryCoon
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 10:22 am    Post subject:

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For any scientist there are immediate red flags. Each blood test, in a way, is its own technology. You don’t measure sodium in the blood the same way you measure glucose, or test for the presence of antibodies to a virus. Yet Theranos claimed to have revolutionized dozens of standard laboratory tests. This would require a massive amount of research and development, or the introduction of an entirely new technology.

Such technology does not come out of nowhere. Research builds upon other research and then is translated into practical applications. The myth of the lone researcher making breakthroughs in their garage is largely just that, a myth. But that image clings tightly to the public consciousness. This makes it easier to sell the narrative of the lone genius making breakthrough technology.

Perhaps the tech industry is especially susceptible to this narrative. A team of coders with a great idea can create a disruptive app that will change the game. Investors are looking for disruptive startups, nerds with a great idea and the next billion dollar company. Medical technology is different, however. There needs to be a paper trail, years of research leading up to the application.


-- Steve Novella LINK (2016)
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lakersken80
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 10:43 am    Post subject:

Maybe someday the medical technology will be tried and true which will make it possible to test a single drop of blood to diagnose ailments and diseases. I just don't see it happening anytime soon with our available technology which means we have to draw enough blood to do individual tests. The way I see it she had an end goal but the technology was not mature or reliable enough to bridge that gap.
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CandyCanes
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 12:16 pm    Post subject:

What’s funny is that Holmes lives on a 135 million dollar estate because her husband is independently wealthy. So she’s still at least still a multi nona-millionaire even if not a billionaire anymore.
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DaMuleRules
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 5:04 pm    Post subject:

It's about freakin' time . . .


I mean he did kill half the damn universe.
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Omar Little
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 6:45 pm    Post subject:

I find it funny that there’s actually some attempt to make this person out to be some cipher, like she’s not obviously a privileged amoral ahole who saw an opportunity to bilk a huge amount of money out of people on a scam, and figured she could somehow make good on the back end, and then lied and obfuscated her way through the fallout. Feminism? Really? She set up a long con because she couldn’t get her actual ideas to market? Please. She’s a con artist. And like many of them, one without a good exit strategy.
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Last edited by Omar Little on Fri Sep 10, 2021 6:59 pm; edited 1 time in total
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DaMuleRules
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 6:58 pm    Post subject:

Omar Little wrote:
I find it funny that there’s actually some attempt to make this person out to be some cipher, like she’s not obviously a privileged amoral ahole who saw an opportunity to bilk a huge amount of money out of people on a scam, and figured she could somehow make good on the back end, and then lied and obfuscated her way through the fallout. Feminism? Really? She set up a ling con because she couldn’t get her actual ideas to market? Please. She’s a con artist. And like many of them, one without a good exit strategy.


Right down to faking a deep voice because she apparently thought it made her more "credible".
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Jason Isbell

Man, do those lyrics resonate right now
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angrypuppy
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 7:07 pm    Post subject:

DaMuleRules wrote:
Omar Little wrote:
I find it funny that there’s actually some attempt to make this person out to be some cipher, like she’s not obviously a privileged amoral ahole who saw an opportunity to bilk a huge amount of money out of people on a scam, and figured she could somehow make good on the back end, and then lied and obfuscated her way through the fallout. Feminism? Really? She set up a ling con because she couldn’t get her actual ideas to market? Please. She’s a con artist. And like many of them, one without a good exit strategy.


Right down to faking a deep voice because she apparently thought it made her more "credible".



It's amusing the way she's changed her dress code, from the austere Steve Jobs black turtleneck to the soft suburban mom look. I would imagine many women would balk at having a child if they were facing an extended period of incarceration, but not Elizabeth Holmes. A baby is an excellent prop to gain sympathy from judge and jury.
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DaMuleRules
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 7:13 pm    Post subject:

angrypuppy wrote:
DaMuleRules wrote:
Omar Little wrote:
I find it funny that there’s actually some attempt to make this person out to be some cipher, like she’s not obviously a privileged amoral ahole who saw an opportunity to bilk a huge amount of money out of people on a scam, and figured she could somehow make good on the back end, and then lied and obfuscated her way through the fallout. Feminism? Really? She set up a ling con because she couldn’t get her actual ideas to market? Please. She’s a con artist. And like many of them, one without a good exit strategy.


Right down to faking a deep voice because she apparently thought it made her more "credible".



It's amusing the way she's changed her dress code, from the austere Steve Jobs black turtleneck to the soft suburban mom look. I would imagine many women would balk at having a child if they were facing an extended period of incarceration, but not Elizabeth Holmes. A baby is an excellent prop to gain sympathy from judge and jury.


Like Omar said, it's all about the long con.
_________________
You thought God was an architect, now you know
He’s something like a pipe bomb ready to blow
And everything you built that’s all for show
goes up in flames
In 24 frames


Jason Isbell

Man, do those lyrics resonate right now
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angrypuppy
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 7:31 pm    Post subject:

DaMuleRules wrote:
angrypuppy wrote:
DaMuleRules wrote:
Omar Little wrote:
I find it funny that there’s actually some attempt to make this person out to be some cipher, like she’s not obviously a privileged amoral ahole who saw an opportunity to bilk a huge amount of money out of people on a scam, and figured she could somehow make good on the back end, and then lied and obfuscated her way through the fallout. Feminism? Really? She set up a ling con because she couldn’t get her actual ideas to market? Please. She’s a con artist. And like many of them, one without a good exit strategy.


Right down to faking a deep voice because she apparently thought it made her more "credible".



It's amusing the way she's changed her dress code, from the austere Steve Jobs black turtleneck to the soft suburban mom look. I would imagine many women would balk at having a child if they were facing an extended period of incarceration, but not Elizabeth Holmes. A baby is an excellent prop to gain sympathy from judge and jury.


Like Omar said, it's all about the long con.


Of course, especially the way she played older men, most likely exploiting their vanity and insecurities. That was her true genius rather biochemistry. But this story can give everyone a lens into how our society functions; that's the big picture.
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Omar Little
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PostPosted: Fri Sep 10, 2021 10:16 pm    Post subject:

DaMuleRules wrote:
It's about freakin' time . . .


I mean he did kill half the damn universe.


You’re thinking of theraflu.
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cathy78
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PostPosted: Sat Sep 11, 2021 3:08 am    Post subject:

How come I read Thanos trial first...
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