Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny • Hacker News Board

Re: Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny

#31

Post by pesenti » Mon, Oct 03, 2016, 8:15 AM UTC

lincolnq wrote: post #29

pesenti wrote: post #19

This quote from a YC Partner: > It’s all about founders. Facebook had Mark Zuckerberg, and MySpace had a bunch of monkeys. The kind of ubermensch/Ayn Rand rhetoric that makes me cringe.

Do you think it's wrong?

To call people monkeys because they didn't accomplish as much as Mark Zuckerberg? Yes it's very wrong! And ironic given that MySpace had a much better exit and impact than FriendFeed (the company created by the partner quoted)

Re: Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny

#32

Post by nugget » Mon, Oct 03, 2016, 8:17 AM UTC

cushychicken wrote: post #5

Thinking democracy's success is tied to economic growth is a pretty dim worldview. I hope he's wrong about that.

I think he's referring broadly to the fact that startups are net job creators whereas established companies are net job destroyers. In other words, without a continual stream of new startups and entrepreneurs, there would be no job growth in the economy at all, in which case there'd likely be significant political instability.

Re: Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny

#33

Post by yrahmed » Mon, Oct 03, 2016, 8:20 AM UTC

I love Sam and just wish they would have used a different metaphor than "Manifest Destiny". Isn't manifest destiny what led to the genocide of native american populations?

Re: Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny

#34

Post by nugget » Mon, Oct 03, 2016, 8:23 AM UTC

bambax wrote: post #27

> At Graham’s table, he [Altman] and others discussed how to stop Donald Trump > If the pandemic does come, Altman’s backup plan is to fly with his friend Peter Thiel Is this true? How does it work? Thiel is a very vocal supporter of Trump and yet he's Altman's friend, a friend so close they would want to spend the rest of their life alone together, in the event of a catastrophe. Altman can certainly have all the fri…

Reagan said it best - "My 80% friend is not my 20% enemy."

Re: Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny

#35

Post by Hoasi » Mon, Oct 03, 2016, 8:24 AM UTC

yrahmed wrote: post #33

I love Sam and just wish they would have used a different metaphor than "Manifest Destiny". Isn't manifest destiny what led to the genocide of native american populations?

It's either an unfortunate or unflattering choice of words indeed.

Re: Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny

#36

Post by superplussed » Mon, Oct 03, 2016, 8:26 AM UTC

Artoemius wrote: post #13

> two tech billionaires have gone so far as to secretly engage scientists to work on breaking us out of the simulation I'm very curious who these two billionaires are and what exactly are they planning to do regarding this likely hopeless project.

One of them is obviously Musk. I could guess on the other, but it would only be based on the "wildness" of the other billionaire's imagination.

Re: Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny

#37

Post by anewhnaccount » Mon, Oct 03, 2016, 8:29 AM UTC

loeber wrote: post #10

This was a pretty good article -- certainly one of the better portraits I've read of SA. However, I usually see better writing in the New Yorker. Take "as a result, the once nerdy Y Combinator is now aggressively geeky." What the hell does that mean? (Nothing.) OTOH, a few memorable quotes: > Growth masks all problems. (Steve Huffman) > Despite having raised a robust $1.6 million after Demo Day, the founders were rid…

Nerds are obsessive about and skilled at one thing. Geeks are good at academics in general.

Re: Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny

#38

Post by TheSpiceIsLife » Mon, Oct 03, 2016, 8:35 AM UTC

bambax wrote: post #27

> At Graham’s table, he [Altman] and others discussed how to stop Donald Trump > If the pandemic does come, Altman’s backup plan is to fly with his friend Peter Thiel Is this true? How does it work? Thiel is a very vocal supporter of Trump and yet he's Altman's friend, a friend so close they would want to spend the rest of their life alone together, in the event of a catastrophe. Altman can certainly have all the fri…

Maybe Thiel is pulling a Pascal's Wager on Trump winning?

Re: Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny

#39

Post by MarkMc » Mon, Oct 03, 2016, 8:37 AM UTC

yrahmed wrote: post #33

I love Sam and just wish they would have used a different metaphor than "Manifest Destiny". Isn't manifest destiny what led to the genocide of native american populations?

That's iteresting. I was not aware of such a connotation - to me the term manifest destiny just meant "a destiny that can be clearly seen and that cannot be changed" [1]. Maybe the article's sub-editor was equally ignorant of 19th century US history.

[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/manifest%20destiny

Re: Sam Altman’s Manifest Destiny

#40

Post by apsec112 » Mon, Oct 03, 2016, 8:41 AM UTC

yrahmed wrote: post #33

I love Sam and just wish they would have used a different metaphor than "Manifest Destiny". Isn't manifest destiny what led to the genocide of native american populations?

I think the author was likely aware of that. YC wants, and will probably get, great power. But with great power comes great responsibility, and the potential to do harm as well as good. YC may succeed in "settling the West" (metaphorically), but at what price? That's one question it has to ask itself.