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I like most of what SA has to say, but I think PG is coaching him in response to, well, me. I saw this Quora comment last night and it reaffirmed my suspicion: http://www.quora.com/Hacker-News/Why-does-Paul-Graham-have-a... People respond more to anecdotes than hard data. PG did, as the Quora comment mentions, give the world an anecdote of a good guy winning. After 2001, there was a huge morale crisis (because of the same ills as what we see now-- unqualified idiots raising huge sums of money, carpetbaggers from finance swooping in and calling all the shots) in the Valley, and it took Paul Graham to raise the banner and reconvince people that what was happening out there was right. A "good guy winning" story, in a society on the cusp of awareness of its own corruption-- that is, facing a morale crisis-- can be really powerful in bringing back hope. However, for each PG, there are lots of good guys who lose at that game, but I'm one of the few who spoke out and called it for what it was. Most people value their own success more. I value truth. I don't want anyone else to fall into the career-damaging trap of the VC-funded startup game. It's just not for our generation. With PG's account and my account, the impression that all this makes is that, yes, 15 years ago (PG's time) the Valley may have been a meritocracy, but now (for my generation) it's just another corporate ladder-- and an inferior one to that of finance. In order to prop up faith in the Valley's claims of meritocracy, PG needs a "good guy winning" from our generation, and someone who can write well and see the big picture. He needs that person badly, and I think Sam Altman is really good in the role. |