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A single page in the FT Weekend offers readers contrasting views of persistence, success and value.
The Person in the News column by Clive Cookson (“Tenacious force behind the Covid vaccine”, October 7) told the inspiring story of biochemist Katalin Karikó, who weathered years of scientific scepticism and institutional sexism to play a pivotal role in the development of the Covid vaccine, and won a Nobel Prize.
Next to this, a column by John Gapper about huckster du jour Sam Bankman-Fried (“Many people longed to believe in Bankman-Fried”, Opinion, FT Weekend, October 7) highlighted the powerful misconception that start-up “founders” must be outsiders, self-aggrandising, and must embody extraordinary “grit” to complement their heady visions.
Two adjoining pieces, two contrasting personalities.
The finance “bro” received enormous funding and breathless accolades, while the scientist slogged through grant and publication rejections. The media and public ignored the risks of the hype around cryptocurrency and founder character flaws; the scientific community ignored what it did not understand and diminished its own outsider.
The splashy, saviour entrepreneur is adored, and the quietly competent expert is overlooked — until millions of lives were saved and billions in revenue generated. Even Bankman-Fried’s gauzy trend of “effective altruism” is celebrated, but was no match for actual altruism as lived by Karikó and her unselfish commitment, no matter the personal obstacles, to improve the lives and welfare of everyone.
The lessons are all around us, continually repeated. We do know better, and we can value things and people that matter most. We must pay attention.
Brian Evje
Kirk Hammerton, North Yorkshire, UK
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