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I'm sorry but I don't agree. Cultural notions and societal pressures exist in all cultures, and India is no different. Yet in a world that is being "eaten by s

by r0h1n 13y ago

I'm sorry but I don't agree. Cultural notions and societal pressures exist in all cultures, and India is no different. Yet in a world that is being "eaten by software", if young, educated and ambitious software developers are bemoaning centuries-old practices for their inability to take risks, the blame lies closer than they think. If they can't handle the heat, they shouldn't be in the kitchen. Get a safe, salaried job and shut up. Else cope with it. Society isn't going to change overnight, so stop moaning about it. I'm sorry if I sound harsh but I'm been seeing more than a few of these whiny posts on HN lately.

priyaranjan 13y ago
IMO author isn't blaming anyone here. He has failed in 2 startups and riding the 3rd one, so he pretty much seems to be trying than just complaining. He is sharing his opinion about society with a catchy title (which isn't the only take away) and should be valued.
- r0h1n 13y ago
  > Flat, marriage and family – 3 reasons why young Indians don’t turn entrepreneurs! Um, the whole point of the post is to blame those three reasons - all external, societal or environmental - for personal decisions that educated and young programmers don't make.
walshemj 13y ago
But societal pressures and economic pressures are at least 1 if not 2 orders of magnitude higher in Indian and Arabic cultures than there is for white kids in the west.
- krmmalik 13y ago
  Exactly. It's a rather arrogant for those in the West to presume they can know anything about this. They haven't the foggiest.
krmmalik 13y ago
The blame does indeed lie closer than we think. That's exactly my point. The problem is that those that are within that region are not recognising this fact until much later in their lives compared to their Western Counterparts. Only when you live in it, breathe it and feel it can you really recognise it's impact. It takes a long time to realise that this is where the problem lies. Not least because no one, and I mean NO ONE is talking about it. They're not talking about it, because they don't KNOW about it. I don't disagree for a second that the only person responsible for their success or lack thereof is that person themselves, but to get to that realisation takes those in the eastern culture much longer. The weight of the emotional baggage is huge. No Eric Ries, Tim Ferriss or any other 'Start-up Celebrity' is even mentioning it, because it's not even on their radar. If there had been a movement such as the Lean Start-Up movement that had addressed this problem, then those in the East would have recognised this issue much sooner and done something about it. We've had to do this all on our own. If you haven't experienced it for yourself personally, then taking a stance such as the above is presumptious - and it's not your statement of the facts that perturbs me, it's your lack of empathy. Edit: Spelling/Grammar

by r0h1n 13y ago

priyaranjan 13y ago

IMO author isn't blaming anyone here. He has failed in 2 startups and riding the 3rd one, so he pretty much seems to be trying than just complaining. He is sharing his opinion about society with a catchy title (which isn't the only take away) and should be valued.

r0h1n 13y ago
> Flat, marriage and family – 3 reasons why young Indians don’t turn entrepreneurs! Um, the whole point of the post is to blame those three reasons - all external, societal or environmental - for personal decisions that educated and young programmers don't make.

walshemj 13y ago

But societal pressures and economic pressures are at least 1 if not 2 orders of magnitude higher in Indian and Arabic cultures than there is for white kids in the west.

krmmalik 13y ago
Exactly. It's a rather arrogant for those in the West to presume they can know anything about this. They haven't the foggiest.

krmmalik 13y ago

The blame does indeed lie closer than we think. That's exactly my point. The problem is that those that are within that region are not recognising this fact until much later in their lives compared to their Western Counterparts. Only when you live in it, breathe it and feel it can you really recognise it's impact. It takes a long time to realise that this is where the problem lies. Not least because no one, and I mean NO ONE is talking about it. They're not talking about it, because they don't KNOW about it. I don't disagree for a second that the only person responsible for their success or lack thereof is that person themselves, but to get to that realisation takes those in the eastern culture much longer. The weight of the emotional baggage is huge. No Eric Ries, Tim Ferriss or any other 'Start-up Celebrity' is even mentioning it, because it's not even on their radar. If there had been a movement such as the Lean Start-Up movement that had addressed this problem, then those in the East would have recognised this issue much sooner and done something about it. We've had to do this all on our own. If you haven't experienced it for yourself personally, then taking a stance such as the above is presumptious - and it's not your statement of the facts that perturbs me, it's your lack of empathy. Edit: Spelling/Grammar