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> He could have just said something like 'founders who cannot communicate well' He could have, yes. But its certainly possible that such a statement would hav
by thedufer 13y ago
> He could have just said something like 'founders who cannot communicate well'
He could have, yes. But its certainly possible that such a statement would have been lying. "Communicates well" can be a hard trait to pin down. It is contingent on a lot of factors, and may vary widely between listeners. Meanwhile, "strong foreign accents", while somewhat subjective, is something that him and his colleagues can easily agree upon.
Since "strong foreign accent" is so much easier to measure, that's the trend they noticed - and thus the one he mentioned. His actual statement was clear enough that, without removing context, it is completely clear that it was not xenophobia.
- crassus 13y agoYep. PG's advice as given is clearly more actionable than "communicate well". The problem with people that are easily offended is that avoiding offense forces you to use vague, non-specific language. PGs said what some founders need to hear, and it will make them better off. Most likely, they will appreciate the advice and use it. They probably aren't the same people getting offended.
- chetanahuja 13y agoYep. PG's advice as given is clearly more actionable than "communicate well" Really, do you really believe (and/or have any research to show) that "fixing" one's accent as an adult is "actionable" advice in any meaningful way. Pg just fucked up communicating what he wanted to communicate. Everybody does once in a while. No big deal there. But this blind defense of everything done by one human being is more disturbing by far.
- langgeek123 13y agoYes, seriously improving your accent as an adult is possible. See http://olle-kjellin.com/SpeechDoctor/ProcLP98.html http://olle-kjellin.com/SpeechDoctor/ProcLP98.html for instance.