August 25, 2022

Is anyone listening to the new Joe Rogan podcast, the one with Mark Zuckerberg?

I clicked it on and then off again after a minute and a half, basically as soon as Joe stopped talking and Zuckerberg began. I just felt a reflexive revulsion. 

There are some articles about it though, so let's read that. The Independent has a lot of transcription, so I'll begin and end there and just cherry-pick some quotes from MZ:

“So few of the physical things we have in the world don’t [?] need to be physical. [C]hairs and food need to be physical, but most entertainment, like TVs, don’t need to be physical, it will just be an app on your wall and you will snap your fingers and a hologram of a TV will appear.... I hate sitting in front of my desk, I feel that if I’m not active I’m just wasting away.... 
"My energy level and mood and how I interact with the world is based on... it's so physical. I don’t believe we are just brains in a body.... Being present with people and feeling a sense of presence is pretty important.... I see people in person almost every day.... I do think that seeing people in person and having that sense of presence makes a big difference....

“Our company is pretty forward leading about remote work, some types of work, like software engineering you can do from many kinds of places. I have this thing where I will be in zone-flow concentration and my wife will ask me some basic question and I lose my flow, and from her perspective, it is not a big deal, but that is not how it works.”

70 comments:

Kate said...

No one likes to be interrupted when they're working in a flow state. We just say it out loud: I'm in the zone when I'm at my desk (or wherever). Unless it's an emergency, I'll talk later.

Is that too weird? I mean, this is MZ. He's allowed to sound robotic. It's one of his perks.

Inga said...

“I just felt a reflexive revulsion.”

Just how I feel when listening or watching Trump. I’m not trying to be mean, it’s a true visceral reaction. As for Zuckerberg, he elicits a oh yuck reaction from me, but no revulsion.

RideSpaceMountain said...

Wow. Zuckerberg's Lizardian interpretation of humanity's physical needs and metaphysical perceptions really speaks to me as someone who's not from Gliese 869b. He's so right. Certain things need to be physical, but other things can be replicated on demand just like they are in the Typhon Expanse, aren't I right fellow humans!

Wa St Blogger said...

"... I have this thing where I will be in zone-flow concentration and my wife will ask me some basic question and I lose my flow, and from her perspective, it is not a big deal, but that is not how it works.”

Yes, that is how it works. If I want the blogger spouse not to interrupt me when I am working a complex spreadsheet, I put on my phone headset and the blogger spouse will not interrupt. The Blogger kids are not as accommodating.

reader said...

I feel that way about presidents. All of them except for Trump. Bush,Clinton,Bush,Obama, and Biden. I heard/hear them on tv and the radio and turn it off. Just hearing their voices makes me cringe. They all lie, so there is no point in listening to them. They say what they think their people want to hear. I don’t trust any of them. The only reason Trump isn’t on the list is because he’s such a jackass that I believe he means what he is saying. I also believe that he has a very common/normal sense of humor that he doesn’t attempt to quash.

Trump’s jackassery makes me uncomfortable but I’d rather have that then the pandering lies the others tell.

Dave Begley said...

Did Rogan ask Zuckerberg about how he stole the election for Biden? And how has Biden performed since MZ installed him as POTUS.

policraticus said...

It is an Uncanny Valley problem.

Jaq said...

" I’m not trying to be mean, it’s a true visceral reaction"

We already know there is no logic or thought behind it.

rhhardin said...

Rogan alone is torture, but even if you have two torture individuals it's probably the same, because each talks half the time.

Heartless Aztec said...

As the Perfessor goes so goeth I. I do much better with the written word than the televised word. Truth be told almost all news stations and talking head shows repulse me. I like the weather reports.

Enigma said...

Silicon Valley is full of people who may fall on the autism spectrum, aka Asperger syndrome. This applies to John Carmack of video game fame (Doom, Quake, Oculus Rift), as employed by MZ. Steve Jobs was thoroughly and obviously nuts. Bill Gates had inhuman abilities in his early days. Being 'different' can be a de facto success requirement.

Silicon Valley is a wonderful Land of Oz populated by a bunch of Greta Thunberg personalities with ridiculous computer programming skills. Don't expect comforting or warming or charming. The Computers Wore Tennis Shoes.

Amadeus 48 said...

Inga—this isn’t about Trump. It is about Zuckerberg.

Someday, Trump’s physical presence will be gone, and your flow will have to do without him. Or you’ll join the great eternity before him, and he will have to face a world without you. Only his memories of you will sustain him.

Who will be the more bereft?

Amadeus 48 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fred Drinkwater said...

If a hunk of "stuff" you have isn't physical, it's much easier for whoever sold it to you to prevent you from using it. Or for a third party to do that. Already happens with money you "have" in the bank, for instance.

Welcome to the rental / subscription only economy.

Ted said...

I don't know about other people, but I find that my perception of Zuckerberg's creepy persona is still mostly based on Jesse Eisenberg's performance in "The Social Network."

Amadeus 48 said...

Thinking about Joe Biden makes me physically ill. He burdens my flow. I think it is the inappropriate showers with his daughter. But it could just be the degenerate lives of the whole damned family. Did you ever read that interview story from the 70s where Joe natters on about his “Playboy bunny” first wife and hoping that he can satisfy her in bed? Now, that was creepy. Hunter and that gitl are a couple of walking, talking cries for help.

Trump is bad, but Biden is worse.

zipity said...


"Just how I feel when listening or watching Trump."

Tell me how you feel when you listen to or see the desiccated husk called Joe Biden....

Yancey Ward said...

The Uncanny Valley.

MikeD said...

Inga's gotta find a way to charge Trump rent for living in her head.

Che Dolf said...

I just felt a reflexive revulsion [when Zuckerberg began talking].

Althouse passes Voight-Kampff test.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Fox News: "Mark Zuckerberg tells Joe Rogan FBI warned Facebook of 'Russian propaganda' before Hunter Biden laptop story"

The FBI is woefully politicized.

Will Cate said...

Is it as long as the usual Rogan show? I can't stand listening to Zuck for 5 minutes, let alone 2 hours.

Michael K said...

Just how I feel when listening or watching Trump. I’m not trying to be mean, it’s a true visceral reaction.

Inga for once you are honest. I know that is the reaction of most hard core Democrats. We see them here posting about Trump's "lies." We ask them to name one and they disappear. It's all emotion and it is good of you to admit it.

Blair said...

This MF won't interview Trump, but he'll interview this MF. My tolerance for Rogan's BS has just about run out.

zipity said...


"The FBI is woefully politicized."

The FBI is fatally politicized.

Fixed it for you.

Bob Boyd said...

@ Professor Althouse

What do you think is at the root of your reflexive revulsion to Zuckerberg?

Kathryn51 said...

Inga said. .

Just how I feel when listening or watching Trump.

Inga and I agree on something.

Ann Althouse said...

“What do you think is at the root of your reflexive revulsion to Zuckerberg?”

He’s selling his product. He’s a huckster. I skip ads. I don’t get the sense that he’s a real person.

rcocean said...

I'm so tired to hippie/commies like Anne Althouse denigratng our great American Business leaders! Mark Zuckerberg built a zillion dollar business from scatch, through hard work and his own massive brain. He created a company that employs hundreds of thousands of American workers and brings joy to billions around the globe. People like him, and people like Bill gates and the Koch Brothers are what made America great.

If hippies like Althouse don't find that appealing, it must be because they are small bitter souls full of envy at a man with Billions. Personally, I listened to the whole podcast, and I'm even more impressed with Mark. I just hope that one of these days, I can get past his security guards to say Hello and say he should run for POTUS. We need a smart, tough, businessman in Washington to get all those lazy bureaucrats to do an honest days work.

Narayanan said...

art-and-sense-of-life

ask yourself what else produces a similar response and learn about yourself

Yancey Ward said...

"Inga's gotta find a way to charge Trump rent for living in her head."

Lots of open space there, but it isn't worth a dime in real money.

Lem Vibe Bandit said...

Cruel and unusual: A conversation between Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg.

Bob Boyd said...

"Huckstering doesn’t need to be physical, it will just be an app on your wall and you will snap your fingers and a hologram of a lizard, thinly disguised as a cyborg, will appear" - Mark Hucksterberg

ColoComment said...

This is what twitter is "blowing up" about.
I wouldn't care to watch the whole thing, but if you go to 5:05 of the full interview, Z says:

“Basically, the background here is the FBI, I think, basically came to us- some folks on our team and was like, ‘Hey, just so you know, like, you should be on high alert. We thought that there was a lot of Russian propaganda in the 2016 election. We have it on notice that, basically, there’s about to be some kind of dump of that’s similar to that. So just be vigilant.'"

...and then he proceeds to describe the "vigilance" protocols that FB used to restrict information, eg., the Hunter laptop.

Yancey Ward said...

The big story from the interview was that Zuckerberg more or less admitted the FBI warned them off the Hunter Biden laptop story by claiming it was Russian propaganda. Now, Zuckerberg probably didn't need to be told this to do exactly what he did- he was already donating a couple of hundred million dollars to the Democrats to rig the election, but why was the FBI warning Facebook and Twitter to not publicize the NYPost story? That is a violation of the election law full stop.

Jupiter said...

I have to laugh at the idea of Zuckerbucks being "in zone-flow concentration". Like he's a computer programmer or something. He is the idiot who just bet 10 billion dollars on the "Metaverse". He is in the process of pounding the shitshow formerly known as Facebutt down an imaginary nine-dimensional rathole. If his wife slipped up behind him and clocked him with a physically-present hammer, she could take out her smartphone and watch the crypto-dollars flow back into her bank account as the puddle of coolant spread across the holographic-marble tiles of the entertainment-room floor.

Narayanan said...

there was this girl [keeps kosher] who was revulsed when I added pat of butter to bowl of chicken soup

Mr Wibble said...

Silicon Valley is full of people who may fall on the autism spectrum, aka Asperger syndrome. This applies to John Carmack of video game fame (Doom, Quake, Oculus Rift), as employed by MZ. Steve Jobs was thoroughly and obviously nuts. Bill Gates had inhuman abilities in his early days. Being 'different' can be a de facto success requirement.

Silicon Valley is a wonderful Land of Oz populated by a bunch of Greta Thunberg personalities with ridiculous computer programming skills. Don't expect comforting or warming or charming. The Computers Wore Tennis Shoes.


Someone elsewhere once said that Silicon Valley is full of people who, in previous generations, would have founded cults.

Jupiter said...

"He’s selling his product. He’s a huckster. I skip ads. I don’t get the sense that he’s a real person."

Not to defend the monster, I don't think that's fair. He is a real person. This is what he is really doing, right now, in real time. He could be doing almost anything else, but this is what he chose to do. To sell his imaginary product. To huckst. This is Mark's bell ringing; his cows are coming home; his hard work is paying off.

wildswan said...

Here's picture of Zuckerberg talking to his avatar.
https://i.insider.com/617c587423745d00182449af?format=jpeg

And here's picture of The Early Zuck Avatar and then The Later Zuck Avatar when he'd grown up a bit or else the program got better.

https://img.game-news24.com/2022/08/Mark-Zuckerberg-says-Metaverse-Project-is-capable-of-much-more-After-Graphics-Were-Ridiculed-Fool-Of-More.jpeg

Trigger Warning: If you suffer from reflexive revulsion these pix may make it worse. Or you may choke with laughing. You are entering a Unknown Zone - Metaverse Meets Universe - where human experience has never gone before.

Sprezzatura said...

"“What do you think is at the root of your reflexive revulsion to Zuckerberg?”

He’s selling his product. He’s a huckster. I skip ads. I don’t get the sense that he’s a real person."

I think the real problem is that he's a piss poor huckster. If he was a better, more natural sales person he'd seem less horrible/huskster-y. Let's be grateful that he's only calculating and ruthless, and he's not also good at selling and connecting re humans.

IMHO.

Narayanan said...

Headline at ZH >>>>> Zuck Tells Rogan Facebook Censored Hunter Laptop Story After FBI Request

? true / false ?

I don't mind Facebook doing FBI bidding : why not tell upfront what they are doing and why?

Yancey Ward said...

"I think the real problem is that he's a piss poor huckster. If he was a better, more natural sales person he'd seem less horrible/huskster-y. Let's be grateful that he's only calculating and ruthless, and he's not also good at selling and connecting re humans."

This was also my reaction to Althouse's comment- who would buy anything from Zuckerberg? He isn't Steve Jobs, or Elon Musk, who were both born hucksters.

Jupiter said...

"Lots of open space there, but it isn't worth a dime in real money."

Kind of like the Metaverse.

Randomizer said...

" I just felt a reflexive revulsion."

This afternoon, I watched the Zuckerberg episode of Rogan's podcast.

As soon as Zuckerberg started talking, he was in that pitch-man mode selling his profound vision of the future. It all felt kind of dated, like from 10 years ago and inauthentic. I thought about skipping forward an hour, figuring that Joe would let him run himself out, and he would relax. I didn't skip forward.

The episode isn't very interesting. Even when Zuckerberg was talking about his leisure activities, watching UFC and, I think, Taekwondo, he was a little manic and boring.

Rogan is interested in social media and censorship. Zuckerberg tried to sound earnest and thoughtful, but he sounds like he doesn't know what to do about fake news, cancel culture or algorithms to make social media so crappy.





tim maguire said...

Inga said...
“I just felt a reflexive revulsion.”

Just how I feel when listening or watching Trump


Nothing wrong with that, so long as you looked past it and considered his actual performance as president when you stepped into the voting booth. You’re not voting on whether you want to hang out with him, after all.

Vance said...

I wonder if any of our leftists are at all upset that an arm of the Federal Government is issuing orders to censor political stories to the biggest companies in the world, that reach billions of users.

I mean, isn't this textbook fascism, like literally in the Adolf and Mussolini sense? Big Government and Big Corporations acting in lockstep? Do our leftists really endorse fascist behavior that is openly a violation of the First Amendment?

Of course they do, is the answer. Our leftists have zero problems with the government ordering things to be censored --as long as the material being censored might be bad news for Democrats.

Buckwheathikes said...

"The FBI is fatally politicized."

The FBI has been blackmailing members of Congress and other high officials since its very inception and will always do that so long as it is allowed to exist. It is the Democrat Party's KGB.

Nobody has ever done anything about it and those who tried were put in prisons. You do not live in a free country and never have.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

FBI behind big tech censorship of anything pertaining to actual real democrat corruption.

The Big Guy gets to keep his loot - tax free.

FBI do too.

Bob Boyd said...

Disappointed in Rogan. He was so easy on Zuckerberg. So sympathetic. Kept saying how difficult it must be for Zuckerberg.
Didn't bother to ask him why the FBI is coming to him, telling him to be prepared for extra censoring.
Didn't bother to ask him how he feels about that now in light of finding out the FBI knew it wasn't Russian disinformation.
Zuckerberg made a ridiculous analogy, saying his manipulations of information to influence voters (what he kept calling "governance") was unpleasant but necessary, like enduring a court trial, very unpleasant, but in the end you are proved innocent and that's when you know it was justified. Rogan let him get away with it.
Rogan and Zuckerberg were both happy with the outcome of the election and that's all that matters to either of them, apparently.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Inga proves that when a person has that much hate (reminds me of the Nazi German's hatred of Jews) that any amount of Biden corruption is A-OK!

rcocean said...

Zuckerberg is real. He's a real asshole

Bigtime.

stephen cooper said...

I have never listened to Rogan for more than a few minutes at a time.

The poor guy is obviously a midwit - which is ok, many amazing people are midwits ----- but he is one of those midwits who thinks he has a special gift --- which is also ok, he might be right, such things happen ---- but it appears almost certain he does not really care about other people, as far as I can tell, so I ignore the poor little man.

stephen cooper said...

I have never listened to Rogan for more than a few minutes at a time.

The poor guy is obviously a midwit - which is ok, many amazing people are midwits ----- but he is one of those midwits who thinks he has a special gift --- which is also ok, he might be right, such things happen ---- but it appears almost certain he does not really care about other people, as far as I can tell, so I ignore the poor little man.

Sprezzatura said...

Vance,

While you're all hot and bothered cause the US government is monitoring when Russia fucks with our elections, are you also not fussy about DJT and DJT supporting folks working to overturn legitimate American elections?

What does it feel like to have a brain that is easily manipulatable? Presumably you have no comprehension.

Your brain is interesting to me.

effinayright said...

Yancey Ward said...
"Inga's gotta find a way to charge Trump rent for living in her head."

Lots of open space there, but it isn't worth a dime in real money.
**************
Inga takes two ibuprofen in the morning to clear her head----it sort of works like a vacuum cleaner.

Maynard said...

Just how I feel when listening or watching Trump. I’m not trying to be mean, it’s a true visceral reaction.

That sounds like a person who feels far more than she thinks or is capable of thinking.

M Jordan said...

I’ve noticed something about Inga’s comments for quite some time now and it’s time to put it to words. First, her comments are neither insightful nor witty, but they get the most response of anyone here. Why? Well, we all know why: it’s because she offers contrast to the tone here. She’s not exactly a troll but sort of.

She gets interaction, rouses feelings, stirs the pot. It’s actually a smart strategy if interaction is what you’re after and, let’s be honest, we all crave it. We want someone to comment on our comment.

So the grand conclusion is: We are living in the Age of the Troll. DeSantis’ elf-chucking line yesterday was the perfect example and probably moved him up in the eyes of MAGA folk more than any legislation or act he’s done in office.

So kudos to the dull-witted but effective Inga. You’ve beat us all.

Jason said...


LOL it wasn't just the Hunter Biden laptop story.
https://nypost.com/2021/04/16/social-media-again-silences-the-post-for-reporting-the-news/

Jason said...

Facebook was actively removing any and all posts that even mentioned the name Eric Carmarella. Fuck this guy.

Crazy World said...

Lots of crazy stories out there today, tomorrow should be lit! And every other day until Nov8

Lawnerd said...

Zuckerberg triggers uncanny valley response. He isn't human but something close but not close enough.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

this with the news that Megan Merkle - a good loyalist to The Party - is "garnering" more listening on spottily.

happy coincidence, sure.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

FBI = Army of corrupt Loyalist Party D-hack Peter Strokes(D).

Lurker21 said...

Visceral reactions can make it hard to see deeper, think, evaluate evidence, and judge accurately. They do make people feel more "alive" and there's some satisfaction in cutting through all the Gordian knots of analysis and reflection with one Strzok. You may dislike Zuckerberg's mechanical nature, and the physiological nature of the feeling lets you escape as well from your own rational, calculating, quasi-robotic side.

I don't usually hate politicians I disagree with. Or I do, but often there's a bit of comedy and a touch of pity involved. Also, resentment and disgust don't always have to burn red hot. They can also be icy cold.

Vance said...

Sprezzatura: You genuinely have no problems with the FBI censoring information that might hurt a Democrat?

This is classic election interference, far beyond anything Putin was ever accused of. He may have made a few ads on facebook, but the FBI is telling Facebook, straight up, what to censor.

Which is the bigger problem?

Lurker21 said...


In the future, your avatar will be able to take your revulsion out on Zuckerberg's avatar.

The world is so full of so many things to watch, and so many things that one doesn't like to watch and can't watch to the end, that it's hard to single them out. Sure, I don't want to watch Mark Zuckerberg, or John Kerry, or either of the Clintons, but I don't even like to watch politicians I agree with for very long. I do watch more of Trump and Biden. They're both entertaining -- for very different reasons -- but I can never watch an entire speech all the way through. Maybe I'm ADD. Maybe most people are with so many things to watch on so many screens.

takirks said...

This was supposedly a gaffe, but ya know what? I think it was actually a Freudian Slip of truly epic proportions:

"Biden says: “Secondly, we’re in a situation where we have put together, and you guys did it for President Obama’s administration before this, we have put together, I think, the most extensive and inclusive voter fraud organisation in the history of American politics.”"

Your President, America. Can't argue with that--He admitted it, right up in front of us all.

PM said...

"I have this thing where I will be in zone-flow concentration and my wife will ask me some basic question ("Hon, where's the gun?") and I lose my flow, and from her perspective, it is not a big deal, but that is not how it works.”

Tina Trent said...

It's like interviewing Meghan Markle with a dick. Her dick, I mean.

Rogan sure screwed up surrendering his freedom of speech for millions when he already had millions and the freedom to say anything.

I'm bored with listening to him playing whipped puppy.