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This is the most defensive thing I've seen Paul Graham write. Is he planning on writing a post about every mistaken thing that someone says about Y Combinator?

This is the most defensive thing I've seen Paul Graham write. Is he planning on writing a post about every mistaken thing that someone says about Y Combinator? I'm reminded of the classic XKCD comic: http://xkcd.com/386/ http://xkcd.com/386/ Will he write a reply every time someone is wrong on the Internet? I am surprised Graham published it. The tone is very close to anger. He runs the risk of triggering the Streisand effect: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect The mistake seems minor enough that the folks at Y Combinator should be able to laugh about it and forget it. But if it gets under Graham's skin so much that he felt the need to write this essay, that raises the question of why it gets under his skin so much?

waterlesscloud 12y ago
I'd be willing to bet the quote has been and will continue to be used against him. It was a dumb thing to say, from that viewpoint. It's easy to club him over the head with, particularly if it's misconstrued in terms of diversity. I don't think he meant it that way, but it's easy to put it in that context. EDIT- Found an essay about women founders by sama that references it as exactly that kind of problem "A specific issue that came up is a belief that we look for founders that look like Mark Zuckerberg. Actually that meme began as a self-deprecating joke. " http://blog.samaltman.com/what-ive-learned-from-female-founders-so-far http://blog.samaltman.com/what-ive-learned-from-female-found...
mcantelon 12y ago
If people are repeating an untruth about you, that makes you seem incompetent, it could get annoying and be tempting to correct it. And I wouldn't really call that an essay.
yen223 12y ago
I have literally not heard about this meme, until I read this essay.
- anthony_franco 12y ago
  Same here. I've read all his essays. Read his book. Follow him on Twitter. Read articles on him. Visit HN daily. But I've never heard about this meme. Go figure.
selmnoo 12y ago
The weirdest thing is that I think this might be an act of revisionism. I recall reading a post on HN a few (or more than a few) months back about a startup writing a post-op article with reasons about why they had been rejected by YC, and among them was some musing that maybe it was because they didn't look like Zuck. pg responded in the comments not by saying that "it's a joke!" but that they once made that mistake and learned from it. That would at least vindicate the NYT usage of the 'meme'. I do want to note, that on the face of it, it does not sound like pg was joking. Couple that with the fact that pg did say sometime ago that strong accents are a part of negative predictors. So following that up with the comment about Zuck-doppelgangers being more likely to succeed, the quote doesn't strike one as being a joke -- “I can be tricked by anyone who looks like Mark Zuckerberg. There was a guy once who we funded who was terrible. I said: ‘How could he be bad? He looks like Zuckerberg!’ ” So, YC did go on to fund this guy. Considering that YC is pretty competitive in choosing the right people and has a low acceptance rate... and this guy did get in, can it really be said that his looking like Zuck had zero sway? I think pg & co. should just move on with this, not by trying to weasel out of this, but by saying they made a mistake and they'll try to do better.

waterlesscloud 12y ago

I'd be willing to bet the quote has been and will continue to be used against him. It was a dumb thing to say, from that viewpoint. It's easy to club him over the head with, particularly if it's misconstrued in terms of diversity. I don't think he meant it that way, but it's easy to put it in that context. EDIT- Found an essay about women founders by sama that references it as exactly that kind of problem "A specific issue that came up is a belief that we look for founders that look like Mark Zuckerberg. Actually that meme began as a self-deprecating joke. " http://blog.samaltman.com/what-ive-learned-from-female-founders-so-far http://blog.samaltman.com/what-ive-learned-from-female-found...

mcantelon 12y ago

If people are repeating an untruth about you, that makes you seem incompetent, it could get annoying and be tempting to correct it. And I wouldn't really call that an essay.

yen223 12y ago

I have literally not heard about this meme, until I read this essay.

anthony_franco 12y ago
Same here. I've read all his essays. Read his book. Follow him on Twitter. Read articles on him. Visit HN daily. But I've never heard about this meme. Go figure.

selmnoo 12y ago

The weirdest thing is that I think this might be an act of revisionism. I recall reading a post on HN a few (or more than a few) months back about a startup writing a post-op article with reasons about why they had been rejected by YC, and among them was some musing that maybe it was because they didn't look like Zuck. pg responded in the comments not by saying that "it's a joke!" but that they once made that mistake and learned from it. That would at least vindicate the NYT usage of the 'meme'. I do want to note, that on the face of it, it does not sound like pg was joking. Couple that with the fact that pg did say sometime ago that strong accents are a part of negative predictors. So following that up with the comment about Zuck-doppelgangers being more likely to succeed, the quote doesn't strike one as being a joke -- “I can be tricked by anyone who looks like Mark Zuckerberg. There was a guy once who we funded who was terrible. I said: ‘How could he be bad? He looks like Zuckerberg!’ ” So, YC did go on to fund this guy. Considering that YC is pretty competitive in choosing the right people and has a low acceptance rate... and this guy did get in, can it really be said that his looking like Zuck had zero sway? I think pg & co. should just move on with this, not by trying to weasel out of this, but by saying they made a mistake and they'll try to do better.