CA - Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos) Wire Fraud

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Funny thing, @Auntie Cipation . I only just now "got" your moniker. It requires an American accent for the word Auntie! This is such a good example of the arena we're now dabbling in, which involves word play, Freudian slips, how people process images and sounds, connotation...
And then EH pretentiously throws in linguistics and etymologies. Trouble will ensue IMO.
 
Yes, @Auntie Cipation Slight correction in my drift: Google is a made-up word, yes, but "goo goo" is baby talk. And then there's googly eyes. So, Google conjures up some very lovely, happy, goo goo, word association.
Joe Public can totally relate to baby/toddler talk.

I was about to object and say that google is not a made up word, that a google is a quantity, namely 10 to the 100th power, or in more practical terms "an unimaginably large number" but then I looked it up (er, well, yes, I ... Googled it ☺️) and realized that the word I'm thinking of is googol, although as I understand it, the company founders actually did intend to name the company Googol (as in, "we provide unimaginably large quantities of information") and someone simply misspelled it.
 
Funny thing, @Auntie Cipation . I only just now "got" your moniker. It requires an American accent for the word Auntie! This is such a good example of the arena we're now dabbling in, which involves word play, Freudian slips, how people process images and sounds, connotation...
And then EH pretentiously throws in linguistics and etymologies. Trouble will ensue IMO.

I have used a series of pun-Aunties as usernames over the past two decades: Auntie Social, Auntie Establishment, etc. And only just in the past week or two did I realize, due to a pronunciation discussion on another forum, how much of the English-speaking world pronounces Auntie in a way that the puns don't work...
 
I was about to object and say that google is not a made up word, that a google is a quantity, namely 10 to the 100th power, or in more practical terms "an unimaginably large number" but then I looked it up (er, well, yes, I ... Googled it ☺️) and realized that the word I'm thinking of is googol, although as I understand it, the company founders actually did intend to name the company Googol (as in, "we provide unimaginably large quantities of information") and someone simply misspelled it.
That's VERY interesting. I never thought about it being derived from a word meaning a colossal number. I like it!
At the same time, my point can remain. Everyone is comfortable with it, in part because it echoes toddler-talk. For that reason, it's also unforgettable IMO.
This is altogether the arena we are playing in here: denotation and connotation. Connotation can go in a million directions, as we've illustrated.

The other thing about Theranos.... I can never remember the name. I have to look it up. This is the opposite of brand names for successful companies. I'll even include Theraflu in that bunch.
 
I was about to object and say that google is not a made up word, that a google is a quantity, namely 10 to the 100th power, or in more practical terms "an unimaginably large number" but then I looked it up (er, well, yes, I ... Googled it ☺️) and realized that the word I'm thinking of is googol, although as I understand it, the company founders actually did intend to name the company Googol (as in, "we provide unimaginably large quantities of information") and someone simply misspelled it.
Excellent sleuthing @Auntie Cipation !!

And before googol - it was "backrub" and "googolplex."

From BackRub to Google to Alphabet — makes you wonder what's next.

The true story behind Google's hilarious first name: BackRub
 
Excellent sleuthing @Auntie Cipation !!

And before googol - it was "backrub" and "googolplex."

From BackRub to Google to Alphabet — makes you wonder what's next.

The true story behind Google's hilarious first name: BackRub

That is wild! "Backrub" certainly is an appealing word to many folks :p but doesn't quite set the right tone, IMO.

It's also good to know that the switch from googol to google wasn't actually a typo in the registration of the company name, but a typo earlier in the process and then they affirmatively decided to use the new word instead.

Interesting! Thanks, @Seattle1 !
 
Imagine if EH was going to trial with a company brand "BackRub".... She might not have been there, 'cos she wouldn't have been able to attract investors. She needed a high falutin' name that required a story to decipher it. Investors felt their egos stroked that they were smart enough to be in on the intellectual je ne sais quoi of the brand name... it was, like, "we're among the few that understand this, aren't we clever". Bam!
For EH's purposes, the brand name had to require a story.

As Carreyrou mentioned, EH was all about stories. She was a good story teller.
Note that everything she says about the company and herself is a repeat story. She probably did marketing surveys on what would work, just like politicians do.

IMO real scientists (like the woman professor at Stanford) wouldn't go along with any of this, because they aren't by nature susceptible to stories.

Incidentally, IMO, us WSers love a story when we see one (far-fetched is super-fun), but are inclined to skepticism. "Just the facts, ma'am". IMO EH never provided evidence of a whole lot of anything, including her life. If she had to make up a story that Balto is a wolf, she's all about stories, not obvious realities.
 
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I wonder what Jerry Yang's story was, as he explained to potential investors that his new company was called "Ya-HOOO!" :p
 

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This article reminds me of something I've been meaning to say, but which hadn't solidified yet in my mind.

One piece of this con-game is that EH is a chameleon. Sometimes, I can't even recognize her from one photo to another. She looks like a different person. This goes far beyond imitating Jobs with the black turtlenecks from the Jobs designer. So, I thought I'd present a few screen shots to how you what I mean.
2 are from the article cited ( Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes hoping to keep 'wealth, spending and lifestyle' out of upcoming fraud trial )

Video: Clip of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes' 2017 deposition


Elizabeth Holmes' Defense May Include Claims Of 'Mental Disease,' Court Docs Suggest
 

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This article reminds me of something I've been meaning to say, but which hadn't solidified yet in my mind.

One piece of this con-game is that EH is a chameleon. Sometimes, I can't even recognize her from one photo to another. She looks like a different person. This goes far beyond imitating Jobs with the black turtlenecks from the Jobs designer. So, I thought I'd present a few screen shots to how you what I mean.
2 are from the article cited ( Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes hoping to keep 'wealth, spending and lifestyle' out of upcoming fraud trial )

Video: Clip of former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes' 2017 deposition


Elizabeth Holmes' Defense May Include Claims Of 'Mental Disease,' Court Docs Suggest

Spot on. Most liars lean on this ‘skill’.
 
I wonder what Jerry Yang's story was, as he explained to potential investors that his new company was called "Ya-HOOO!" :p
Yep, they might have been shocked. However, there's a big hint of playfulness there. This might have gone over really well with his audience, because "playfulness" was a key aspect of early technologies. Consider the Mac interface.... It was to be playful and intuitive: the smilies and frowns, the bomb for a crash, the lack of having to guess.
I only had to hear Yahoo once, and I remembered it. Same with Google. Same with Apple/Macintosh (I pretty much saw one for 2 seconds, took out a loan, and bought one, lol).
Some others that I had version 1.0: Quicken, Quickmail, Word, Excel, Works.
And then there's Theranos.... I'm so balky at this one, very cerebral, and all I can think of is death. Even the etymology makes no sense to me.

Theracon.
 
Spot on. Most liars lean on this ‘skill’.
If her pockets are deep enough, her attorneys will present different images to mock juries to see which version works the best.
 
I wonder what EH told her psychotherapist... I would have loved to be a fly on the wall.
 
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