31–40 of 91 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hey look, more stereotypes!
This isn't Reddit, if you have nothing of value to add then don't post. Yes, this entire post is about generalizations. I figured that was sort of implied.
Looks more of a "This is the bus/train route I used to take and these are types of folks, places I saw." Very simplistic view of both cities.
I thought the whole point of a blog was personal experience? This is what the author saw and therefore, this is what he can express with honesty.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This isn't Reddit, if you have nothing of value to add then don't post. Yes, this entire post is about generalizations. I figured that was sort of implied.
I criticized the article for containing nothing but stereotypes, and you replied with more of the same stereotypes.
Obviously, we're dealing with stereotypes. If you're this repulsed by it, I'm very interested in knowing how you'd dissect "culture" without resorting to generalizations?
I grew up in the San Francisco area, and I know a lot of people who are a much closer match to what the article describes as London-type people: they work for large, established companies for a regular paycheck, they have been here a long time, they are embedded in local professional networks, etc. Some of them even have to wear suits to work! I guess the author never heard of the established, large companies in the…
I've never lived in SF or Europe, but as an American who's lived in the suburbs of DC and now NYC, it seems to me that Americans in general are less internationally conscious than Europeans. Most Europeans I know speak 3+ languages, have studied and lived abroad, and have traveled extensively. Americans in my experience tend to be more insular and less cultured. And it makes sense because Europe has so many different…
It makes a lot of sense to me though. America, like Europe, has a huge amount of diversity in things to do and places to go. It would take a lifetime to see everything worth seeing in America and I can see why the effort (and cost) of going to say Europe or Asia wouldn't seem appealing when you can go see something domestically like the Grand Canyon, the museums in DC or any of the numerous different cities/states.
So Americans don't have as much reason to travel I think and given that the American economy is so enormous and the country is physically isolated from the rest of the world, ultimately, the state of the world outside America doesn't impact an American as much as it does a European.
This isn't to say that this is right but I think this at least somewhat provides some reason for the way things are.
I now feel it's largely dominated by arrogance. Everyone wants to "change the world" but what they really want is fame and fortune. A San Francisco startup is hilariously not practical. The article cites working hard and living frugally, but startup culture is the opposite. It's ludicrous extremes like having pingpong tables and games and coffee baristas at work. This is not living "frugally."
Worse though, is the idea that everyone is a temporarily embarrassed Steve Jobs who is good at everything, even the things they are completely ignorant of. The disdain for areas they have no expertise in is astonishing.
Meanwhile, the engine fuelling all this, the VCs, have their own agenda, namely themselves. They feed the culture because it benefits them. Most will fail, most people are not Steve Jobs. But the VCs just need one or two successes to make it worth it. It's in their interest to have every possible upcoming company under their thumb. The VCs message is always clear: you won't make it without them. You won't make it without being in Silicon Valley. It's impossible.
It's all very off putting and not at all like the glittering fake picture that the SV culture likes to paint.
I grew up in the San Francisco area, and I know a lot of people who are a much closer match to what the article describes as London-type people: they work for large, established companies for a regular paycheck, they have been here a long time, they are embedded in local professional networks, etc. Some of them even have to wear suits to work! I guess the author never heard of the established, large companies in the…
I've never lived in SF or Europe, but as an American who's lived in the suburbs of DC and now NYC, it seems to me that Americans in general are less internationally conscious than Europeans. Most Europeans I know speak 3+ languages, have studied and lived abroad, and have traveled extensively. Americans in my experience tend to be more insular and less cultured. And it makes sense because Europe has so many different…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hey look, more stereotypes!
This isn't Reddit, if you have nothing of value to add then don't post. Yes, this entire post is about generalizations. I figured that was sort of implied.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I criticized the article for containing nothing but stereotypes, and you replied with more of the same stereotypes.
And yet, your post added even less. He clearly mentions that Europeans he knows are more cultured than the typical American he deals with (caveat: I lived in DC and now live in Geneva, and this is my experience as well). Obviously, we're dealing with stereotypes. If you're this repulsed by it, I'm very interested in knowing how you'd dissect "culture" without resorting to generalizations?