> Obviously, every HNer religiously reads and memorizes PG’s mediocre essays.
Idk, I like PG. I've read the really long-form pieces like "What I've Done", etc., but from what I gather by following his Twitter, he's less and less defined by creative or unique ideas and has turned towards more standard neo-con, gen X silicon valley. More than anything, there is a noticeable lack of emotional intelligence that doesn't hold up to the standards of youth today.
He went to RISD; cool, awesome; he's a brilliant computer scientist; okay, cool. The world is more global now, a lot of people have these Renaissance man-type experiences, and haven't yet made the money that will put a veil over their eyes. A lot of the essays are mediocre. A lot of them are good. But I think it's just less his time in 2022 for what he was trying to do.
That was a good essay, honestly, but just reading the media is enough to tell you that the media is fake. I mean, we've all seen headlines that switch narratives on a dime, just within mainstream media orgs, going only by their own headlines.
But yeah, anyone who knows how social media sites got started with faked engagement shouldn't believe most of the things they see online.
There’s no way you could hold the opinion that PR and influence pervade our society, without having read “Submarine”.