Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Linus Torvalds: Successful projects are 99% perspiration and 1% innovation

theregister.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 180 posts

Re: Linus Torvalds: Successful projects are 99% perspiration and 1% innovation

#11

Post by akappa »

gue5t wrote: post #8
anjc wrote: post #7

Someone who should be a multi billionaire says to ignore marketing and sales and just work. Edit: I'm not saying that he WANTS to be a multi billionaire, but the fact is that he has attained disproportionately less value than he's created. By rights he should be one of the wealthiest people in tech. He might have 150m but that's peanuts given what he's done. The wealth of the guy who made Instagram dwarfs that. The g…

If you think money is important you aren't a hacker.

An ironic thing to say in a seed accelerator-owned website.

Re: Linus Torvalds: Successful projects are 99% perspiration and 1% innovation

#12

Post by VeejayRampay »

anjc wrote: post #7

Someone who should be a multi billionaire says to ignore marketing and sales and just work. Edit: I'm not saying that he WANTS to be a multi billionaire, but the fact is that he has attained disproportionately less value than he's created. By rights he should be one of the wealthiest people in tech. He might have 150m but that's peanuts given what he's done. The wealth of the guy who made Instagram dwarfs that. The g…

You somehow make it unclear whether or not Linus not being a multi-billionaire is a good or a bad thing.

Are you saying that because he didn't try to monetize his code as much as he could have, it somehow makes his opinion less valuable?

The man created Linux AND git, it doesn't matter whether or not he's got billions. He's got something more important than that, a legacy.

Re: Linus Torvalds: Successful projects are 99% perspiration and 1% innovation

#13

Post by richmarr »

theprotocol wrote: post #4

It takes all kinds. I say this seriously and without intent to offend: it's good to have a grouchy curmudgeon in the industry to keep us grounded.

Thank goodness for that one specific grouchy curmudgeon, otherwise there would be no grouchy curmudgeons and we'd all live like Eloi and waste the days away braiding each others hair :)

Re: Linus Torvalds: Successful projects are 99% perspiration and 1% innovation

#14

Post by avip »

whsheet wrote: post #6

I like the header and experimented with current trends: - Talk of AI is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of Machine Learning is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of VR is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of Smart Contracts is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of IoT is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. Not sure if I entirely agree with him but there's s…

Blockchain is missing.

Re: Linus Torvalds: Successful projects are 99% perspiration and 1% innovation

#15

Post by laser »

gue5t wrote: post #8
anjc wrote: post #7

Someone who should be a multi billionaire says to ignore marketing and sales and just work. Edit: I'm not saying that he WANTS to be a multi billionaire, but the fact is that he has attained disproportionately less value than he's created. By rights he should be one of the wealthiest people in tech. He might have 150m but that's peanuts given what he's done. The wealth of the guy who made Instagram dwarfs that. The g…

If you think money is important you aren't a hacker.

Money is a tool in a hacker's kit like any other. If you don't recognize the importance of useful tools you aren't a hacker ;)

Re: Linus Torvalds: Successful projects are 99% perspiration and 1% innovation

#16

Post by erdojo »

whsheet wrote: post #6

I like the header and experimented with current trends: - Talk of AI is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of Machine Learning is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of VR is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of Smart Contracts is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of IoT is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. Not sure if I entirely agree with him but there's s…

These trends are either evolutionary or entirely predictable. Several so predictable that they first made their debut in movies long before most of us were born.

I think this is what he means. Working on any of these ideas doesn't make you an innovator. You might do something in a slightly better or more novel way, but we aren't inventing crap.

And if you don't execute on your slightly better path, you'll still be beat by someone with a slightly worse idea who buckled down and delivered.

Silicon Valley is littered with companies with better ideas and better base products that lost.

Re: Linus Torvalds: Successful projects are 99% perspiration and 1% innovation

#17

Post by indexerror »

avip wrote: post #14
whsheet wrote: post #6

I like the header and experimented with current trends: - Talk of AI is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of Machine Learning is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of VR is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of Smart Contracts is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of IoT is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. Not sure if I entirely agree with him but there's s…

Blockchain is missing.

Smart Contracts kind of covers it.

Re: Linus Torvalds: Successful projects are 99% perspiration and 1% innovation

#18

Post by daemin »

avip wrote: post #14
whsheet wrote: post #6

I like the header and experimented with current trends: - Talk of AI is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of Machine Learning is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of VR is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of Smart Contracts is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of IoT is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. Not sure if I entirely agree with him but there's s…

Blockchain is missing.

I assumed that Smart Contracts are built on top of the Blockchain.

Re: Linus Torvalds: Successful projects are 99% perspiration and 1% innovation

#19

Post by wingerlang »

VeejayRampay wrote: post #12
anjc wrote: post #7

Someone who should be a multi billionaire says to ignore marketing and sales and just work. Edit: I'm not saying that he WANTS to be a multi billionaire, but the fact is that he has attained disproportionately less value than he's created. By rights he should be one of the wealthiest people in tech. He might have 150m but that's peanuts given what he's done. The wealth of the guy who made Instagram dwarfs that. The g…

You somehow make it unclear whether or not Linus not being a multi-billionaire is a good or a bad thing. Are you saying that because he didn't try to monetize his code as much as he could have, it somehow makes his opinion less valuable? The man created Linux AND git, it doesn't matter whether or not he's got billions. He's got something more important than that, a legacy.

> He's got something more important than that, a legacy.

Why is that important?

Re: Linus Torvalds: Successful projects are 99% perspiration and 1% innovation

#20

Post by richmarr »

whsheet wrote: post #6

I like the header and experimented with current trends: - Talk of AI is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of Machine Learning is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of VR is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of Smart Contracts is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. - Talk of IoT is bullshit. Shut up and get the work done. Not sure if I entirely agree with him but there's s…

> ...but there's some truth.

But what truth though, can you be specific?

Talking about technology is necessary to attract people to our own work and find new ideas ourselves. Open source, vendor, Saas. All get value out of conferences, meetups, articles, etc.

Sure, not every word adds value, but the same could be said of code.

Post reply on HN