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Comment by bgorman | Hacker News Reader

Without William Shockley moving to the west coast, the "Silicon" part of Silicon Valley would likely be elsewhere in the world.

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William Shockley graduated from CalTech, and his connections from CalTech, more specifically Arnold Beckman, funded his new venture in silicon transistors.

It's true that Shockley picked Palo Alto because of his mother, but it would be unfair to not also credit Stanford who had an outsized role in helping solidify the Bay Area as the hub for "Silicon Valley".

Many many many companies tried to move the industry away from California since the 50s, and every time, those companies star players ended up relocating to the bay area.

California's free-wheeling culture permeates at all levels, from investors all the way down to the individual contributors. It just wasn't an accident that Silicon Valley happened the way it did.

At the same time, a significant portion of the computer industry (HP, which is moving its--well HPE's--HQ to Houston, notwithstanding) was in the East through about the 90s. Boston in the case of the Route 128 companies, etc. But also others like IBM. So a large chunk of the industry was away from California.

Okay, so if California's "free-wheeling culture" caused SV to be where it is, what factored into CA's cultural development? Why the lack of free-wheeling culture elsewhere?

I mean, just look at California's history. If people were willing to upend their lives since the 1800s to move their families to the other side of the country on vague things like the promise of striking it rich somehow, those people probably had distinct personalities. Every one of California's strongest industries have been because people escaped where they were to go strike it rich (in money or fame).

Wine, Movies, Farming, Banking, Education, Tech.

California is just a state with a long history with a weird mixture of entrepreneurs you won't find elsewhere.

While I don't fully agree with the parent, there was a long tradition of "Go west young man" for people who wanted to make their fortunates far from eastern bankers and other conservative industries. Very broad brush, but also not wholly inaccurate.

Are you serious? SF's Castro is the gay capital of the world. Summer of Love. The Emerald triangle. The Hells Angels. I could go on.

But why there? Why not somewhere else?

Only seemingly non-random factor you gave is the Emerald Triangle, which could be the answer.

Ahh, sorry. I think I mis-read your comment. I thought you were questioning the existence of free-wheeling culture in CA.

As to why CA, I don't think there is any one reason. The weather and geography are huge. It was a lightly populated state in the 1950s, so real estate was much cheaper than on the heavily populated east coast (big for both start ups and 'artistic' types). And the gold rush mentality is/was pervasive, which I personally think leads to a government and culture that is generally supportive of start ups and small businesses. While CA has a reputation for being unfriendly to businesses, the taxes and regulations are largely targeting big businesses. So that leaves more room for small start ups to compete.

That's a counterfactual. Yeah, maybe Shockley's project happened elsewhere it Silicon Elsewhere could have happened somewhere else. But it didn't happen elsewhere. But you are assuming that it would have catalyzed elsewhere. For example, it could have catalyzed in Murray Hill, New Jersey after the transistor but it didn't.

Anyways, people are always leaving the Bay Area. If you came here five years ago, first you were new here and second, you've known people who have left.

So Keith Rabois left for Miami. Great for him. The question is whether the next Keith Rabois will spring forth from Miami. Unlikely.

It is interesting how you can gloss over the signifcance of the inventor of the transistor moving to the bay area, and then use the example how his former laboratory in New Jersey failed to commercialize the transistor as an example of how Silicon Valley is uniquely situated to allow innovation to happen.

A much more reasonable interpretation is that Shockley was going succeed no matter where he went, not that Silicon Valley is uniquely situated, especially with the dominance of east coast companies in defense contracting.

When Shockley moved west in 1956, Stanford Research Park was already 3 years old. Its defense roots predate even that. Shockley wasn't moving to a technological wasteland.

https://steveblank.com/secret-history/

Ames Research Center dates to 1939.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ames_Research_Center

Magic Leap is based in Plantation, part of the Miami metro. So- you're still right.

I believe they will, given the current Keith Rabois as a mentor.

he played an important role, but all the work by military tech companies and stanford during the war did as well.

As you point out he could've chosen elsewhere to move. Seems likely the aforementioned developments helped him pick where he did.

He chose to move where he did because he was raised there and moved back to take care of his ailing mother.

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