Comment by mindcrime
3 days ago
It's in Katie Hafner and John Markoff's book!
Not sure if that was supposed to be sarcasm[1] or was intended seriously, but for what it's worth Hafner & Markoff have frequently received a lot of criticism for playing fast and loose with the truth in that book. Now most of that is specifically in regards to their treatment of Mitnick, and I'm not making any particular accusation here. Just sharing a thought that "it's in Katie Hafner and John Markoff's book" might not be terribly strong evidence of $WHATEVER.
I think Poe's Law applies to Shakespeare too. I recently saw Taming of the Shrew and people are still arguing about whether Shakespeare was endorsing Petruchio's starvation of Katherine to make her obey him. Or was that sarcasm, actually condemning that behavior? If only Will had used a smiley face!
I mean, sure, it's not my favorite book either, but what's your theory here, that they just made up a Paul?
Nope, no theory at all. Just providing some context for people who might not be as familiar with that book and the authors, and some of the questions that have been raised about it.
I know that the book makes a much bigger deal out of Mitnick than is reasonable (Mitnick was basically the consummate script kid). But I also know that scenesters of the time hated Markoff and thought he was, like, an enemy of the scene.