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Y Combinator Cuts Ties with Peter Thiel After Ending Part-Time Partner Program

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Re: Y Combinator Cuts Ties with Peter Thiel After Ending Part-Time Partner Program

#91

Post by briandear »

tensor wrote: post #75
samsonradu wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've watched more than a dozen talks from him and the education topic was one of the most interesting points. Care to elaborate what you mean by hostile?

He's of the opinion that university is a waste of time and has gone so far as paying people to drop out. This isn't for people who are going into trades and might strictly not need a university education, but for people who he thinks should go on to found technical, medical, and engineering startups. I'm of the opinion that university is good for everyone, even people who don't strictly need it for their jobs. Democr…

Were Zuckerberg, Jobs, Gates and any number of drop-out founders uneducated and unable to critically think? Of course not. If anyone thinks a university degree means you are educated, you haven’t been in the world very much. My little company deals with mental health professionals with masters and PhD, yet some of them can barely write a coherent sentence (spend five minutes in our support ticket system and you’d be amazed.)

The sooner we detach a degree from the concept of “being educated,” the better.

College degree != educated

Many educated people have a college degree but they aren’t educated by virtue of that degree. My dad isn’t a high school graduate who was a precision machinist who built high tolerance devices for NASA. He worked with Dr. Smalley at Rice University and built some incredible things — stuff that led to Smalley’s Nobel prize. He’s hardly uneducated and unable to think critically.

Education IS important, but college is just a means, not an end.

Re: Y Combinator Cuts Ties with Peter Thiel After Ending Part-Time Partner Program

#93

Post by swang »

evangelista wrote: post #42

I am still really puzzled over exactly why Peter Thiel so so hated. I believe the level of hatred is completely unwarranted. From my understanding, it boils down to this: - He is remotely associated with Trump - He helped take down Gawker - ....something something something...but he backed Trump! For the Gawker part: Gawker outed him without his permission. Outing a gay man is something the tabloids used to do in the…

He is a hypocrite.

Libertarian, on the Committee for Protection of Journalists, but hey I don't like what you said about me. I'm going to lie in wait for 8-9 years and then secretly fund a lawsuit against you with a possibly winnable case. (PS: I don't want to see a Hulk Hogan sextape anymore than Hulk Hogan wanted it released)

Gay, but will willingly support candidates who are against gay people: Ted Cruz, Donald Trump. Whomever will push his agenda.

Also, Thiel didn't hide that he was gay, he was only "in the closet" when it affected him financially. Despite what you wrote, the tech industry is not very liberal. SF is liberal, and a lot of tech companies are in SF but a lot of VC money is not in SF, and most VCs I don't think most people would consider very liberal.

And his hedge was Trump wasn't as bad as he was going to be during the campaign, that it was all theater. But he's rich so none of that matters to him if he's wrong. Worst case scenario is he flies to New Zealand to survive any fallout.

Re: Y Combinator Cuts Ties with Peter Thiel After Ending Part-Time Partner Program

#94

Post by xupybd »

bbctol wrote: post #63
evangelista wrote: post #42

I am still really puzzled over exactly why Peter Thiel so so hated. I believe the level of hatred is completely unwarranted. From my understanding, it boils down to this: - He is remotely associated with Trump - He helped take down Gawker - ....something something something...but he backed Trump! For the Gawker part: Gawker outed him without his permission. Outing a gay man is something the tabloids used to do in the…

I mean I hate him because I read Zero to One and noticed his thoughts on monopoly are insane, but sure, you can assume people aren't doing independent thinking and research while in turn not doing independent thinking and research.

Does that warrant hate? I hate monopolies, but only disagree with people that would support them. I think we need to learn to agree to disagree more.

Re: Y Combinator Cuts Ties with Peter Thiel After Ending Part-Time Partner Program

#95

Post by samsonradu »

tensor wrote: post #75
samsonradu wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've watched more than a dozen talks from him and the education topic was one of the most interesting points. Care to elaborate what you mean by hostile?

He's of the opinion that university is a waste of time and has gone so far as paying people to drop out. This isn't for people who are going into trades and might strictly not need a university education, but for people who he thinks should go on to found technical, medical, and engineering startups. I'm of the opinion that university is good for everyone, even people who don't strictly need it for their jobs. Democr…

> He's of the opinion that university is a waste of time

What I understood was more like it's a waste of money, considering the outrageous price you pay for it and it's ROI.

Of course university is good for everyone, but if it comes along with a huge debt? He blamed the education system for bubbling up the prices and not providing enough value, to the point alternatives should be considered.

I really liked his point that people should stop believing university is all you need to be successful in life and blindly throw money at them because they have no better idea.

Re: Y Combinator Cuts Ties with Peter Thiel After Ending Part-Time Partner Program

#96

Post by shadowtree »

evangelista wrote: post #42

I am still really puzzled over exactly why Peter Thiel so so hated. I believe the level of hatred is completely unwarranted. From my understanding, it boils down to this: - He is remotely associated with Trump - He helped take down Gawker - ....something something something...but he backed Trump! For the Gawker part: Gawker outed him without his permission. Outing a gay man is something the tabloids used to do in the…

He also wrote a libertarian pamphlet where he called women's right to vote a blocker of a truly capitalist democracy.

Never backed down that claim.

Here is the pamphlet, from 2009: https://www.cato-unbound.org/2009/04/13/peter-thiel/educatio...

Quote: "Since 1920, the vast increase in welfare beneficiaries and the extension of the franchise to women — two constituencies that are notoriously tough for libertarians — have rendered the notion of “capitalist democracy” into an oxymoron."

If that is ok for you - ok.

Personally, I find this a very immature and troubling world view. Should tell the CEO of StitchFix that she is preventing capitalism with her IPO.

Re: Y Combinator Cuts Ties with Peter Thiel After Ending Part-Time Partner Program

#97

Post by Amygaz »

bbctol wrote: post #63
evangelista wrote: post #42

I am still really puzzled over exactly why Peter Thiel so so hated. I believe the level of hatred is completely unwarranted. From my understanding, it boils down to this: - He is remotely associated with Trump - He helped take down Gawker - ....something something something...but he backed Trump! For the Gawker part: Gawker outed him without his permission. Outing a gay man is something the tabloids used to do in the…

I mean I hate him because I read Zero to One and noticed his thoughts on monopoly are insane, but sure, you can assume people aren't doing independent thinking and research while in turn not doing independent thinking and research.

I liked the 1st part of the book, the point that making something happens is more valuable to society than incremental update. To me that's the only definition of innovation and disruption. However, the rest is where is narcissism shines.

But that seems to be a common pattern for narcissist writing self-help books: the first conceptual part can be useful, insightful and reasonable; the rest just shows how their general lack of creativity, of knowing how to actually do something, self gratification, and 'the end justifies the means', irresistibly and invariably takes over their mind... sad...

Re: Y Combinator Cuts Ties with Peter Thiel After Ending Part-Time Partner Program

#98

Post by tetraca »

dionidium wrote: post #56
kenneth wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How can you say "can we save ourselves a really long, pointless political argument" and end your post with a divisive political opinion (that you think people with opposing viewpoints should be silenced)? You're literally inviting the debate that you're calling long and pointless. Or perhaps you just want to only share your opinion without others having the same opportunity, so you can have the last word? Personally,…

It's not enough to say your opponents are dumb and wrong, any more. No, they're so dumb and so wrong that a conversation is pointless . Nobody ever changes their mind on anything, anyway, right? This is a repugnant, defeatist, and just plain wrong view of the world. And it's held almost universally by the thought leaders of this forum.

It's essentially pointless because people get too emotionally involved in ideological arguments on the internet, causing themselves to feel attacked when people disagree with them. When this happens, people shut down, stop thinking critically, only acknowledging what they already agree with. The debate then either devolves as people dig their heels in and begin name-calling, or abruptly stops as one side simply refuses to cede a point. When there is a ratings system attached to the thread, the side which agrees with the majority ideology will inevitably "win" as other debaters come out of the woodwork to downvote and post 50 variations of the same well-tread rebuttal. I've seen the pattern so much that I'm not sure I can consider even half those sorts of discussions as productive. It mostly doesn't matter what ideology is the "generally accepted" side, and which one is the "outsider"; the wooden debate pattern will be present. I think some people are just tired of seeing two people talking past each other just to puff chests.

Re: Y Combinator Cuts Ties with Peter Thiel After Ending Part-Time Partner Program

#99

Post by tomhoward »

tensor wrote: post #75
samsonradu wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've watched more than a dozen talks from him and the education topic was one of the most interesting points. Care to elaborate what you mean by hostile?

He's of the opinion that university is a waste of time and has gone so far as paying people to drop out. This isn't for people who are going into trades and might strictly not need a university education, but for people who he thinks should go on to found technical, medical, and engineering startups. I'm of the opinion that university is good for everyone, even people who don't strictly need it for their jobs. Democr…

I'm of the opinion that university is good for everyone

At what cost?

Thiel never says "university is a waste of time", his position is that it's often not a sound investment of time and money, which is uncontroversial, given the number of graduates who incur 6-figure debts and find themselves to be unemployable.

In your judgement, what is the threshold (in hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars of inescapable debt) at which university ceases to be "good for everybody"?

Re: Y Combinator Cuts Ties with Peter Thiel After Ending Part-Time Partner Program

#100

Post by mrgordon »

swang wrote: post #93
evangelista wrote: post #42

I am still really puzzled over exactly why Peter Thiel so so hated. I believe the level of hatred is completely unwarranted. From my understanding, it boils down to this: - He is remotely associated with Trump - He helped take down Gawker - ....something something something...but he backed Trump! For the Gawker part: Gawker outed him without his permission. Outing a gay man is something the tabloids used to do in the…

He is a hypocrite. Libertarian, on the Committee for Protection of Journalists, but hey I don't like what you said about me. I'm going to lie in wait for 8-9 years and then secretly fund a lawsuit against you with a possibly winnable case. (PS: I don't want to see a Hulk Hogan sextape anymore than Hulk Hogan wanted it released) Gay, but will willingly support candidates who are against gay people: Ted Cruz, Donald Tr…

In case it wasn't clear, swang means this literally. Peter Thiel used his billions to get New Zealand citizenship after spending only twelve days there so he has a backup plan after our healthcare, schools, transportation networks, etc. are gutted
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