For better or worse, it's often likely the only metric people have to go on. You command a lot of respect and admiration from people who follow YC and read you

For better or worse, it's often likely the only metric people have to go on. You command a lot of respect and admiration from people who follow YC and read your essays. It's easy to dismiss criticism from peers and institutions who "don't get it", but to hear it from somebody you respect deeply can give a disproportional weight to your feedback, even if it's ridiculous to expect your feedback to be the final word on an idea's success or failure.