5 ms·

What a sensational title, it's so tech-focused and the article fetishizes smartness in a bizarre way. There are talent curators in every single field, for inst

What a sensational title, it's so tech-focused and the article fetishizes smartness in a bizarre way. There are talent curators in every single field, for instance from baseball, this reminds me of those old advisors in the movie Moneyball, who look at how people seem to be rather than using actual evidence of prior performance. Where is the quantification of TC's magical power? It's narrative, not numbers. The article doesn't address his failure rate or the bias of these selected stars getting a huge boost from a rich established individual. Skepticism aside, I think we'd do well as a society to pull 18 year olds with a lot of promise out of college and directly into ventures for a year or two. They can always go back if they need to, but I question the wisdom of putting our best youth into a college system where their efforts are entirely hoop-jumping, self-promotional classes that contribute to a GPA but to no one else. We're effectively squandering their apprenticeship on grade values, not on projects or useful deliverables.

pc86 5y ago
Imagine thinking someone's formative years should be spent on "useful deliverables."
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- cltby 5y ago
  It's called an apprenticeship. It already exists; it's widely used; and it's wildly better for most kids than every other extant alternative.
borroka 5y ago
Am I the only one here who thinks TC knows nothing about many things and his main skill is putting himself out there? I admire his range and understanding and use of the halo effect, but when he talks about some of the fields I know, I can't help but notice that he waves his hands more than those airfield attendants who tell pilots how to move runaway planes.
- andrewgleave 5y ago
  “While differing widely in the various little bits we know, in our infinite ignorance we are all equal.” - Karl Popper
- caycep 5y ago
  I glance at his blog on my RSS reader...he likes to talk and can talk intelligently. My (layperson) gist is that his economist posts are middling at best, but he is a decent consumer of art and culture at least
  - borroka 5y ago
    You make a good point, but I'd like to add an adverb: he can speak in a seemingly intelligent way about many topics. Also, he is mostly a commentator, which is much easier than be a "creator" of something tangible, he is never put on the spot by anybody because he is TC and he has quick obscure comebacks that are challenging to address, like "I like Vietnamese cuisine", and he comes back with "but how has it changed since Vietnam moved to a more capitalistic society?". I mean, how come you answer that? I am not hating on TC, he is a brilliant man, but for the life of me after his interviews (both as an interviewer and interviewee), I cannot remember a damn thing.
- eine_zwei 5y ago
  No, you're not.
- pas 5y ago
  Could you give a concrete example (about things you know he's out of his depth)? Thanks!
snowwrestler 5y ago
If an 18 year old shows enough promise to go succeed in ventures outside college, why would you think they would devolve to pointless hoop-jumping and grade grubbing in college? These sorts of criticisms of college seem bizarrely paternalistic or maybe fatalistic, acting like people lose all sense of agency just because they’re taking classes or something. The reality is that college is just like the rest of life: you get out of it what you put into it. It’s possible to coast and get the sheepskin, sure, but lots of people coast outside of college too. There are certain types of ventures in which we could expect an 18-year-old to find success absent a college education, yes. Those doors are not closed to college graduates, though, and many doors are opened through advanced education—not all of which lead to commercial ventures.
jliptzin 5y ago
And then you put that 18 year old to work in those ventures, and at every turn he’s met with “what do you know, you’re just 18, why aren’t you in college if you’re so smart?”

pc86 5y ago

Imagine thinking someone's formative years should be spent on "useful deliverables."

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
cltby 5y ago
It's called an apprenticeship. It already exists; it's widely used; and it's wildly better for most kids than every other extant alternative.

borroka 5y ago

Am I the only one here who thinks TC knows nothing about many things and his main skill is putting himself out there? I admire his range and understanding and use of the halo effect, but when he talks about some of the fields I know, I can't help but notice that he waves his hands more than those airfield attendants who tell pilots how to move runaway planes.

andrewgleave 5y ago
“While differing widely in the various little bits we know, in our infinite ignorance we are all equal.” - Karl Popper
caycep 5y ago
I glance at his blog on my RSS reader...he likes to talk and can talk intelligently. My (layperson) gist is that his economist posts are middling at best, but he is a decent consumer of art and culture at least
- borroka 5y ago
  You make a good point, but I'd like to add an adverb: he can speak in a seemingly intelligent way about many topics. Also, he is mostly a commentator, which is much easier than be a "creator" of something tangible, he is never put on the spot by anybody because he is TC and he has quick obscure comebacks that are challenging to address, like "I like Vietnamese cuisine", and he comes back with "but how has it changed since Vietnam moved to a more capitalistic society?". I mean, how come you answer that? I am not hating on TC, he is a brilliant man, but for the life of me after his interviews (both as an interviewer and interviewee), I cannot remember a damn thing.
eine_zwei 5y ago
No, you're not.
pas 5y ago
Could you give a concrete example (about things you know he's out of his depth)? Thanks!

snowwrestler 5y ago

If an 18 year old shows enough promise to go succeed in ventures outside college, why would you think they would devolve to pointless hoop-jumping and grade grubbing in college? These sorts of criticisms of college seem bizarrely paternalistic or maybe fatalistic, acting like people lose all sense of agency just because they’re taking classes or something. The reality is that college is just like the rest of life: you get out of it what you put into it. It’s possible to coast and get the sheepskin, sure, but lots of people coast outside of college too. There are certain types of ventures in which we could expect an 18-year-old to find success absent a college education, yes. Those doors are not closed to college graduates, though, and many doors are opened through advanced education—not all of which lead to commercial ventures.

jliptzin 5y ago

And then you put that 18 year old to work in those ventures, and at every turn he’s met with “what do you know, you’re just 18, why aren’t you in college if you’re so smart?”