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There’s not a drop of irony here. It’s just mindboggling that HN prop these charlatans up like gods. You’re not temporarily embarrassed millionaires - you’re ju

There’s not a drop of irony here. It’s just mindboggling that HN prop these charlatans up like gods. You’re not temporarily embarrassed millionaires - you’re just embarrassing.

tofuahdude 4y ago
Let's call it hypocrisy then.
davidivadavid 4y ago
The thing about Marc Andreessen is that of all VC-types of people he seemed like one with a modicum of tech legitimacy, given his history/role in the development of the web. Unfortunately it seems to be quickly evaporating.
- hvs 4y ago
  I was at UIUC shortly after he graduated and the general impression was that he basically just stole Mosaic from the University to create Netscape. Not sure that bestows him with any tech legitimacy. He's certainly a good businessman.
  - trhway 4y ago
    Well, Page/Brin's BackRub was basically a science citation index, yet here we're. Add FB into that collection too. Ideas are nothing (we all have a lot of them), execution is everything.
    - paulryanrogers 4y ago
      ...and timing, and connections, and money, and education, and mental health
      - olivermarks 4y ago
        exactly @paulryanrogers
  - breck 4y ago
    Evidence refuting this, and showing him very actively involved: http://1997.webhistory.org/www.lists/www-talk.1993q1/0182.html http://1997.webhistory.org/www.lists/www-talk.1993q1/0182.ht...
    - fsckboy 4y ago
      he could have been actively involved in creating Mosaic as a university project, and still be accused of leaving the university and stealing the software to create a new commercial product.
      - kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
        The source code was public so not much to steal other than the knowledge he already had.
  - lettergram 4y ago
    Having worked directly with several of the people involved and spent many years at UIUC. My impression has been that UIUC is/was jealous and wanted the IP / recognition. They admit he built it, but wanted a cut.
  - specialist 4y ago
    Marc named the image tag. 'IMG'. Even better, it's standalone! No closing tag! So simple. And yet sublime. Given a million years, I'm not sure I could have come up with that solution.
    - jjtheblunt 4y ago
      this made me smile
- brnt 4y ago
  What if that legitimacy is merely a story crafted by his press department? It so obviously will help interacting with his target audience: devs who take pride in technical skills and knowledge. Why do you give people who can easily afford to have a team craft an image the benefit of believing it? I categorically don't. Not because I am of bad faith, no, precisely because I trust people to do what's in their interest: make sure your fund gets to talking with your audience.
  - eduction 4y ago
    Is it so hard to believe that people with “technical skills and knowledge” can be hypocrites? The fact is, pmarca’s engineering chops are not a conspiracy invented by non engineers. He did in fact create a brilliant piece of software (Mosaic and, at some greater distance, Netscape), and the technical elites of Silicon Valley saw this and are responsible for much of his wealth and influence. But the mundane truth is that engineering chops do not automatically translate into virtue, tact, political acumen, investment prowess, or any number of other skills or positive attributes. It is understandable that engineers want to believe they are on a higher plane of human existence but the evidence is inconclusive. No publicist tricked us into thinking Andreessen was a brilliant programmer, we tricked ourselves into thinking brilliant programmers are necessarily superhuman.
    - brnt 4y ago
      > Is it so hard to believe that people with “technical skills and knowledge” can be hypocrites? It is not, just as it is not that PR departments know how to appeal to hypocrites.
gruez 4y ago
>It’s just mindboggling that HN prop these charlatans up like gods Link to some examples? My impression is that many HN users are associated with the startup community, and therefore like what Andreessen or PG is doing, but I don't think they prop them up "like gods" or even demigods for that matter. You can like what someone is doing in one area (ie. startups/VC), without thinking they're gods or blindly believing whatever they say.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
throwawaysleep 4y ago
Or just honesty. I frankly don’t want housing the kinds of people who can’t afford houses anywhere near me. I don’t say this publicly, but the council candidate who “protects home values” has my vote. I agree housing affordability is an important problem. I am not willing to have so much as ruffians in the nearby grocery store to fix it though.
- jakeinspace 4y ago
  What a sad frightened person you must be.
  - Apocryphon 4y ago
    Their real name must be Poe Slaw.
  - throwawaysleep 4y ago
    - fumar 4y ago
    - qwerpy 4y ago
      I concur. I'd much rather deal with rich people problems (overzealous HOAs, ostentatious sports cars, being judged when I don't have an immaculate lawn) than the ones you describe. Online discourse is heavily biased against openly saying these things, but as we can see, apparently people quietly believe it nonetheless.
    - mikeyouse 4y ago
      They were talking about allowing the construction of ADU's to accommodate "low income" people per the RHNA - Low Income in San Mateo county is a 2-person household making $117k/year or a family of 4 earning $146k/year. I don't think you need to worry about pee on the sidewalks and "smoking". https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-funding/income-limits/state-and-federal-income-limits/docs/income-limits-2021.pdf https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-funding/income-limits/state-an...
upupandup 4y ago
Not only this but ppl simping Brian Armstrong at the height of Coinbase's stock price .... who didn't own any coinbase shares
x86x87 4y ago
You understand that people's qualities are across multiple dimensions, right? Also, just because someone makes the wrong choice or says the wrong things does not make them a charlatan?
- refurb 4y ago
  That seems to be too nuanced for today's generation. You're either 100% good or 100% bad, no in between. And of course there is no 100% good, only the 100% good who have yet been discovered to be 100% bad.
brnt 4y ago
The power of marketing works best when least expected, and for some reason this data-driven fact-based engineering bunch is either just not (surprisingly!) not cognisant of the mechanics of investors using their brains and are gullible, star struck, almost willfully ignorant (seeing the lengths the innocence of the wealthy is sometimes defended). Or people are cognisant, and then must be participating in the charade, on the basis of greed; not biting the hand that feeds you is good exercise for pitching. What other mechanisms could be at play for this worship? Anyway thanks for your concise comment; it could not be more on point!

There’s not a drop of irony here. It’s just mindboggling that HN prop these charlatans up like gods. You’re not temporarily embarrassed millionaires - you’re just embarrassing.

tofuahdude 4y ago

Let's call it hypocrisy then.

davidivadavid 4y ago

The thing about Marc Andreessen is that of all VC-types of people he seemed like one with a modicum of tech legitimacy, given his history/role in the development of the web. Unfortunately it seems to be quickly evaporating.

hvs 4y ago
I was at UIUC shortly after he graduated and the general impression was that he basically just stole Mosaic from the University to create Netscape. Not sure that bestows him with any tech legitimacy. He's certainly a good businessman.
- trhway 4y ago
  Well, Page/Brin's BackRub was basically a science citation index, yet here we're. Add FB into that collection too. Ideas are nothing (we all have a lot of them), execution is everything.
  - paulryanrogers 4y ago
    ...and timing, and connections, and money, and education, and mental health
    - olivermarks 4y ago
      exactly @paulryanrogers
- breck 4y ago
  Evidence refuting this, and showing him very actively involved: http://1997.webhistory.org/www.lists/www-talk.1993q1/0182.html http://1997.webhistory.org/www.lists/www-talk.1993q1/0182.ht...
  - fsckboy 4y ago
    he could have been actively involved in creating Mosaic as a university project, and still be accused of leaving the university and stealing the software to create a new commercial product.
    - kevin_thibedeau 4y ago
      The source code was public so not much to steal other than the knowledge he already had.
- lettergram 4y ago
  Having worked directly with several of the people involved and spent many years at UIUC. My impression has been that UIUC is/was jealous and wanted the IP / recognition. They admit he built it, but wanted a cut.
- specialist 4y ago
  Marc named the image tag. 'IMG'. Even better, it's standalone! No closing tag! So simple. And yet sublime. Given a million years, I'm not sure I could have come up with that solution.
  - jjtheblunt 4y ago
    this made me smile
brnt 4y ago
What if that legitimacy is merely a story crafted by his press department? It so obviously will help interacting with his target audience: devs who take pride in technical skills and knowledge. Why do you give people who can easily afford to have a team craft an image the benefit of believing it? I categorically don't. Not because I am of bad faith, no, precisely because I trust people to do what's in their interest: make sure your fund gets to talking with your audience.
- eduction 4y ago
  Is it so hard to believe that people with “technical skills and knowledge” can be hypocrites? The fact is, pmarca’s engineering chops are not a conspiracy invented by non engineers. He did in fact create a brilliant piece of software (Mosaic and, at some greater distance, Netscape), and the technical elites of Silicon Valley saw this and are responsible for much of his wealth and influence. But the mundane truth is that engineering chops do not automatically translate into virtue, tact, political acumen, investment prowess, or any number of other skills or positive attributes. It is understandable that engineers want to believe they are on a higher plane of human existence but the evidence is inconclusive. No publicist tricked us into thinking Andreessen was a brilliant programmer, we tricked ourselves into thinking brilliant programmers are necessarily superhuman.
  - brnt 4y ago
    > Is it so hard to believe that people with “technical skills and knowledge” can be hypocrites? It is not, just as it is not that PR departments know how to appeal to hypocrites.

gruez 4y ago

>It’s just mindboggling that HN prop these charlatans up like gods Link to some examples? My impression is that many HN users are associated with the startup community, and therefore like what Andreessen or PG is doing, but I don't think they prop them up "like gods" or even demigods for that matter. You can like what someone is doing in one area (ie. startups/VC), without thinking they're gods or blindly believing whatever they say.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

throwawaysleep 4y ago

Or just honesty. I frankly don’t want housing the kinds of people who can’t afford houses anywhere near me. I don’t say this publicly, but the council candidate who “protects home values” has my vote. I agree housing affordability is an important problem. I am not willing to have so much as ruffians in the nearby grocery store to fix it though.

jakeinspace 4y ago
What a sad frightened person you must be.
- Apocryphon 4y ago
  Their real name must be Poe Slaw.
- throwawaysleep 4y ago
  - fumar 4y ago
  - qwerpy 4y ago
    I concur. I'd much rather deal with rich people problems (overzealous HOAs, ostentatious sports cars, being judged when I don't have an immaculate lawn) than the ones you describe. Online discourse is heavily biased against openly saying these things, but as we can see, apparently people quietly believe it nonetheless.
  - mikeyouse 4y ago
    They were talking about allowing the construction of ADU's to accommodate "low income" people per the RHNA - Low Income in San Mateo county is a 2-person household making $117k/year or a family of 4 earning $146k/year. I don't think you need to worry about pee on the sidewalks and "smoking". https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-funding/income-limits/state-and-federal-income-limits/docs/income-limits-2021.pdf https://www.hcd.ca.gov/grants-funding/income-limits/state-an...

upupandup 4y ago

Not only this but ppl simping Brian Armstrong at the height of Coinbase's stock price .... who didn't own any coinbase shares

x86x87 4y ago

You understand that people's qualities are across multiple dimensions, right? Also, just because someone makes the wrong choice or says the wrong things does not make them a charlatan?

refurb 4y ago
That seems to be too nuanced for today's generation. You're either 100% good or 100% bad, no in between. And of course there is no 100% good, only the 100% good who have yet been discovered to be 100% bad.

brnt 4y ago

The power of marketing works best when least expected, and for some reason this data-driven fact-based engineering bunch is either just not (surprisingly!) not cognisant of the mechanics of investors using their brains and are gullible, star struck, almost willfully ignorant (seeing the lengths the innocence of the wealthy is sometimes defended). Or people are cognisant, and then must be participating in the charade, on the basis of greed; not biting the hand that feeds you is good exercise for pitching. What other mechanisms could be at play for this worship? Anyway thanks for your concise comment; it could not be more on point!