Jobs: Make it work with one button
“OK, but there are two rules…”
31–40 of 75 posts
Re: “OK, but there are two rules…”
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
Apple also isn't looking to get bought out by Google for $60M. They're in it for the long haul, and they're looking to be big players. Most of the small startups I see these days, unfortunately including YC startups, seem to be launching with the idea of doing one cool thing, having no idea how to make money in so doing, and hoping to get bought out in a talent acquisition by Google or Facebook before they run out of…
Paul Graham even seems to advocate the 2-3 years instead of 20. From http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html "Economically, you can think of a startup as a way to compress your whole working life into a few years. Instead of working at a low intensity for forty years, you work as hard as you possibly can for four. This pays especially well in technology, where you earn a premium for working fast." It's a motivation for a s…
I had that essay in mind when I wrote that comment. I agree with Paul, to an extent. It certainly does make economic sense both for individual founders, and for angels, to view entrepreneurship as a ~3 year endeavour, with the exit strategy being acquisition or bust. I don't, however, think it's ideal for the market as a whole. Google is only around because Yahoo refused to give Larry and Sergey $1M for it, so they decided to see what they could make of the endeavour. Yet Google's impact on the tech world and marketplace has been staggering. What would have happened if eBay, Google, Paypal, Amazon, and Youtube had all sold to Microsoft?
I don't have a problem with people launching websites with the intention of selling them in a couple years, but I do dislike the notion that that is what constitutes successful entrepreneurship. The tech world needs its Googles and Facebooks, which means we need entrepreneurs with vision who are willing to stick with it for the long haul.
Re: “OK, but there are two rules…”
#33I guess the analogy with mobile Apple products is obvious (which I presume is why this post is on HN at all), but in hindsight I just realized that I have been following a similar strategy in my personal life all along (never let myself play video games or really watch TV except movies).
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see how not playing video games or watching TV is a creative constraint. I can see it helping with time management, but I don't see how it directly helps you improvise. Also, TV is in a golden age right now. If I had to pick, I'd take the quality episodic TV shows coming out of HBO, Showtime and the like over movies anyday.
Re: “OK, but there are two rules…”
#34Build a CMS, no forms allowed.
Re: “OK, but there are two rules…”
#35I guess the analogy with mobile Apple products is obvious (which I presume is why this post is on HN at all), but in hindsight I just realized that I have been following a similar strategy in my personal life all along (never let myself play video games or really watch TV except movies).
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see how not playing video games or watching TV is a creative constraint. I can see it helping with time management, but I don't see how it directly helps you improvise. Also, TV is in a golden age right now. If I had to pick, I'd take the quality episodic TV shows coming out of HBO, Showtime and the like over movies anyday.
> I don't see how [not playing video games or watching TV] directly helps you improvise
Let's just say it makes me less immersed in today's era when it comes to matters of visual taste/preference, which in turn lets me make creative choices that some people may find surprising (or at least that's what my self-serving bias tells me).
I do understand the importance of keeping up with trends though, but I restrict my trend-seeking to people who I personally perceive as trendy (and which tend not to be on TV).
Re: “OK, but there are two rules…”
#36Meh.
Be dismissive without rolling your eyes...
Ready? Go!
Re: “OK, but there are two rules…”
#37I think it's worth mentioning that in this case, the restrictions weren't arbitrary. There was insight in the two rules- designed perhaps to stay true to Makers (the "best bourbon") and still create something truly innovate and distinct.
Arbitrary restrictions can also inspire creativity and create focus (timeboxing, learning to say no), but creating restrictions can be an opportunity to frame the problem in a purposeful way.
Re: “OK, but there are two rules…”
#38Enhancing creativity through artificial restriction is an old idea. The "Oulipo" movement in literature tried things like removing random letters from writing (try writing a story without using "e"), or transposing random words. When you put in restrictions like this, you get a much higher variance in outcome, with the bad being truly awful and gimmicky but the good occasionally being sublime.
Re: “OK, but there are two rules…”
#39Mark Rosewater, the lead developer of the card game Magic:The Gathering constantly talks about how restriction breeds creativity.
"The explanation he gives is simple: when someone is building a house, the more tools they have, the better off they are. But when someone is looking for something, the more space they have to explore, the worse off they are"
from:
http://lesswrong.com/lw/3ir/narrow_your_answer_space/
and the original article (on Magic:The Gathering design, but with useful information - scroll down to the "Design Tool #1: Restrictions" header where he discusses this point):
http://www.wizards.com/magic/magazine/Article.aspx?x=mtg/dai...
Re: “OK, but there are two rules…”
#40Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't see how not playing video games or watching TV is a creative constraint. I can see it helping with time management, but I don't see how it directly helps you improvise. Also, TV is in a golden age right now. If I had to pick, I'd take the quality episodic TV shows coming out of HBO, Showtime and the like over movies anyday.
> I don't see how [not playing video games or watching TV] directly helps you improvise Let's just say it makes me less immersed in today's era when it comes to matters of visual taste/preference, which in turn lets me make creative choices that some people may find surprising (or at least that's what my self-serving bias tells me). I do understand the importance of keeping up with trends though, but I restrict my tr…
I can see that to a degree, though I think some video games (especially indie ones) could be inspiring as well. But I appreciate that we all have our chosen muses.