3 ms·
The tone isn’t smug. pg simplified his language for a teenage audience. Simple arguments made simply can come across as smug because they lack caveats and polit
by gizmo 3y ago
The tone isn’t smug. pg simplified his language for a teenage audience. Simple arguments made simply can come across as smug because they lack caveats and polite hedging, but I don’t think the accusation of smugness sticks in this case.
I also disagree about the incredible qualities entrepreneurs need and hardships they have to endure. Many incredible businesses are just good product + good distribution. Many kids think starting a startup is practically impossible, and pg correctly points out that it isn’t.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- lupire 3y agoIt's a little easier if you are a PhD study at Stanford, or, in pg's case, friends with a famous genius at MIT. Starting is trivial. Succeeding is in fact practically impossible.
- gizmo 3y agoToday it's a lot easier to match the level of success pg had with viaweb back in the 90s. No MIT genius required.
- gcr 3y agoWhen I was a teen, I had a strong aversion for being talked down to, and was resistant to attempts to patronize even if they were well-intended and even if they benefited me. Paul's leaving a significant fraction of the intended audience on the table here IMO: teens who are resistant to being told what to do and how to do it. :)
- mkoubaa 3y agoThat sounds like a disability to me
- gcr 3y agoWell keep in mind that that's explicitly the audience pg's targeting with the article: > But you will avoid many of the annoying things > that come with a job, including a boss telling > you what to do. I happen to think that a healthy resistance to authority and sensitivity to condescension is a long-lasting tradition of being a teenager, but to each their own. :)