FerociousTimes

Testimonials in general are like these cheesy or sleazy infomercials on home shopping channels, fake and worthless and that's why they earned the bad reputation that they have.

Also, it is not even that the essay itself is totally bereft of real world examples to support his thesis, when he actually cited Airbnb as a case of coming around, and applying the practical advice given to the founders by YC to deliver value.

Prompted by the negative feedback that this essay received, ranging from being a sales pitch in disguise, to being a word salad going in all directions without answering the central question posed by the author right in the opening paragraphs, I had to go and re-examine the piece and see if these concerns are valid or not, and unexpectedly the second reading reaffirmed my initial positive reaction that this is actually a good piece, maybe not the best, but still good.

In spirit of open discussion and intellectual curiosity here, I share my insights in the following order matching that of the post:

1) PG opens with the best advice that he could dispense to prospective applicants which is "what you've learned from users".

2) He proceeds to ask himself the same question.

3) He then informs readers that his users; startup founders, usually face the same set of problems across the board.

4) Since these problems are the same, he thought of automating the solution to scale his business (dogfooding in some sense).

5) That blew up in his face spectacularly that he had to rework the plan and concede that his solution won't scale.

6) But these same problems are not recognized uniformly by founders as they sometimes face difficulties identifying them in the first place, that's where the YC partners' role come to fill this unmet need.

7) Even when people are good at identifying problems, some are bad at determining the severity or urgency that these problems pose, cue again the YC partners' role.

8) Even when they're good at risk assessment, some are bad at risk mitigation, and won't listen to the advice given by the partners but it is not made clear what he means exactly by "not listening", dismissing/not acting on solutions proposed by YC staff, or not acknowledging that there's a problem to begin with?

9) Getting down to business to solve these problems warrants focus, and how this focus is tied into speed, and how YC can help with that.

10) Startup colleagues are more important than YC partners when it comes to realizing success with their feedback, guidance and even practical help, and how YC is the best in class in this regard.

Even though the marketing language, esp the value propositions in the piece is a bit stronger for my taste, but I can't say with honesty that it overpowered the core message of the essay nor was it incoherent or disjointed in anyway that made following or understanding impossible as some have claimed here.

Verdict: 8/10

> But I’m eagerly waiting for one concrete example, and none are to be found.

Were you looking for testimonials embedded in the essay to meet your expectations?

Of course, this wouldn't be acceptable as it would turn the piece unmistakably into a sales pitch for his product cementing your suspicions about the nature or motives behind authoring this post, a viewpoint which by the way I don't necessarily share.

This type of reporting that you're specifically looking for is best served with other formats like featured stories or in-depth analyses done by news organization; where they get to interview YC partners, alumni and startup founders, and solicit their opinions and thoughts about their experience with the organization, but even this reporting needs to be balanced and informative otherwise it will be mistaken for an advertorial or, as you guessed, a sales pitch.

This should be frowned upon and targeted not praised or condoned.

This reinforces ghettoization and propagation of ethnocentric worldviews with all the vices of this ideology from prejudice, xenophobia, you name it.

I had my doubts too about the story esp the part where he claimed to have had sent 100 applications for open postdoc positions in a very niche area of research; namely "Plant Biology", which raised my suspicions, and that's why I was instead more interested in the conversation around the topic itself, and I must say that I was a bit disappointed with a few responses that I came across in that thread; where a few people argued that it was OK to discriminate against people of different cultural backgrounds, and they made grand assumptions about those people's religiosity based solely on their birth name, and cited potential conflicts in the workplace arising from that specific consideration, which needless to say is a very absurd notion altogether.

Even though most of these opinions weren't favorable with the general audience citing the downvotes, one in particular caught my attention where a denouncement of cultural favoritism in the hiring process where applicants from specific backgrounds were given priority while others esp of Muslim background were treated with suspicions and animosity, seemed to sit well with a given segment of the audience here, which is a testament to the pervasive nature of bias, discrimination, bigotry and intolerance that some people still hold in the workplace toward other minorities, and that we still have a lot of work to do in that area to ensure equality, inclusion, diversity and overall progress for all of us in our professional life.

I fail to see how this refutes my argument.

Maybe you wanted an outlet to air your grievances or vent your frustration with past experiences that you might have had with individuals from the Muslim community, which is totally understandable, but still my argument holds true and you're painting with a broad brush here.

Thanks for the self-esteem boost in this early morning, PG. I totally needed it.

I always beat myself up that I am not a quick, efficient and articulate enough as a writer and I always to take some time to organize and reorganize my thoughts and sentences but when I see I am not alone in this and there are even native speakers who struggle with this aspect of communications despite being domain experts, I feel good about myself.

I didn't say that you necessarily or explicitly endorse this position but your comment unfortunately came cross as forgiving of this practice.

Also, I don't see how this behavior can be viewed as rational since we're talking about a research institution here that's supposed to be concerned with scientific excellence hiring the best regardless of their background, and not some road trip with your buddies where you get to pick and choose who will be invited to join you.

I see no rationality in this behavior at all, just outright bias and discrimination.

This is plain old favoritism and should be countered not celebrated, condoned or dealt with in a business as usual manner.

It's also a hell lot more fun if you're Arab and atheist esp if you carry a religious name, you will be targeted all the time, and try to explain yourself and the associations that you might have with your background culture/religion.

A lot of fun, I tell you!

Jesús is a valid and common name for Hispanic males and I don't see how this would disqualify them from being considered for these positions.

Not all Muslims are religious nutjobs either.

Which is a bit ignorant, don't you think?

This concern should have been addressed, if it really materially affects performance on the team, and this is a big IF, in the dreaded cultural fit part of the interview and not like that where they openly discriminate against him because of his religious background.

Fingers crossed!

We need more decentralization and redundancy in these services lest we see our future turn hostage to corporate financial or political interests.

The USC so far proved to be resilient, adaptable and durable but timeless?

It remains to be seen but I have my doubts esp. in a future socio-political context where post-modernism and cyberpunk ideals reign supreme.

> a "Google Lens" type augmented-reality translation on the fly of great-great-grandma Edith's old love letters.

Actually, your failover system makes me feel anxious inside.

What if this proprietary tech gone missing or disappeared completely?

What if this proprietary tech gone rogue and just refused to cooperate and render the service for end users for any given reason?

I just can't trust one single vendor or corporation with such a critical part of our life but your main point remains salient though.

I got it.

Can you tell me please why opted for this esoteric and non mainstream term and not for a more common one like "companion" and the likes?

Well, I see how referring to reproduction in a herd of deer, as a collective, in everyday speech, by using the word "multiplying", but not on an individual level, which adds to my point.

As you can see, getting terminology right is challenging and not always straightforward.

I echo the same sentiment here but mainly for C language as If my memory serves me right, I didn't have any encounter with C++.

My experience was negative overall and traumatic to some extent and I wouldn't rule out that some who were first exposed to the language in college or even HS share the same aversion and feel scarred and haunted forever by that Blue Ghost.

I've checked out the video but I got really distracted instead. Maybe I am not the target audience of this video but to stay on topic and expand on the same theme, I came across this video [1] that's probably more effective in extracting productivity gains from you than that video and I reckon it's less distracting as well:

[1]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RGEo2Kohb8

(4 Hours of Asian Mum to Help You Focus on Practising/Studying/Working)

Are these body double volunteers active part of the ADHD community?

I can see how this can set you apart from the competition as you have already an active and enthusiastic members among the community doing their best to help each other since they share the same background and life experience.

My understanding of the pertinent terms in this specific context is as follows:

1) Multiplying: Asexual reproduction only.

2) Reproduction: Sexual and asexual reproduction.

3) Procreation: Sexual reproduction only.

All talk, no action

> Will the output of your product prevent the cells from procreating/multiplying?

How would unicellular organisms procreate exactly?!

I am not being pedantic here but procreation usually entails sexual reproduction and I don't see how this is possible for these organisms.

Same here, reporting the same bug.

I thought it was some weird nerdy inside joke or some obscure pop culture ref that I should see for myself but nope just a good old malfunction and of all places, it was HN that broke the news and I came across it.

This community is really something :)

Hi,

Is the Frontend Engineer position open remotely to applicants outside the UK or domestically?

For a post-Covid world where remote job opportunities are on the rise, this is becoming less and less of a pressing matter.

People can work from nearby towns where housing costs are relatively moderate and just hit the head office in Lisbon one or two times a week.

Corporations and people need to adapt to the changing circumstances and to be open to make the necessary adjustments to advance in this world.

By searching "Californians in Portugal", just one of many on the top search results page:

Welcome to Portugal, the new expat haven. Californians, please go home

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-05-12/califo...

I totally understand your pain in seeing your hometown turning into a hellish zone but I can't pass on calling the irony in your story since these same Cali exiles are one of the principal factors in pricing ordinary locals in Portugal out of their neighborhoods.

SOURCE

Welcome to Portugal, the new expat haven. Californians, please go home

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2022-05-12/califo...

Why does everyone want to live in Lisbon?

There are other decent metropolises in Portugal and other fun spots around the country not to get crammed in the capital.