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I am not sure if this is a sharply pointed piece of satire critical of how YC does business, or if it's another "Ask HN" from amichail that's just beyond my mod
by mahmud 17y ago
I am not sure if this is a sharply pointed piece of satire critical of how YC does business, or if it's another "Ask HN" from amichail that's just beyond my modest IQ to grok.
- jacquesm 17y agoAre those mutually exclusive though ?
- mahmud 17y agoTouche! I am really easy to dumbfound, haven't had my orientation session at Singularity University yet.
- jacquesm 17y agoMaybe that should be a requirement for YC application too ?
- mahmud 17y agoI have a few tests for people before I can trust them in any professional capacity, and from a quick reflection, I think I developed it to avoid theorists: Are they able to solve simple logistics problems: How do they deal with missed trains or planes? how do they deal with lack of seats when we go to eat at a busy restaurant? how do they cope with rain, snow, excessive traffic, or crowds if we need to hail a cab? How do they treat bar and waitstaff? how about hotel staff? Are they able to book and change rooms in a sold-out hotel? How fussy are they about limited options for a late night meal? lack of internet? flat tire? a massive brawl nearby? road closures? power outages? If you want to test someone's will to survive, in this day and age, put them in the stadium part of town immediately after the big game and watch them fetch for themselves and compete for food and transportation, not to mention personal space, with hordes of drunken and volatile masses. The ones who whine, wince, or the least bit annoyed or confused should be dropped like dead weight. [Edit: s/smirk/wince]
- jacquesm 17y ago> How do they treat bar and waitstaff? That's one right out of my playbook too! I think it is a major indicator of how people are put together, if they're not treating people that are in a temporary position of having to serve them in a decent way then that speaks volumes about their mentality. Neat to see that as a more widespread thing.
- zaidf 17y agoThe ones who whine, smirk, or the least bit annoyed or confused should be dropped like dead weight. There is a good chance you'll end up dropping the likes of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. In fact, the only kinds that might be able to make past your test may be emotionless robotic types. Anyone who is not at least a bit annoyed in those circumstances is not human.
- jacquesm 17y agoNonsense. You can be annoyed without being a jerk. Showing emotion is quite ok, abusing people is not. And if that would filter out Steve Jobs or Bill Gates is an open question, I don't know if they would be rude, abusive or simply not nice in such situations.
- aaronblohowiak 17y ago"The ones who whine, smirk, or the least bit annoyed or confused should be dropped like dead weight." the gp basically said you can't.
- mahmud 17y agoI have dismissed a huge spectrum of "negative" reactions as all bad; these range from short and quick despair followed by action to fix the situation, to the more extreme total emotional breakdown and road-side sobbing. The brush need not be that broad, but you can usually gauge how much of a go-getter someone is by seeing their reactions, unconstrained by social appearances, keeping face, etc. People can fake calmness just by being shy :-) so you need to take into account how well someone takes bad news; I have seen people who made nothing of complete disasters and always had a plan B for everything.