4 ms·

Many people on HN seem to forget that many strides in computer science, computer architecture, and mathematics came from schools that don't start with an "S" an

Many people on HN seem to forget that many strides in computer science, computer architecture, and mathematics came from schools that don't start with an "S" and are from outside of the Bay Area. I think it is more that the definition of how you measure innovation has shifted over time -- now it is based on how many dollars are raised for your venture vs. actual strides being made in academic fields of study.

bogomipz 9y ago
I find your comment a bit gratuitous. These seminal figures come up somewhat regularly on HN and it's no secret that these great minds hailed from Austria, Britain, Hungary, Germany etc.
- rb808 9y ago
  Sure, but 100 years ago none of them would have thought of moving to Northern CA, where now they are more likely to go there than the East Coast.
  - bogomipz 9y ago
    MIT, CMU, Princeton, Harvard and Cornell are all top schools for C.S. and those are all still on the East Coast. None of these schools have any difficulty attracting top talent from around the world.
    - vonmoltke 9y ago
      I got skewered in /r/cscareerquestions several months ago for suggesting that any Ivy had a top-tier CS program. It may not be reality, but there is definitely a strong perception.
      - tnecniv 9y ago
        It's a very odd perception that I think comes from their size. They tend to be smaller, more focused departments. The education quality is still high and everyone's favorite companies recruit at them.
        hari_seldon_ 9y ago
        Agreed! If you actually talk to recruiters and teams at top-tier companies, then the stronger Ivies still do well when it comes to CS careers.
        Paul-ish 9y ago
        They punch above their weight, but it still helps to be big.
      - deleted 9y ago
        [deleted]
      - barry-cotter 9y ago
        Depends what you mean by top tier. If you look at where CS professors did their Ph.D.s and where they end up teaching the top four are clearly CMU, MIT, Stanford and Berkeley. None of those are an Ivy. A school can be great without literally being top tier. UT Austin is a great law school but there is a top tier in law schools and it's not part of it[1]. [1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_school_rankings_in_the_United_States#Top_14_law_schools https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_school_rankings_in_the_U...
- hari_seldon_ 9y ago
  It was a bit more controversial than I intended, but I still stand by the opinion that Silicon Valley is weighed a lot more than any other location. I don't disagree that the figures come up from time to time, but they are rarely on the top of comments lists unless the submission is specifically about them.
  - nostrademons 9y ago
    Silicon Valley's great strength is the huge, fluid ecosystem of skilled engineers, executives, funders, and supporting professionals (lawyers, landlords, marketing consultants), all of whom are actively searching for "the next big thing" and want to be part of it. That lets you rapidly scale a company when you've proven it out on a small group. I grew up in the Boston area, and honestly, I thought there was more genuine technology innovation coming out of Boston-area institutions like MIT, other area universities, Lincoln Labs, MITRE, Raytheon, BBN, etc. The problem was that most of these innovations get strangled in their cradle, because Boston VCs are looking for ways to do things that are already being done better, and aren't willing to take a chance on ideas that look nothing like existing businesses. In Silicon Valley, you can usually find at least one defector who thinks "Well, it's a terrible idea, but I'm going to invest anyway just to see what happens." And that's why you have all these companies that actually started in Boston - Microsoft, Facebook, Reddit, DropBox, YCombinator - but are now known as either "Silicon Valley" or "Seattle" companies.
akhilcacharya 9y ago
....but still from a HYPSM.
- eli_gottlieb 9y ago
  They have the Ivy League in Germany and Switzerland?
- hari_seldon_ 9y ago
  Agreed, and my comment was just that it goes beyond Stanford and Silicon Valley...
  - akhilcacharya 9y ago
    Too bad the rest of us are left out ..

bogomipz 9y ago

I find your comment a bit gratuitous. These seminal figures come up somewhat regularly on HN and it's no secret that these great minds hailed from Austria, Britain, Hungary, Germany etc.

rb808 9y ago
Sure, but 100 years ago none of them would have thought of moving to Northern CA, where now they are more likely to go there than the East Coast.
- bogomipz 9y ago
  MIT, CMU, Princeton, Harvard and Cornell are all top schools for C.S. and those are all still on the East Coast. None of these schools have any difficulty attracting top talent from around the world.
  - vonmoltke 9y ago
    I got skewered in /r/cscareerquestions several months ago for suggesting that any Ivy had a top-tier CS program. It may not be reality, but there is definitely a strong perception.
    - tnecniv 9y ago
      It's a very odd perception that I think comes from their size. They tend to be smaller, more focused departments. The education quality is still high and everyone's favorite companies recruit at them.
      - hari_seldon_ 9y ago
        Agreed! If you actually talk to recruiters and teams at top-tier companies, then the stronger Ivies still do well when it comes to CS careers.
      - Paul-ish 9y ago
        They punch above their weight, but it still helps to be big.
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - barry-cotter 9y ago
      Depends what you mean by top tier. If you look at where CS professors did their Ph.D.s and where they end up teaching the top four are clearly CMU, MIT, Stanford and Berkeley. None of those are an Ivy. A school can be great without literally being top tier. UT Austin is a great law school but there is a top tier in law schools and it's not part of it[1]. [1]https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_school_rankings_in_the_United_States#Top_14_law_schools https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_school_rankings_in_the_U...
hari_seldon_ 9y ago
It was a bit more controversial than I intended, but I still stand by the opinion that Silicon Valley is weighed a lot more than any other location. I don't disagree that the figures come up from time to time, but they are rarely on the top of comments lists unless the submission is specifically about them.
- nostrademons 9y ago
  Silicon Valley's great strength is the huge, fluid ecosystem of skilled engineers, executives, funders, and supporting professionals (lawyers, landlords, marketing consultants), all of whom are actively searching for "the next big thing" and want to be part of it. That lets you rapidly scale a company when you've proven it out on a small group. I grew up in the Boston area, and honestly, I thought there was more genuine technology innovation coming out of Boston-area institutions like MIT, other area universities, Lincoln Labs, MITRE, Raytheon, BBN, etc. The problem was that most of these innovations get strangled in their cradle, because Boston VCs are looking for ways to do things that are already being done better, and aren't willing to take a chance on ideas that look nothing like existing businesses. In Silicon Valley, you can usually find at least one defector who thinks "Well, it's a terrible idea, but I'm going to invest anyway just to see what happens." And that's why you have all these companies that actually started in Boston - Microsoft, Facebook, Reddit, DropBox, YCombinator - but are now known as either "Silicon Valley" or "Seattle" companies.

akhilcacharya 9y ago

....but still from a HYPSM.

eli_gottlieb 9y ago
They have the Ivy League in Germany and Switzerland?
hari_seldon_ 9y ago
Agreed, and my comment was just that it goes beyond Stanford and Silicon Valley...
- akhilcacharya 9y ago
  Too bad the rest of us are left out ..