[endswapper]

Don't listen to this.

If we follow this author's lead then AI will turn on us and that will be the end.

This is garbage: "Not only your new technologies, but your cool new ideas are also probably very short-lived. Sure, you might have millions of users already, and even CNN is discussing your innovation. But in 5 years from now, I doubt if someone still remembers you. Do you remember which were most popular apps 5 years back?"

New ideas, even the ones that go away in five years move us forward.

I say collaborate, produce voluminous tech products, increase the range of options, perspectives and opportunity in any discipline, tech, whatever.

If you focus on the money, fame, or don't value that which you are passionate about you are missing the real secret in life. Fulfillment is found in serving, in being of value to others. I think it's why Hacker News exists. Yes, there are benefits that go along with it, but the reasons to do it and maintain it is passion and the fulfillment of being of value to others. Pardon if this sounds too preachy or self-righteous. I will post a public apology if an HN founder explains it was profit motivated.

[data37]

You think YC Combinator is not motivated by money or fame? Then what is it? What drives it? Desire for anonymous charity?

The point of that blog was to give a down-to-earth assessment of life's choices and guidance on gambling on those choices. Do you know how big is the percentage of youngsters slogging in those exciting startups due to lack of access to truths and guidance? Do you still believe the work-life in these startups is the life to dream of?

We are talking about an average and most common startups which keep trumpeting forever to its employees about the bright future just around the corner. Not the already-successful ones.

[endswapper]

First, it is funny that you mention anonymous charity in the first line of your post because I think they provide a vehicle for that - Watsi.org. By the way, Watsi is by far my favorite startup to come out of YC. Go Watsi!

Next, my point was about Hacker News and not Y Combinator. But let's say the two are indivisible, I don't need to nit-pick.

I absolutely believe there are a variety of motivations for YC (personally, I'd love to hear all of them).

I don't think that was a "down-to-earth assessment," and I don't think that was the point. The point, to me, seemed to be to discourage malleable minds. People that may be at the edge in terms of powering through to the next stage with their idea, startup, etc. I see no value in this discouragement.

This isn't much better, but at least at can be cast as a dose of reality: https://medium.com/@subes01/this-is-your-life-in-silicon-val...

The author of the piece that I commented on originally seemed to be saying, "Get in line automoton." I reject that. I don't think it represents reality and I don't think it is useful.

Besides the slogging away is what makes you a fully formed person instead of an entitled child.

I have worked at numerous startups of all different sorts and in different capacities. It is precisely that experience, that slogging away that has given me a human perspective on work-life balance.