What I Didn't Say • Hacker News Board

Re: What I Didn't Say

#481

Post by Confusion » Tue, Dec 31, 2013, 9:55 AM UTC

mjburgess wrote: post #236

grellas wrote: post #229

A word about credibility. It comes from the Latin word credo , meaning "I trust." Its value exceeds that of money because it marks you as a person - as someone who is respected, who is trustworthy, and whom you would want to count as a friend. It marks you not as perfect but as special. It makes others ponder not so much that they did the last deal with you but that they would want to do the next deal too. Just as we…

Fine, he was mischaracterized and he replied. But jesus, > pg's response is actually priceless: it is like a soft-spoken witness upending a bullying lawyer who had just viciously attacked him, leaving the attacker reeling for all to see. What's with the almost cult-like reverence for this largely pseudo-intellectual entrepreneur?

It's interesting how people are attacking you for using 'pseudo-intellectual', while completely disregarding the 'cult-like reverence' bit. Your question is just as damning without the 'pseudo-intellectual' adjective, yet they are trying to change that to 'intellectual'.

This is a nice demonstration of 'framing': you frame pg as not deserving cult-like reverence because of his 'pseudo-intellectuality' and people respond by explaining how he is a true intellectual. Except that the arguments they give for that assertion are wrong, because that is not the assertion for which they have arguments. Their arguments actually explain why pg is revered and they are now contorted to be arguments that seem to be meant to explain why is he is cult-like revered for his intellectuality.

The result is that it seem like people are tacitly acknowledging the 'cult-like reverence' and are giving completely ridiculous arguments in support. The ridiculousness of those arguments is pointed out and we get into pointless discussions about what things mean, completely losing sight of the original point.

The bottom line is: pg is revered and reasons for that reverence are given. There is nothing cult-like about the reverence and the pseudo-intellectual part of his writings (I would use another word to describe that quality of the writings, but that is beyond my current argument), are not the reason for the reverence.

Re: What I Didn't Say

#482

Post by Uchikoma » Tue, Dec 31, 2013, 9:58 AM UTC

dkural wrote: post #150

Dear Paul, In your arc article: http://www.paulgraham.com/arc0.html you have the following few sentences: I realize that supporting only Ascii is uninternational to a point that's almost offensive, like calling Beijing Peking, or Roma Rome (hmm, wait a minute). But the kind of people who would be offended by that wouldn't like Arc anyway. Here's the issue: "the kind of people who would be offended by that" - I realiz…

I at least do not get angry about München being called Munich or Köln being called Cologne by occupation forces.

Re: What I Didn't Say

#483

Post by Gigablah » Tue, Dec 31, 2013, 9:58 AM UTC

ryguytilidie wrote: post #418

jsmthrowaway wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mean like the cult-like reverence for the pseudo-intellectual issues commentary on Twitter and Medium? The people who have less than a decade in the industry but are experts on compensation, ocracies, power dynamics, and psychology? The ones who work at Silicon Valley startups and lecture the entire industry about how things work, then surround themselves with like-minded people to have strength in numbers? You a…

I don't mean to get in the way of your hyperbole, but the person above you seemed to have no objection to "respecting" pg, he was taking issue with this: "pg's response is actually priceless: it is like a soft-spoken witness upending a bullying lawyer who had just viciously attacked him, leaving the attacker reeling for all to see." Which you don't mention at all in your response... "If you're under 40, I'm largely u…

> I don't mean to be harsh but this could be the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my life.

If that's the case, then you're a very sheltered person.

Lay off the hyperbole next time.

Re: What I Didn't Say

#484

Post by dave_sid » Tue, Dec 31, 2013, 10:27 AM UTC

jsmthrowaway wrote: post #284

mjburgess wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fine, he was mischaracterized and he replied. But jesus, > pg's response is actually priceless: it is like a soft-spoken witness upending a bullying lawyer who had just viciously attacked him, leaving the attacker reeling for all to see. What's with the almost cult-like reverence for this largely pseudo-intellectual entrepreneur?

You mean like the cult-like reverence for the pseudo-intellectual issues commentary on Twitter and Medium? The people who have less than a decade in the industry but are experts on compensation, ocracies, power dynamics, and psychology? The ones who work at Silicon Valley startups and lecture the entire industry about how things work, then surround themselves with like-minded people to have strength in numbers? You a…

"The ones who work at Silicon Valley startups and lecture the entire industry about how things work, then surround themselves with like-minded people to have strength in numbers" - Love this... this phenomenon sounds so familiar in my job I really think it should have a name. Anyone know if it has a name?

Re: What I Didn't Say

#485

Post by fit2rule » Tue, Dec 31, 2013, 10:28 AM UTC

Welcome to the ways of media. My only question is: Why is it such a surprise to you that this occurred, when in fact .. This editing/re-positioning is normal and accepted behaviour in media organizations, and has been for decades. You should have known that the reporter already had their story goal filed - embarrass the PG/VC crowd somehow - and then they went to you for your interview, farming whatever they could to build controversy.

Controversy is the product, not informed readers.

Re: What I Didn't Say

#486

Post by anuraj » Tue, Dec 31, 2013, 10:33 AM UTC

PG has put what he said in perspective - and everything boils down to quoting out of context. You want to be an A class founder - try hard - there is no shortcut even if you are a woman.

Re: What I Didn't Say

#487

Post by alan_cx » Tue, Dec 31, 2013, 10:35 AM UTC

atmosx wrote: post #92

It is true though, women are not hackers where I live. That doesn't mean that womens are out of skills, and PG explains really nice it's just how it is and it might change in the future. Given the way my mother cooks, I can state that when it comes to food she totally can be a called a hacker :-)

There are women hackers everywhere, just like men, just as many. Thing is, men don't notice, and women don't refer to it as hacking. They call it coping, or getting by.

Re: What I Didn't Say

#488

Post by Confusion » Tue, Dec 31, 2013, 10:37 AM UTC

seiji wrote: post #311

mattmanser wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

pg, a pseudo-intellectual? I'm frankly surprised you've been here for 2 years and never realised. You see the ycombinator in news.ycombinator.com? In this website? That's pg's company. Do you know what ycombinator is? That he started the seed funding movement? That he was blogging about hacking startups before people even really realised you could hack startups? Before lean startup existed? That he's written his own…

That's not cultish I am disinclined to acquiesce to your assertion. Listing accomplishments is okay. Listing accomplishments paired with fawning and idolatry is cultish.

If I list the accomplishments of the current Pope and explain how great I think he is doing and has always been doing and how he is just an awesome person, then I'm being cultish... even though I'm an atheist?

Your argument does not make any sense at all. It's a string of words ordered to seems to mean something rational, while it is in fact complete gibberish. Listing accomplishments paired with fawning and idolatry is ... exactly that. Reverence, not cultism.

Re: What I Didn't Say

#489

Post by vvvVVVvvv » Tue, Dec 31, 2013, 10:42 AM UTC

mattmanser wrote: post #301

mjburgess wrote: post #236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fine, he was mischaracterized and he replied. But jesus, > pg's response is actually priceless: it is like a soft-spoken witness upending a bullying lawyer who had just viciously attacked him, leaving the attacker reeling for all to see. What's with the almost cult-like reverence for this largely pseudo-intellectual entrepreneur?

pg, a pseudo-intellectual? I'm frankly surprised you've been here for 2 years and never realised. You see the ycombinator in news.ycombinator.com? In this website? That's pg's company. Do you know what ycombinator is? That he started the seed funding movement? That he was blogging about hacking startups before people even really realised you could hack startups? Before lean startup existed? That he's written his own…

Hacking startups ? Is there such a thing ?

Re: What I Didn't Say

#490

Post by nice1 » Tue, Dec 31, 2013, 10:45 AM UTC

But what if PG had actually said what was attributed to him? It goes against some current prejudice, but it is a view that someone would be entitled to hold, given how few women hackers actually exist. It is simply not known why this is (or why there are relatively few women in some other fields such as physics or math). The simplest hypothesis - that it is of biological origin - has simply not been refuted by any evidence. Why should anyone hound people who approach this issue in a rational way (rather than ideologically)?