I think this is worth keeping in mind for perspective. Especially youngsters -- anyone under 25 -- should keep in mind that the lifestyle glorified here is jus

I think this is worth keeping in mind for perspective. Especially youngsters -- anyone under 25 -- should keep in mind that the lifestyle glorified here is just one option, and the obsession with it is entirely because of the dramatic success and riches that people have obtained through internet and other technical entrepreneurship in the last couple of decades. Rewind fifteen years, and people were not obsessed with this route. Fast-forward fifteen years and you will probably find the same thing. The fervor surrounding entrepreneurship is because some of the biggest movers and shakers in computing in the last twenty years, and certainly the ones who have been most rewarded with fame and riches, have been entrepreneurs. Personally, as someone who grew up glorifying and obsessing about academia the same way people here focus on entrepreneurship, I have that perspective built-in. Or rather, HN itself provides the perspective by reminding me that different people get worked up over different things, and there's no single dream mandated for everybody. But even I'm vulnerable to "startup envy," despite never actually finding anything about it appealing except for the prospect of vast riches and everyone on HN thinking I'm really smart. Also, I think the focus on entrepreneurship distorts discussion about topics that aren't directly related to entrepreneurship, but that's another story and not much of a complaint -- it's natural for discussion in any forum to be influenced by the primary focus of people who frequent it.