13A - Reading Reflection No. 1

I chose to read about Elon Musk.

Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future, Ashlee Vance

1)

-       I was very surprised about Elon’s upbringing. I had no idea that he was bullied as a child. When I see people of that sort of status, I  never usually think of them as being someone who was ever vulnerable.

-       I admire his sense of vision. Yes, he is a genius, and very creative, but the way he is constantly envisioning something greater and will settle for no less than saving the entire planet.

-       I didn't his lack of care for family matters, and emotional relationships in general.

-       Elon has encountered adversity and failure, and still does up to this day, such as with his many failed rocket launches. But he continues to push forward. He learns from his failures, and uses them to help him improve his ideas.

2)

-       Elon exhibited competencies for perseverance and idea development, as well as for an ability to use current information to predict the next wave of trends.

3)

Something that confused me in the reading was Elon’s mistreatment of an employee who was expecting a child.

4)

-       I would ask Elon, “Do you believe in intelligent extraterrestrial life?” I would ask him this because of the fact that he is so intent on getting humans to Mars and granting us the ability to colonize space.

-       I would then ask him, “What would make you think that said extraterrestrial life would be fine with humans colonizing planets that aren’t our own?” I feel as though he would have a very interesting and out-of-the-box response to this.

5)

-       I think that Elon’s opinion of hard work is that it is of the upmost importance, being that he strives to be a prime example for his employees. I agree with his view and feel as though a company or project is much more successful when the head is a leader instead of just a boss.