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Who reads his blog posts like these? Okay, I'd try to frame it this way - who does he write his blog posts for? No, I am not trying to say he mustn't, but I am

Who reads his blog posts like these? Okay, I'd try to frame it this way - who does he write his blog posts for? No, I am not trying to say he mustn't, but I am just curious because it's hn and he is, like what, founder of hn or creator or so (?); and whenever one of his blog posts is posted here, it gains a lot of traction. I find them really sterile, trite, and filled with basic abstracts and attempted philosophy. Oh, by the way people love to call it "essays" here, not blog posts - oh no, no - "essays" it is. I see brilliant blog posts posted here on hn and they don't even make more than few comments which can be counted on a single palm (palm as if on human hand, not the device) and then his posts just get comments after comments. What intrigues me is a lot of those comments are just trying to guesstimate, assume, interpret on his behalf what he tried to say - like when you stare at an art piece in a museum, which is just three straight lines and a dot on an otherwise blank canvas, you hear someone explain to someone else few feet away - how that art captures the sublime, infinity, futility of life, and concision, among other heavy worded things, at the same time. So, these posts err.. essays.. of his are pieces of abstract textual art that arrive here to be interpreted by commenters and also for admiration and mandatory vc adulation (maybe)? Or maybe since he is rich now and is influential in making other people rich, lots of them actually, he gets to post whatever it is and also gets to make them gain traction. Yeah, this makes sense. Of course. Or maybe I am from the crowd that doesn't understand modern art of making money at all; obviously.

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fud101 2y ago
i'd rather never see another PG post if possible but unfortunately he is very prolific..
neilv 2y ago
My impression (as an observer since before YC started) is that some of PG's early writings were very influential on the startup scene -- separate from his obviously very influential doings through YC over the years. Nowadays, I skim PG articles when they hit HN, for maybe roughly 3 reasons: 1. To see if there's anything interesting to me. 2. Curiosity about what the writing says about him, or what he might be doing. (Why did he choose this topic, how is he thinking, what messages is he trying to send, why, does this hint at some other actions he's taking with his influence and resources, etc.) 3. As background for skimming HN comments. (Mainly, what's the gist of the sentiment of various HN demographics, when prompted by the PG post. Lately, I think my intent is mostly hopeful or curious, not seeking out something to be angry about.)
thimkerbell 2y ago
Give an example of a great post that got too little notice, please.
overfeed 2y ago
> Who reads his blog posts like these? I skim them to figure out which direction the wind is blowing for our technocrat overlords. The last article of his I read a few weeks ago was completely mask-off, also around the same time as the Zuckerberg "bring back masculine energy" interview. This essay feels softened, almost hedging in the same vein as the "How do you do, fellow kids?" meme. Billionaires are interesting people, and I can't help but wonder how the next decade will be for them and the countries where they hold the bulk of their wealth.
gizmo 2y ago
pg doesn't want to be known for his wealth or business acumen. He wants to be known as a serious thinker. He wants to write essays that stand the test of time. Just like he wanted to create the "100 year programming language" (it turned out his vision was lisp with shorter function names). He's not doing this for clout or internet points. He's not just writing whatever. pg works very hard on his writing and some of his earlier stuff is excellent. Maybe his next essay will be a banger. Or maybe pg doesn't have any good essays in him anymore. In any case, I respect his willingness to keep at it despite how widely his essays get mocked. It's not easy to put yourself out there.
tacker2000 2y ago
I agree with you. Not entirely sure what value this post brings of his brings. “Create something new”… ok great insight, thanks PG, I guess this is some big strategic plan to increase the number YC applicants? It really reads like some abstract art form that one is staring at and has to figure out the “deeper” meaning of. The problem is, there is no deep meaning there.
fairity 2y ago
Years ago, I was lying in the grass, having a conversation with a fellow founder, when he noted how, on most days, he would forget to eat lunch because he was so engrossed with his work. I thought to myself, That's ridiculous. Everyone notices when they're hungry. This was just a thinly veiled brag about his work ethic. Nowadays, I find myself skipping lunch every other day - out of forgetfulness.

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fud101 2y ago

i'd rather never see another PG post if possible but unfortunately he is very prolific..

neilv 2y ago

My impression (as an observer since before YC started) is that some of PG's early writings were very influential on the startup scene -- separate from his obviously very influential doings through YC over the years. Nowadays, I skim PG articles when they hit HN, for maybe roughly 3 reasons: 1. To see if there's anything interesting to me. 2. Curiosity about what the writing says about him, or what he might be doing. (Why did he choose this topic, how is he thinking, what messages is he trying to send, why, does this hint at some other actions he's taking with his influence and resources, etc.) 3. As background for skimming HN comments. (Mainly, what's the gist of the sentiment of various HN demographics, when prompted by the PG post. Lately, I think my intent is mostly hopeful or curious, not seeking out something to be angry about.)

thimkerbell 2y ago

Give an example of a great post that got too little notice, please.

overfeed 2y ago

> Who reads his blog posts like these? I skim them to figure out which direction the wind is blowing for our technocrat overlords. The last article of his I read a few weeks ago was completely mask-off, also around the same time as the Zuckerberg "bring back masculine energy" interview. This essay feels softened, almost hedging in the same vein as the "How do you do, fellow kids?" meme. Billionaires are interesting people, and I can't help but wonder how the next decade will be for them and the countries where they hold the bulk of their wealth.

gizmo 2y ago

pg doesn't want to be known for his wealth or business acumen. He wants to be known as a serious thinker. He wants to write essays that stand the test of time. Just like he wanted to create the "100 year programming language" (it turned out his vision was lisp with shorter function names). He's not doing this for clout or internet points. He's not just writing whatever. pg works very hard on his writing and some of his earlier stuff is excellent. Maybe his next essay will be a banger. Or maybe pg doesn't have any good essays in him anymore. In any case, I respect his willingness to keep at it despite how widely his essays get mocked. It's not easy to put yourself out there.

tacker2000 2y ago

I agree with you. Not entirely sure what value this post brings of his brings. “Create something new”… ok great insight, thanks PG, I guess this is some big strategic plan to increase the number YC applicants? It really reads like some abstract art form that one is staring at and has to figure out the “deeper” meaning of. The problem is, there is no deep meaning there.

fairity 2y ago

Years ago, I was lying in the grass, having a conversation with a fellow founder, when he noted how, on most days, he would forget to eat lunch because he was so engrossed with his work. I thought to myself, That's ridiculous. Everyone notices when they're hungry. This was just a thinly veiled brag about his work ethic. Nowadays, I find myself skipping lunch every other day - out of forgetfulness.