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You are so mistaken that I wince for your sake reading this comment. The reason I listen to Marc is that he's among the smartest people in the startup communit

by pg 14y ago

You are so mistaken that I wince for your sake reading this comment. The reason I listen to Marc is that he's among the smartest people in the startup community.

larrys 14y ago
"You are so mistaken that I wince" "The reason I listen to Marc is that he's among the smartest people" That's the reason you listen to Marc. Certainly you aren't claiming that there are many others (for example the writers or people in the media) that pay attention to him (and broadcast what he says) for the reasons the parent is mentioning.
bambax 14y ago
Enron people labeled themselves "the smartest guys in the room"... and they were! But they were wrong on everything else. Very smart people are wrong all the time, because of conflicts of interest, because of ideology, because they don't have all the facts, because they're not trying to think rationally, etc. (On how "smart" people are often wrong, see for example "The Psychology of Rational Thought" by Keith E. Stanovich.) Regarding Mr. Andreessen, he's just advocating very conservative policies -- esp. less regulations. Less regulation may be desirable for ventures such as AirBnB, but that doesn't mean it's an absolute good. It at least deserves a public discussion and not just affirmations by one of AirBnB's investors... (Also, "your mistakes make me wince" is not an argument ;-)
diminish 14y ago
Reading a lot of comments here against Marc, I would like to remind him, your recent words on "why being good" is important and "don't be evil" motto is good for everyone and even for smart people.
pstuart 14y ago
It's an honor to have a personal smackdown from PG. I'm sure he's very smart, and I don't disagree with his observations, however the cheaper labor part was offensive. That was basic "fuck you" to everybody of the non-founder class. And being rich/powerful certainly helps have people care what you have to say. You are very smart too -- if Viaweb had not succeeded as it had would people pay as much attention to you? Edit: In reflection my comment was not in the proper spirit of HN -- it was bitter and that's not needed here. It did get upvoted plenty though... Note to self: abandon any notion of ever applying to YC.

by pg 14y ago

You are so mistaken that I wince for your sake reading this comment. The reason I listen to Marc is that he's among the smartest people in the startup community.

larrys 14y ago

"You are so mistaken that I wince" "The reason I listen to Marc is that he's among the smartest people" That's the reason you listen to Marc. Certainly you aren't claiming that there are many others (for example the writers or people in the media) that pay attention to him (and broadcast what he says) for the reasons the parent is mentioning.

bambax 14y ago

Enron people labeled themselves "the smartest guys in the room"... and they were! But they were wrong on everything else. Very smart people are wrong all the time, because of conflicts of interest, because of ideology, because they don't have all the facts, because they're not trying to think rationally, etc. (On how "smart" people are often wrong, see for example "The Psychology of Rational Thought" by Keith E. Stanovich.) Regarding Mr. Andreessen, he's just advocating very conservative policies -- esp. less regulations. Less regulation may be desirable for ventures such as AirBnB, but that doesn't mean it's an absolute good. It at least deserves a public discussion and not just affirmations by one of AirBnB's investors... (Also, "your mistakes make me wince" is not an argument ;-)

diminish 14y ago

Reading a lot of comments here against Marc, I would like to remind him, your recent words on "why being good" is important and "don't be evil" motto is good for everyone and even for smart people.

pstuart 14y ago

It's an honor to have a personal smackdown from PG. I'm sure he's very smart, and I don't disagree with his observations, however the cheaper labor part was offensive. That was basic "fuck you" to everybody of the non-founder class. And being rich/powerful certainly helps have people care what you have to say. You are very smart too -- if Viaweb had not succeeded as it had would people pay as much attention to you? Edit: In reflection my comment was not in the proper spirit of HN -- it was bitter and that's not needed here. It did get upvoted plenty though... Note to self: abandon any notion of ever applying to YC.