Paul Graham: SOPA Supporting Companies No Longer Allowed At YC Demo Day

Post by stingraycharles » Thu, Dec 22, 2011, 10:31 PM UTC

idiot900 wrote: post #69

philh wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen the argument: if someone is so clueless about rationality as to be religious, how could they make a good scientist? And the "answer" is: nevertheless, there exist religious people who do good science. So I'm not convinced by the argument here. It makes too many unstated assumptions. I support this boycott, and this argument might make good rhetoric, but I wouldn't use it directly to evaluate investors.

There are, by definition, no good scientists who allow their religious beliefs to dictate their science. Some religious people are able to separate their personal irrationality from their professional rationality, and that's just fine.

Post by [deleted] » Thu, Dec 22, 2011, 10:32 PM UTC

idiot900 wrote: post #69

philh wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen the argument: if someone is so clueless about rationality as to be religious, how could they make a good scientist? And the "answer" is: nevertheless, there exist religious people who do good science. So I'm not convinced by the argument here. It makes too many unstated assumptions. I support this boycott, and this argument might make good rhetoric, but I wouldn't use it directly to evaluate investors.

There are, by definition, no good scientists who allow their religious beliefs to dictate their science. Some religious people are able to separate their personal irrationality from their professional rationality, and that's just fine.

Post by mark_up » Thu, Dec 22, 2011, 10:33 PM UTC

DavidSJ wrote: post #72

I'm virulently anti-SOPA myself, have signed all the petitions, etc. But am I the only one made uncomfortable by a blacklist of people who have expressed certain opinions?

Post by philh » Thu, Dec 22, 2011, 10:36 PM UTC

marshray wrote: post #65

philh wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've seen the argument: if someone is so clueless about rationality as to be religious, how could they make a good scientist? And the "answer" is: nevertheless, there exist religious people who do good science. So I'm not convinced by the argument here. It makes too many unstated assumptions. I support this boycott, and this argument might make good rhetoric, but I wouldn't use it directly to evaluate investors.

But we're not talking about just any odd collection of investors. As I understand it, Y Combinator specifically relates to Internet-centric business models. SOPA seems wholly destructive to this sector of the economy.

Post by waqf » Thu, Dec 22, 2011, 10:36 PM UTC

darkane wrote: post #42

mrlase wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some of these companies are just so random... Why, for instance, does Adidas, L'Oreal, American Apparel, Rite Aid, Pfizer, etc. even have a stance on SOPA? I was rather disconcerted to see that Elsevier was on this list :(

The push for these bills really started years ago when pharma companies were desperately trying to prevent the purchase of drugs from Canada and other countries. The entertainment aspect is rather new and actually somewhat secondary.