4 ms·

>"if you're the right sort of person, you have the right sort of hunches" To me, this sounds like a line from a multi-level marketing pitch. It sounds like th

>"if you're the right sort of person, you have the right sort of hunches" To me, this sounds like a line from a multi-level marketing pitch. It sounds like they're saying "This may not apply to you," but a lot of people will hear "There are chosen people (and you're probably one of them)." It reminds me of the Calvinism sect of Christianity. They believed in predestination for salvation: God has always known who be a good person and deserve salvation. So there was no point in trying to be virtuous, because the outcome was set before you were born. Still, Calvinists often adopted public shows of virtue, like meticulous gardens, to convince others they were part of the "to be saved" group.

andrewflnr 4y ago
Yeah, but there's always someone who will misinterpret you. You can try to mitigate it, but at some point you have to stop worrying about it and just be honest. Whatever the article's other merits, I don't think that's a good critique.
ravi-delia 4y ago
> So there was no point in trying to be virtuous, because the outcome was set before you were born. Yeah, but just because Omega already either put the money in the box or didn't doesn't mean you should act like it doesn't matter. God is omnicient, and sees whether you'll get into heaven, but curiously enough at the end of the line we see it's the people who did virtuous deeds which wound up there. As you can't see the stamp on your soul, you might as well act like your actions will decide it, since the outcome of your choices is what God looked at when He stamped you in the first place. It's a fairly pointless objection seeing as I doubt either of us are Calvinists, but their take on Predestination annoyed me when I learned about it, especially since they acted virtuously anyway (or pretend virtuously, whatever)!
theonething 4y ago
I see PG's quote as true, but hard to swallow. The truth is you do have to be the right kind of person to be successful (in this context, successful at startups). A person born with severe retardation or another mental incapacity is not the right kind of person to be successful at startups. The right kind of person has the genetic makeup, personality type, upbringing and/or access to resources to become successful. Not everyone has this and that's okay. And also, you (usually) don't know if you're the right kind of person until you try. So if you want to, try and keep trying until you don't want to anymore.
jasonwatkinspdx 4y ago
Calvinism is still a thing among US Evangelicals btw, most famously George W Bush, which gives some pause for thought vs how hawkish his administration was.

andrewflnr 4y ago

Yeah, but there's always someone who will misinterpret you. You can try to mitigate it, but at some point you have to stop worrying about it and just be honest. Whatever the article's other merits, I don't think that's a good critique.

ravi-delia 4y ago

> So there was no point in trying to be virtuous, because the outcome was set before you were born. Yeah, but just because Omega already either put the money in the box or didn't doesn't mean you should act like it doesn't matter. God is omnicient, and sees whether you'll get into heaven, but curiously enough at the end of the line we see it's the people who did virtuous deeds which wound up there. As you can't see the stamp on your soul, you might as well act like your actions will decide it, since the outcome of your choices is what God looked at when He stamped you in the first place. It's a fairly pointless objection seeing as I doubt either of us are Calvinists, but their take on Predestination annoyed me when I learned about it, especially since they acted virtuously anyway (or pretend virtuously, whatever)!

theonething 4y ago

I see PG's quote as true, but hard to swallow. The truth is you do have to be the right kind of person to be successful (in this context, successful at startups). A person born with severe retardation or another mental incapacity is not the right kind of person to be successful at startups. The right kind of person has the genetic makeup, personality type, upbringing and/or access to resources to become successful. Not everyone has this and that's okay. And also, you (usually) don't know if you're the right kind of person until you try. So if you want to, try and keep trying until you don't want to anymore.

jasonwatkinspdx 4y ago

Calvinism is still a thing among US Evangelicals btw, most famously George W Bush, which gives some pause for thought vs how hawkish his administration was.