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fate to which a sometimes oblivious world has left them. Knowing how to pursue an unflinching personal logic without alienating people remains a work in progress for him. "When we had a meeting a couple of years ago, when people weren't thinking through the polio thing very well, I was pretty critical," he says. His message to the assembled workers: "'Hey, this is not good thinking, this is not good, this is not going to get us there.'" The new Gates, though, was not prepared to leave it at that. After the meeting was over, he did what husbands the world over are liable to do at such times: "I said to Melinda, was I too tough on that, who should I send mail to, was that motivational, de-motivational? It's all a matter of degree." Richard Waters is the FT 's West Coast editor. To comment on this article, please email (EE fi.com This article was amended on November 4 2013. An argument forwarded by Australian moral philosopher Peter Singer was wrongly attributed to hedge fund manager Paul Singer.