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by throwaway10001 4736 days ago
I just watched someone turn down one of these breakout companies because Microsoft offered him $30k per year more in salary—that was a terrible decision. He will not build interesting things and may not work with smart people.

Interesting things....like making people click on ads? Microsoft products are used by billions of people worldwide and by virtually every Fortune () company. And then we have Microsoft Research, love or hate Microsoft as company all you want but Microsoft Research is top notch. Quite a few smart people there http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Research. Maybe not as smart as Sam Altman (the OP) but smart nonetheless.
2 comments
selimthegrim 4736 days ago
I've met and had the opportunity to learn from top people at Microsoft Research in Santa Barbara. I guarantee you Sam Altman isn't fit to tie their shoelaces. No disrespect to him and not saying he couldn't get there, but they're just in a totally different ballpark and level of problem solving and execution. They're solving problems people don't even realize they're going to have yet.
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barry-cotter 4735 days ago
I guarantee you Sam Altman isn't fit to tie their shoelaces. No disrespect to him.

My ass.

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selimthegrim 4735 days ago
When Sam Altman becomes a Fields Medalist or invents a new kind of particle (that was subsequently discovered!), then we can talk about the same playing field.
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barry-cotter 4735 days ago
He's not even trying to play the same game as them. Sam Altman 's ideal looks a great deal more like Elon Musk, Steve Jobs or Bill Gates than Djikstra. Would you consider Bill Gates fit to tie a Fields Medalist's shoelaces?
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FakeSamAltman 4735 days ago
They are solving problems people won't ever realize they're going to have.
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selimthegrim 4735 days ago
This is a fair point. But what's that saying about talent hitting the target in front of you, but genius hitting the target no one knew was there?
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beat 4735 days ago
Because if Microsoft is good at anything, it's creating new problems for their users. :)
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argonaut 4735 days ago
Okay. MSFT Research is great. It would be unreasonable to offer that as a viable alternative for even a highly gifted and ambitious (but not genius-level) 19 year old.
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throwaway10001 4735 days ago
Why not? If he's good to try his chance at Google like startups, why not at MSR? Can we agree that having been at MSR does wonders to your resume?
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