Disqus - Friends of sujamthe

Re: Stuff

paulgraham — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 22:50:00 -0000

I don't understand what you mean. It is on a single page.

Re: Stuff

paulgraham — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 22:52:56 -0000

I *like* physical books.

Re: Stuff

paulgraham — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 22:48:39 -0000

Yes, it does. Some stuff is great. I may write about that next.

Re: Stuff

paulgraham — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 23:07:51 -0000

I count enjoying something as using it.

Re: News from the Front

paulgraham — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 12:16:18 -0000

PhD program admissions are a better indicator, because they're decided by smarter people (professors, not admissions officers), who are highly motivated to choose well (because they'll be stuck with them as grad students) and have more data to choose based on. But even grad school admissions are far from perfect.

Re: News from the Front

paulgraham — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 12:19:10 -0000

I'd advise anyone who can to at least try college, because you get exposed to such a variety of ideas there.

Re: News from the Front

paulgraham — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:45:54 -0000

Sounds like you mean the 1999 NBER study. They found no advantage of going to a more selective school as measured by SAT scores, but there was an advantage of going to a school rated more selective by Barron's.

Re: News from the Front

paulgraham — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:46:18 -0000

See [4].

Re: News from the Front

paulgraham — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:49:54 -0000

I believe this is true for Microsoft, but I'm pretty sure it's not true on either end for YC. I know we're getting applications from the best hackers at elite schools. And on the other end, I can tell from some of the applications we get that we're not only getting the top fraction from the ones lower down the list.

Re: News from the Front

paulgraham — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:55:59 -0000

It varies enormously, not just by university and department, but by advisor. Grad school is heaven for some people and hell for others. It was a mix for me. Hard to say what I would do if I could redo those years.

Re: News from the Front

paulgraham — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:54:45 -0000

Keep reading. About halfway through I explicitly talk about the difference between those two ideas.

Re: News from the Front

paulgraham — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:55:32 -0000

That's actually very encouraging to hear. Google is one of YC's biggest competitors for people.

Re: News from the Front

paulgraham — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:57:27 -0000

Rare now, but the vector is clearly pointing to a world where people are rewarded based mostly on measured performance.

Re: News from the Front

paulgraham — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 22:50:25 -0000

That is a great quote; thanks.

Re: News from the Front

paulgraham — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 22:53:54 -0000

That's not the real test. If the kid was already admitted to both, sure, go to Harvard. The real test is if the kid had a choice in HS of doing a) something that would get them into a better college, or b) learn more, which would you advise? E.g. SAT tutoring, or learn how to draw? I'd always advise b.

Re: An Alternative Theory of Unions

paulgraham — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 15:15:13 -0000

I never say that labor unions were a creation of the early 20th century, just that that was their peak.