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Sure, let's not argue. But it's fine to be curious. Sam has said that he won't cut Thiel for political ties. Thiel is cut. Does this represent an internal shif

Sure, let's not argue. But it's fine to be curious. Sam has said that he won't cut Thiel for political ties. Thiel is cut. Does this represent an internal shift in momentum, or an external shift in appearances? Combine that with some recent news regarding Thiel. I wish I'd paid more attention to it. It was something like, Thiel was making a move against a certain company. So maybe it has nothing to do with politics, or that politics are an incomplete answer. If we won't get an answer, that's fine. But it's unnecessary to shut down the conversation so harshly. There could very well be a non-political reason for this move, and HN is one of the best places to shake loose counterintuitive truths. I guess what bugs me is the lack of curiosity here. Everyone is acting relieved to be rid of Thiel. The underlying dynamics are interesting, and there's no reason it has to be an argument or polarizing.

imustbeevil 9y ago
It's not really a conversation if people just say whatever they believe with no evidence. It's much closer to noise.
sillysaurus3 9y ago
Let me try to pull some intellectual gratification out of this: A source close to Y Combinator said that the company ended its part-time partners program, which Thiel was a part of, some time last year. While some other part-time partners moved over to a program called "experts," which provides advice to Y Combinator entrepreneurs, Thiel did not join. It's legit fascinating to me to watch this in action. Let's say hypothetically you wanted to get rid of Thiel. How could you do that? "Just form another group, then don't invite Thiel to the new group" didn't even occur to me. That's smart. Can this be seen as something other than an accusation or a political talking point? I'm trying to make commentary about overall emergent social phenomena. Maybe nobody cares about that, but personally I think group dynamics are really interesting to witness.
- aaronbrethorst 9y ago
  "Just form another group, then don't invite Thiel to the new group" didn't even occur to me. That's smart. It is also a plot point from The Simpsons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7R3hzpfnmw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7R3hzpfnmw
- derefr 9y ago
  Mind you, by the sound of it, “experts” don’t invest in startups, or steer their direction, but just act as an oracle-like source of answers to questions. Whatever their opinion on Thiel, Thiel himself probably wouldn’t be interested in joining such a group. It’s all responsibility and no power.
- bobsil1 9y ago
  >”Just form another group, then don't invite Thiel to the new group" Conceptually, this is also how VCs wash out founders.
  - Fomite 9y ago
    And how you get rid of employees in settings with tenure.
tzar 9y ago
> Sam has said that he won't cut Thiel for political ties. Thiel is cut. Curiously, that doesn't follow. The article happens not to contain any evidence that it was YC that "cut" ties, nor indicates when the working relationship ended or for what reason.

imustbeevil 9y ago

It's not really a conversation if people just say whatever they believe with no evidence. It's much closer to noise.

sillysaurus3 9y ago

Let me try to pull some intellectual gratification out of this: A source close to Y Combinator said that the company ended its part-time partners program, which Thiel was a part of, some time last year. While some other part-time partners moved over to a program called "experts," which provides advice to Y Combinator entrepreneurs, Thiel did not join. It's legit fascinating to me to watch this in action. Let's say hypothetically you wanted to get rid of Thiel. How could you do that? "Just form another group, then don't invite Thiel to the new group" didn't even occur to me. That's smart. Can this be seen as something other than an accusation or a political talking point? I'm trying to make commentary about overall emergent social phenomena. Maybe nobody cares about that, but personally I think group dynamics are really interesting to witness.

aaronbrethorst 9y ago
"Just form another group, then don't invite Thiel to the new group" didn't even occur to me. That's smart. It is also a plot point from The Simpsons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7R3hzpfnmw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7R3hzpfnmw
derefr 9y ago
Mind you, by the sound of it, “experts” don’t invest in startups, or steer their direction, but just act as an oracle-like source of answers to questions. Whatever their opinion on Thiel, Thiel himself probably wouldn’t be interested in joining such a group. It’s all responsibility and no power.
bobsil1 9y ago
>”Just form another group, then don't invite Thiel to the new group" Conceptually, this is also how VCs wash out founders.
- Fomite 9y ago
  And how you get rid of employees in settings with tenure.

tzar 9y ago

> Sam has said that he won't cut Thiel for political ties. Thiel is cut. Curiously, that doesn't follow. The article happens not to contain any evidence that it was YC that "cut" ties, nor indicates when the working relationship ended or for what reason.