Cambridge Analytica: Those Greek Tragedians Understood Bad Decisions
May 2, 2018
Here in Harrod’s Creek, the echoes of the khoros are sometimes audible. For example, we heard that Cambridge Analytica, the zippy data outfit has folded its tents. The firm’s offices in the US and elsewhere are shuttered or in the process of turning out the lights and unplugging from the interwebs.
We noted this statement in Gizmodo:
The news was announced during a conference call led by Julian Wheatland, the current chairman of the SCL Group who was reportedly tapped to take over as Cambridge Analytica’s next CEO. Both companies will now close their doors. During the call, Wheatland said that the board determined that rebranding the company’s current offerings in the current environment is “futile.”
In the online information the Beyond Search team has been reviewing, there was no reference to this statement, allegedly crafted by Sophocles:
I would prefer even to fail with honor than win by cheating.
CNBC reported:
The firm is shuttering in part due to mounting legal fees associated with its investigation into whether there had been any wrongdoing with regard to Facebook data, according to the Wall Street Journal who first reported the shuttering.
That “real” news report did not include this statement, allegedly penned by Euripides:
Cleverness is not wisdom.
Will other clever individuals bump into Greek truisms?
The odds in Harrod’s Creek that trouble will be coming to some social media outfits are the same as those on Justified, the favorite in the Kentucky Derby.
Race tracks do need workers to clean their Augean stables. The work is less sporty than crunching data of mysterious origins, but it pays because horses are often more reliable than some humans. Plus there is a party for workers after the race on Saturday.
Stephen E Arnold, May 2, 2018
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