[malachismith]

Actually.... I would argue that the "TechCrunch / HackerNews" mentality (as you describe it) is more common OUTSIDE of the Bay Area than it is within it.

In the Bay Area you are surrounded by real world examples of success and failure, and enough of each so that you can actually derive repeatable lessons. Outside the Bay Area there is the tendency to believe that if it's written about on one of these sites it's gospel.