7 ms·
Ask HN: PG has many essays. What's your favorite one?
I created this account around October 2014.
Nonetheless, I just started to really read HN this year, basically two months ago.
I was reading PG's essays and one of them was about what he has learned from Hacker News. After that, it was clear for me that I needed to have a look (a deeper one).
I am quite new here, but I am in love with HN's culture and content.
It would be cool to see what are the best PG's essays ever in the opinion of HN's community.
I am trying to read all of them and it would be cool to focus on the most popular/classical ones.
- na85 11y agoHaven't read a single one. Frankly I think some members of this community share a preoccupation with pg that borders on being problematic. Perhaps as a reflex I actively avoid such things now. >I am quite new here, but I am in love with HN's culture and content. Granted, HN is a lot better than it was even just a few years ago, but the rose-tinted outlook will pass with time, and you'll see as most of us do that it is a hodgepodge of both gems and utter trash (and everything in between). People here are just as susceptible to groupthink and bias as people elsewhere. If you love javascript you'll fit right in with said groupthink.
- meagain20000 11y agopg has some really good insights. The guy has a lot of experience and has put a lot of it on print. On top of that he is quite a good writer. I don't know if he is right but a lot of what he says seems to make sense.
- mojoe 11y agoYou impelled me to go look up groupthink: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupthink It looks like the main idea behind the groupthink term is that it results in "an irrational or dysfunctional decision-making outcome" due to desire for conformity. I'd recommend that you read some of pg's essays, because I don't think the term "groupthink" applies here. I can't identify any irrational or dysfunctional decision-making behind the community's love of these good pieces of writing. I'd also guess that most HNers like pg's writing because it's good, not because they're trying to conform.
- japhyr 11y agoGood and Bad Procrastination - http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html I love it; it always makes me feel better about putting aside some obligations to work on really meaningful projects. I share this with students sometimes, and it speaks to some of them as well. There's plenty of conversation about finding your passion in the world, but not so much about working hard on your passion.
- dbpokorny 11y agoI like "How to Make Wealth" because he doesn't beat around the bush, he just come out and says that "wealth" is nothing more than an "object of the desire to possess" and if you can do something that increases some else's desire-to-possess something that you have or control, then you are creating wealth. > Suppose you own a beat-up old car. Instead of sitting on your butt next summer, you could spend the time restoring your car to pristine condition. In doing so you create wealth Whether or not you agree with this "metaphysics of wealth" it is a good read because it illustrates some intuition behind economic theory.
- tmaly 11y agodo things that don't scale
- pedrodelfino 11y agoI have already read this in particular and is one of my favorites too.
- endrebak 11y agoWhat you can't say: http://www.paulgraham.com/say.html http://www.paulgraham.com/say.html "Do you have any opinions that you would be reluctant to express in front of a group of your peers? If the answer is no, you might want to stop and think about that. If everything you believe is something you're supposed to believe, could that possibly be a coincidence? Odds are it isn't. Odds are you just think whatever you're told."
- vox_mollis 11y agoAbsolutely agree with this, as being his best essay. The unfortunate fact, however, is that both moderators and participants of pg's own discussion site seem to have never read it, or never taken it to heart. There are definitely things you're not allowed to say here. The notion of open discussion of ideas does not exist.
- S4M 11y ago> There are definitely things you're not allowed to say here. Any example? I am genuinely interested.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- vox_mollis 11y agoMost recently, you're not allowed to discuss hypothetical police involvement in the death of Ian Murdock. In the past, you're not allowed to talk about: - Women/minorities in tech - Israel - Brendan Eich - Crime statistics - Immigration
- fucking_tragedy 11y agoAnything related to tech unionization or is critical of the free market has a way of disappearing.
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- curiouslurker 11y agoA taste for makers
- applecore 11y agoStuff is probably among the most impactful and it's especially relevant around the holidays. http://www.paulgraham.com/stuff.html http://www.paulgraham.com/stuff.html
- alain94040 11y agoEach essay contains advice that is insightful depending on what stage you, the reader, are at. Did you just discover startups, or did you just present on-stage at Demo Day? Are you struggling with co-founder issues and how to get started, or how to scale to your first 100 employees? Somone may eventually classify them in a reasonable order. In some sense, this is already what YC's startup guide did: all the advice, sorted in a logical order.
- ahstilde 11y agoThe yc startup guide?
- alain94040 11y agoMeaning the playbook: http://playbook.samaltman.com http://playbook.samaltman.com
- hvd 11y agohow to make wealth http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html
- luchosrock 11y agoDefinetly the python paradox
- endrebak 11y agohttp://paulgraham.com/pypar.html http://paulgraham.com/pypar.html
- anonfunction 11y agoI really like How to Disagree[1] which has this wisdom that I've seen ring true at startups, especially when there is loose terminology and no documented communication. > More often than not, two people arguing passionately about something are actually arguing about two different things. Sometimes they even agree with one another, but are so caught up in their squabble they don't realize it. Another great one is Startup = Growth[2] which is great for clarifying the term and setting some expectations to benchmark against. 1. http://paulgraham.com/disagree.html http://paulgraham.com/disagree.html 2. http://paulgraham.com/growth.html http://paulgraham.com/growth.html
- gusmd 11y agoSorry if I'm going too far on a tangent here, but has anyone bought his book Hackers & Painters: Big Ideas from the Computer Age [0]? It has been on my wishlist for quite a while now. The reviews are quite positive. [0] http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Painters-Big-Ideas-Computer/dp/1449389554/ http://www.amazon.com/Hackers-Painters-Big-Ideas-Computer/dp...