He felt nothing in the presence of art. He found religion absurd. He thought both right-wing and left-wing political opinions kind of dumb, less a consequence of thought than of their holder’s tribal identity. He and his family ignored the rituals that punctuated most people’s existence. He didn’t even celebrate his own birthday. What gave pleasure and solace and a sense of belonging to others left Sam cold. When the Bankman-Frieds traveled to Europe, Sam realized that he was just staring at a lot of old buildings for no particular reason. “We did a few trips,” he said. “I basically hated it.”
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This description made my blood run cold. To feel nothing in the presence of culture, whether art or religion or even just ideology, must be a lonely, lonely life. It's no surprise that he came across as ruthless which, I think, is a misunderstanding of his intention. What's interesting is that we can't judge intention, we can only observe and make sense of what actually happens...which was ruthless and, frankly, careless in terms of outcomes here.
