Opinion
Elon Musk joins a long line of wealthy tycoons who have bought media outlets. Mr. Musk, the world’s richest man, has business interests that include electric vehicles and space transportation, with companies valued much higher than Twitter. But it perhaps says something about Twitter, the Internet “town square” as he describes it, that his bid has caused such a flutter globally. Reading his mind and life story for what his acquisition may mean for the social media giant and the so-called town square has become a widespread exercise. Here’s the ABC of possible clues:
A for Asimov: On several occasions, Mr. Musk has discussed the influence of science fiction, particularly the parent genre of American science fiction called ‘hard sci-fi’, whose literary canon is shaped by Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein. In contrast to other science fiction genres that are often critical of the many technological consequences of science and extractive corporates rendering Earth a wasteland from profiteering, hard sci-fi is generally more optimistic about the liberating role of science and technology and its potential for human improvement
