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Would be interesting to get Y Combinator's take on this.

by macmac 12y ago

anon1385 12y ago
This is hardly the first or worst example of a YC company copying something. For example: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3523024 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3523024 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3529607 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3529607 Being prepared to do this kind of thing is a core part of the YC values: http://paulgraham.com/founders.html http://paulgraham.com/founders.html >Though the most successful founders are usually good people, they tend to have a piratical gleam in their eye. They're not Goody Two-Shoes type good. Morally, they care about getting the big questions right, but not about observing proprieties. That's why I'd use the word naughty rather than evil. They delight in breaking rules, but not rules that matter. This quality may be redundant though; it may be implied by imagination.
- semperfaux 12y ago
  While I've never been particularly interested in YC itself, that quote is something I'd never read, and honestly it's really sad. That he straight up admits that he's looking for people who are [synonym for evil that doesn't make him look as bad] is really telling and sad. Maybe I'm just too idealistic in general -- entirely possible -- but when I read "breaking rules, but not rules that matter," I wonder who gets to decide which rules matter. Because someone obviously thought they mattered enough to be rules in the first place.
  - vinceguidry 12y ago
    I book I've found that helped me get a historical sense for morality and its place in politics, religion, and personal success is Karen Armstrong's Fields of Blood. http://www.amazon.com/Fields-Blood-Religion-History-Violence-ebook/dp/B00KAFVNYM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423667397&sr=8-1&keywords=fields+of+blood http://www.amazon.com/Fields-Blood-Religion-History-Violence...
  - argumentum 12y ago
    So basically you support Adolf Eichmann's claim that "following orders" was a legitimate excuse for participating in the Holocaust? Either that, or you do not understand PG's argument.
    - macmac 12y ago
      Godwin's law in action right there.
- forgottenpass 12y ago
  Morally, they care about getting the big questions right, but not about observing proprieties. What a clever way to phrase "as amoral as legally and socially workable."

Would be interesting to get Y Combinator's take on this.

by macmac 12y ago

Would be interesting to get Y Combinator's take on this.

This is hardly the first or worst example of a YC company copying something. For example: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3523024 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3523024 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3529607 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3529607 Being prepared to do this kind of thing is a core part of the YC values: http://paulgraham.com/founders.html http://paulgraham.com/founders.html >Though the most successful founders are usually good people, they tend to have a piratical gleam in their eye. They're not Goody Two-Shoes type good. Morally, they care about getting the big questions right, but not about observing proprieties. That's why I'd use the word naughty rather than evil. They delight in breaking rules, but not rules that matter. This quality may be redundant though; it may be implied by imagination.

semperfaux 12y ago
While I've never been particularly interested in YC itself, that quote is something I'd never read, and honestly it's really sad. That he straight up admits that he's looking for people who are [synonym for evil that doesn't make him look as bad] is really telling and sad. Maybe I'm just too idealistic in general -- entirely possible -- but when I read "breaking rules, but not rules that matter," I wonder who gets to decide which rules matter. Because someone obviously thought they mattered enough to be rules in the first place.
- vinceguidry 12y ago
  I book I've found that helped me get a historical sense for morality and its place in politics, religion, and personal success is Karen Armstrong's Fields of Blood. http://www.amazon.com/Fields-Blood-Religion-History-Violence-ebook/dp/B00KAFVNYM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423667397&sr=8-1&keywords=fields+of+blood http://www.amazon.com/Fields-Blood-Religion-History-Violence...
- argumentum 12y ago
  So basically you support Adolf Eichmann's claim that "following orders" was a legitimate excuse for participating in the Holocaust? Either that, or you do not understand PG's argument.
  - macmac 12y ago
    Godwin's law in action right there.
forgottenpass 12y ago
Morally, they care about getting the big questions right, but not about observing proprieties. What a clever way to phrase "as amoral as legally and socially workable."