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How did you answer the final application question?!

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Re: How did you answer the final application question?!

#3
post #2

Kevin has discovered the universe's greatest civilization: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Attractor

"I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day." - Van Gogh

Images of galaxy clusters always sadden me. Our insignificance in the Universe is laughable.

Re: How did you answer the final application question?!

#5
I talked about choice and the sensory overload it often causes. We have reached a point where the only type of cell phones we can't buy anymore are cell phones that are just a phone. The suppliers, however, cannot be held responsible for this. Afterall, they are simply trying to satisfy the users constant demands. So eventhough this mental toxin often makes us feel miserable, it is preferable by consumers over having less choice. And this fascinates me.

I am contemplating writing an article about choice and relating it to Web 2.0. Here is an excerpt from another article I wrote that relates to this: "...if a choice is present, perfectionists spend a ridiculous amount of time over simple decisions. Such is the mentality governing users of today's social networks. We are caught up in a web of choices; indeed, the core reason behind MySpace's success is that users rule. MySpace might suck, but it gives its users ample of choice. Once a user has invested an hour of their life customizing their profile, they are not likely to leave the site anytime soon."

Re: How did you answer the final application question?!

#7
post #4

I actually care a lot about the last question. It often makes me give an application a second look. I don't think the other 3 YC partners care very much about it though.

I am way more curious to hear about the best answers to this one you've heard from this or previous rounds. Someone should remember to ask again after the 10th.

Re: How did you answer the final application question?!

#8
I thought that "discovered" was very ambiguous (was it intentional?)

I wanted to write something offbeat, like, "The Dawson City mayor stole cable TV for all its citizens in 1996" or "DNA-polymerase can synthesize 10000 nucleotides/second" (I can't find the actual number on the net, but it's crazy high)

I solved the problem by not applying at all.

Re: How did you answer the final application question?!

#9
There is great knowledge in the classics. Patterns of human nature always repeat. WhenI know the mind of the other person, I know who their allies are. I also know their team and the position they stand in. Now take this point of view and apply it in your software app. It is a paraphrase from Sunzi AoW Chapter 3.

Re: How did you answer the final application question?!

#10

I talked about choice and the sensory overload it often causes. We have reached a point where the only type of cell phones we can't buy anymore are cell phones that are just a phone. The suppliers, however, cannot be held responsible for this. Afterall, they are simply trying to satisfy the users constant demands. So eventhough this mental toxin often makes us feel miserable, it is preferable by consumers over having…

http://www.jitterbug.com/

Jitterbug phones is a MVNO with a custom-made Samsung phone that is really just a phone.

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