37signals: Put a dent in the universe | Hacker News Reader

37signals: Put a dent in the universe

37signals.com

27 pointstwampss20 comments

Ugh. I like few things less than posts like this. Inspirational b.s. that has almost no relevance to anything. Information flow here is zero, if not negative for the time to read it.

This makes it seem that once a person gains a certain level of notoriety and a certain amount of eyes, they can just produce content with absolutely zero information to make sure people don't forget them. A few steps later is renting infomercial spots on late night TV and selling self-help books.

"Selling self-help books"

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=383000

He didn't mention what his contribution to the world is.

I feel sorry for you. I think somebody needs a hug.

:hugs:

:hugs: right back at you! :D

A similar realization hits me pretty strong at least once a week:

I'm a white male living in the United States. I'm in my 30s and I'm living through the heart of a technical revolution.

I'm doing what I love -- freelance hacking. I can (and do) work from anywhere (lived in Amsterdam last winter). I get to work on challenging projects.

I eat like kings could only dream (and that's just hitting up Taco Bell). I sleep in a comfortable bed and a warm home.

And my life ain't no dress rehearsal for the next one. I get one shot at it. (As far as I know.)

And I ask myself: am I still driving at it all as hard as I can? Or am I getting comfortable and lazy?

> am I still driving at it all as hard as I can? Or am I getting comfortable and lazy?

I don't think that's a question of either/or. Its usually a battle between the two; it comes down to your ability to master that game. Especially if you work for yourself.

It's genetic. I occasionally used to have the same feelings till I did some cosmology & found out just how big the universe is.

It's like a Joel Osteen sermon, except tech related!

Ah, I feel better already. Can I donate money to the church of 37signals?

I don't remember the exact quote so try not to flame me for getting it wrong- A while back Steve Jobs was courting that guy(forgot his name) from PepsiCo for the CEO position at Apple and he said something like; "Come on Man, stop selling sugar water and help me make a dent in the universe"

Steve Jobs to John Sculley: "Would you rather sell sugar water to kids for the rest of your life, or would you like a chance to change the world?"

[http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&s...]

Thanks Anti, thats the quote alright, it seems I incorrectly remembered the "dent" line came from that discussion, I was wrong. (So many books, so many quotes, so many people, so much information!)

Carry on then...

I think the Jobs quote you're referring to is "We're here to make a dent in the universe". I think it was during the development of the original Mac, but I'm not sure.

Seems a bit deep and confusing to me, whilst not really saying much.

Yeah. 37Signals is better at concrete writing. Everybody is, really.

But I think that the message is important: you don't have much time, so change things while you can.

I don't think the universe needs a me-shaped dent.

(Maybe a dentarthurdent, though)

I completely disagree. People should strive to smooth the universe out.

Well, that's the end state - ultimate entropy.

There's a lot I want to do before we get there though.

I think it was Frank Tipler who wanted [[trans]humankind] to do an infinite amount of computation before the end of the universe - he might have limited that to a big-crunch scenerio though.

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