claytonceleb: Is Mark Zuckerberg Losing His Mind?

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Is Mark Zuckerberg Losing His Mind?

Sure, Mark Zuckerberg is the world's youngest billionaire, but he's made some questionable decisions in his 27 years that have drawn a lot of harsh criticism and generated some serious controversy. He's already raised some eyebrows due to the questionable circumstances under which he founded Facebook, and his unfortunate taste in women, but recently, the Zuck revealed what might be the strangest choice he's made since gaining global attention as a wunderkind entrepreneur six years ago. On May 4th of this year, Mark posted a status update (on Facebook. Duh.) that read, simply, "I just killed a pig and a goat."

Naturally, this declaration prompted a lot of questions about how and why a New Jersey-born billionaire was slaughtering farm animals. The answer, it seems, was that Zuck was subjecting himself to another of his "personal challenges." Mark apparently sets goals for themselves at the start of each new year. In the past they've ranged from admirable (learning Chinese) to somewhat strange (wearing a tie every day for a year. Doesn't sound that strange til you picture dude knotting one on to lay around the house on a Sunday). But Zuckerberg's latest self-test has angered animal rights' groups and raised questions about the young CEO's mental health. In 2011, Mark will not eat any meat that didn't die by his own hand. Seriously.

It's part of human nature to want to better yourself and seek out unique challenges. Unfortunately, for someone who basically conquered the world before the age of 30, self-improvement may take strange, extreme forms that may look to us simple-minded non-bilionaire folks like bat-sh!t insanity. Granted, Zuckerberg's latest quest seems a little less insane when you look beneath the surface. Apparently, he hosted a pig roast last year and found that his guests weren't adequately grateful to the guest of honor for giving it's life to provide them with delicious pig meat. As part of an effort to better appreciate his porkchops, Zuck decided that he'd personally slit the throat of every animal he consumed. Weird, yes, but somewhat understandable. What has some people concerned is that this could just be the beginning of Mark's eccentric behavior, and he may be taking his place in a long line of lunatic billionaires.

Reaching your peak at a young age can make a person crazy. You gain the world's approval while you're in your teens or 20s, and the only thing left to do is freak the world the f*ck out. Michael Jackson, Mike Tyson, and legendary psycho tycoon Howard Hughes all had huge egos, and understandably so. When you're that successful, that young, why would you listen to the lesser losers who surround you when they tell you you're losing your freaking mind? Compared to some other rich, famous weirdos, the Zuck's eccentricities seem pretty minor. Still, he's showing all the hallmarks of someone who could seriously flip their sh!t in the near future. He seems bored, as though he's haunted by the thought that his biggest achievements are behind him. Unlike your ex-high school quarterback friend, however, Mark has the time and money to go crazy in a serious way.

Then again, Zuckerberg has done a lot of good with his obscene wealth and the fact that he seems a bit, well, odd, is no guarantee that he's gonna start collecting jars of urine and wearing tin foil helmets to block the free mason mind-readers. This could just be a case of a billionaire enjoying his right to do what he wants, a young genius doing things the rest of us just can't quite understand. I just wish for the sake of his public image that he had chosen a less bizarre way to test himself. Zuck, maybe next you could start writing a bike to work, or something. There's a personal challenge that wouldn't involve you publicly talking about slitting things' throats. Might sit better with your investors, ya know?

(Photos via WENN)