Paul Graham is a flash light that exposes the many hidden things. After reading his DH essay for example, I see more how so many people use garbage arguments to force their point.
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#22Even though the question (imho) is a bit awkward it is interesting. And since there is clearly a following around PG it is a valid question to ask. I think the reason is that he resonates well with a large group of people (hackers) that are smart and able, but are often very introvert. They often don't get the credit they deserve, are bored with the typical business and corporate stuff that they find simple and shall…
yes, the cult of paul graham reminds me of people who worship ayn rand. her writing gives people a sense of power, that they can transform the world with their will & determination. paul graham's writings/personal story empower in the same way. although, like rand, it's unclear whether the characters in their stories have real world referents or portray a world closer to (an empowering) fantasy than reality. (this po…
Smalter that's a great point, but with PG it's not just his writing and personal story that empower people, it's the faith he shows in them with his investments (both monetary and intangible).
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#23Well, everyone is special, Tim.
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#24I think the main reason is that the hackers are an important part of modern society but they lack people that explain their culture: there is in the early writings of Graham something political about the fact that hackers deserve a more central role in our society. He is a smart guy that was able to put many things in the hacker culture in simple words. I think that lately Graham lost his role but in some way he shown that hackers need to express more their opinions and their value and other writers will follow.
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#25Even though the question (imho) is a bit awkward it is interesting. And since there is clearly a following around PG it is a valid question to ask. I think the reason is that he resonates well with a large group of people (hackers) that are smart and able, but are often very introvert. They often don't get the credit they deserve, are bored with the typical business and corporate stuff that they find simple and shall…
yes, the cult of paul graham reminds me of people who worship ayn rand. her writing gives people a sense of power, that they can transform the world with their will & determination. paul graham's writings/personal story empower in the same way. although, like rand, it's unclear whether the characters in their stories have real world referents or portray a world closer to (an empowering) fantasy than reality. (this po…
Referring to people who follow PG's writing and the discussions on this site as a cult is not correct, and frankly I'm getting tired of the moniker. If Paul were to write something bogus, the people here would be the first to pick it apart.
As with any reasonably well-known person, there are followers that adhere to PG too religiously. I can't speak for these people except to say that they are the minority on HN.
Paul's writings are inspiring in the same way as Rand. But they are different because they span the gap between fantasy and reality. His main message of "Make something users want" couldn't be more pragmatic.
Certainly some essays are more speculative and philosophical than others, but most tend to be focused on one idea: How to do something that is exciting and meaningful to you and fit that into how the actual world works; spanning the gap between your personal fantasy job and the reality of making that into a business.
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#26Even though the question (imho) is a bit awkward it is interesting. And since there is clearly a following around PG it is a valid question to ask. I think the reason is that he resonates well with a large group of people (hackers) that are smart and able, but are often very introvert. They often don't get the credit they deserve, are bored with the typical business and corporate stuff that they find simple and shall…
yes, the cult of paul graham reminds me of people who worship ayn rand. her writing gives people a sense of power, that they can transform the world with their will & determination. paul graham's writings/personal story empower in the same way. although, like rand, it's unclear whether the characters in their stories have real world referents or portray a world closer to (an empowering) fantasy than reality. (this po…
I think you may have a point! Gaah!
I still have hope that this will never develop into a full-blown personality cult, partly because people keep posting reminders that PG is not perfect and PG is not always right, especially whenever anyone suggests that PG is right because he's PG. Also, people who disagree with PG here are not shouted down.
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#27Well, everyone is special, Tim.
Actually 99% of people are average and lack any kind of interesting thinking and behavior ;)
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#30It's creepy that this discussion was voted to the top. I don't see the value in his question.
then why are you commenting?