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A [2008] tag may be appropriate here. To me, this post didn’t age well. From what I recall, entrepreneurship is at something like a 50 year low in the US. Even
by SirensOfTitan 7y ago
A [2008] tag may be appropriate here.
To me, this post didn’t age well. From what I recall, entrepreneurship is at something like a 50 year low in the US. Even in tech, where startups are seemingly plentiful, large companies are buying up promising young startups just to eliminate competition. If one believes competition breads resiliency and creativity, more people need to be starting companies and seeing those companies through.
From a different angle, Paul Graham to me always has evangelized over much else the virtue of freedom over schedule. Zoo metaphors, terms like “wage slavery” are poignant terms used well before Paul Graham to refer to the troublesome aspects of working for another person. In many ways most careers working for others have very little freedom over schedule—one works when one’s manager expects them to work. Freedom over schedule doesn’t mean freedom from consequences either—when one has control over their own schedule, the real consequences of one’s actions are much more visible.
- pdonis 7y ago> To me, this post didn’t age well. I think it wasn't a very good criticism even at the time. I remember reading PG's post when it was posted and thinking that it did a good job of capturing what it was like to work in a large organization. Atwood didn't seem to grasp that. (He also didn't seem to grasp the point of PG's "How to Disagree" follow-up post.)
- SirensOfTitan 7y agoOh, I meant Atwood’s post didn’t age well, sorry for the lack of specificity!
- pdonis 7y ago> I meant Atwood’s post didn’t age well Yes, I understood that. I was saying that Atwood's post didn't seem to me to be a good criticism of PG's post even at the time.
- coldtea 7y ago>To me, this post didn’t age well. From what I recall, entrepreneurship is at something like a 50 year low in the US. How does this conclusion follow from the factoid? The post is about not shunning(/shaming/boasting against) plain programmers (compared to founders), not about entrepreneurship in itself. >From a different angle, Paul Graham to me always has evangelized over much else the virtue of freedom over schedule. If developers actually followed his advice, he wouldn't have a rooster of companies to fund, since there would be no company larger than its 2-3 founders.