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And thus you would overlook Woz and demonstrate incompetency. Not that I accept for a second that someone like Woz deserves patronizing language like "attended
by gruseom 15y ago
And thus you would overlook Woz and demonstrate incompetency.
Not that I accept for a second that someone like Woz deserves patronizing language like "attended to personal hygiene that day" or "panhandler" - but people who base their evaluation of technical talent on social conformity certainly do see them that way.
The thing about the good investors the OP is talking about is that, increasingly, they don't do this. There are two reasons why they don't. One (which applies to only some, like YC) is that they are technical people themselves. The other is that the ones who do it lose to the ones who don't.
That is the historical trend and it has little to with fads or fashions. It has to do with economic power shifting towards people who create things.
- sliverstorm 15y agoall else being equal Highly relevant snippet taken from the quote you responded to. Please look it up if you are not familiar with the phrase.
- gruseom 15y agoI confess I did not see that. Still, I don't think one is a precise judge of talent one minute and the next minute (having determined that all other things are equal) switches to filtering for conformity. It's much more likely to be the other way around: first we see through our filters and then we judge what we see. Especially when what we're judging is something intangible like talent.
- sliverstorm 15y agoYou claim it is simply conformity? I suppose this is a matter of opinion, and I am not so foolish as to think I can change yours. I will close by simply observing that to me, presenting yourself in a polished fashion is a display of respect, interest, and investment in the matter at hand. Even if it was simply a display of conformity, I disagree with your implicit presumption that conformity is by definition evil. You must pick your battles, and to me, what I wear to an interview is pretty low on the list of priority.
- gruseom 15y agoAh, you've replied while I was busy editing my comment. Usually I get away with that without a collision. Well, I've tried to make it more reasonable and I suspect we don't really disagree that much. But I will add something: there are quite a few talented people who don't really have the choice to conform. They just don't "get" the social system well enough. And yeah, maybe part of it is that they're not interested enough to force themselves to do it. And I like a lot of those people and I don't like it when others turn their noses up at them. Conformity isn't evil per se, but judging people for lack of it often is. Interestingly, "conformity" is one of those words that no one uses about themselves. Like "tourist".
- FreakLegion 15y agoBecause Woz would never[1], ever[2], ever[3] dress for the occasion. Ever[4]. 1. http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tuaw.com/media/2011/04/woz-return-to-apple.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.tuaw.com/media/2011/04/woz-return... 2. http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpmlgqzYtY1qafiav.jpg http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpmlgqzYtY1qafiav.jpg 3. http://www.pcbdesign007.com/articlefiles/77213-max%20woz.jpg http://www.pcbdesign007.com/articlefiles/77213-max%20woz.jpg 4. http://cdn02.cdnwp.celebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy-imgx/3/2/6/1/1/5/1/large-3261151.jpg?v=1237825835 http://cdn02.cdnwp.celebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/legacy-im...
- gruseom 15y agoAll your evidence is decades too late, but you have a point. Woz would have worn a suit to a job interview or investor meeting. But the 1970s were a long time ago. It's no longer to be taken for granted.