We went to see The Social Network this weekend with the 4's and Matty. This movie got me thinking, and reading, about the value of ideas.

Jeff Atwood's post regarding this is one of my favorites. I feel like I agree, and although I probably suffer from at least a bit of the American obsession with coming up with "the next big idea", I think my priority right now needs to be on perfecting my execution. It seems likely to me that this involves not just discipline in every new task, but also practice and dedication to learning new concepts. I want to become a better developer, and this movie was a little bit inspiring in that way.

I also find it interesting that so many reviews of the movie bring up the fact that the portrayal of Mark Zucherberg is of someone to be pitied, an unlikable anti-hero. I don't know this guy, or anything about him, but I watched the movie and was motivated, at least in part, to try to be a little bit like him.

People are describing him as an SOB who thinks he's smarter than everyone else. Newsflash, if you think you're smart enough to create something that grabs 500 million people's attention, do it. Accidental billionaire is such a lame title, betraying petty jealousy, from a lesser contributor seeking significance. It's interesting to talk about the character, or even the real life person's capability to connect personally with other people in a non-threatening, non abrasive way. It's not interesting to hear your description of how that guy that accomplished more than you've ever dreamed possible is only a legend in his own mind, propelled by some fortuitous alignment of the stars.

In the middle of writing this, I've read some more reviews bringing misogyny into the equation, which is funny to me. They describe how unfair it is that there are no positive female characters in the movie. Cry me a river, which female creator of Facebook did they leave out? Was there a substantial financial contributor that was removed because she was female? Is it truly misogynistic, or even racist to tell a story based on real life without checking our race and gender cards to make sure it's a full house (and yes, race jumped into a bunch or reviews as well).

I read my own post, and I'll admit it's not that facinating, and not particularly entertaining. What I'm severely disappointed by is the fact that I rarely hear anyone besides Ayn Rand and her proponents lifting up the concept of hard work anymore. I read and hear so many people talk about unfairness and playing fields, and circumstances, blah, blah, blah. Nobody seems to take seriously the concept that they need to step it up a bit. There are people who can be admired for what they accomplished, without idolizing and wanting to emulate every mistake they may or may not make.