I want to say that hacker groups haven’t declined, it’s just that now they don’t call themselves hacker groups, they call themselves startup companies.
This. In its 35+ years Apple created - or at least codified - the personal computer, the mp3 player, and the modern smartphone. I think it's closer to a big new product category every 5-10 years, really.
Historically it has been easy to claim that programming is merely incidentally complex but hard to actually produce working techniques that can dispel the complexity.
The truth is that programming is one of the most complex human undertakings by nature, and many of the difficulties faced by programmers - such as the invisible and unvisualizable nature of software - are intractable.
I understand that's what the Kickstarter team is most interested in. But what would that accomplish besides causing all the companies to simply move to the next crowd-sourcing site?
If Kickstarter doesn't want a cut of that money I'm sure Indiegogo will be happy to take it
It's a tough question Kickstarter might ask itself, but then again since it gets a cut of all the funding that comes through it, why would it want to stop (over)funding these company projects. I think at this stage it won't change unless it is forced to from a third party.
"a $2.4 million early-stage investment in what would become a $2 billion business in a year and a half, in return for 0.0% equity"
No. Those backers weren't investing in a company, they were purchasing a prototype device and software package. In practice, that's how Kickstarter works. Sure, there will be a lot of backers who are happy that their deferred purchase is helping a project actually get off the ground, but I guarantee every person who handed over the $300 read over the rewards carefully.
"Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well with others"
The author added this in the rewrite, but I think this is exactly the kind of filler that needs to be avoided. These things are mandatory for basically all jobs, and people who can't communicate and work with others don't think they lack these skills anyway.
That line might not mean a lot to you, but it says a lot to me. They could have left it out, but decided it was important enough to leave in.
My job is an example of such where it was left out. I only have to communicate with people on my team. I do not attend meetings, my work has so little to do with the actual business the company is in I'm effectively in my own little world.
In my interviews, my future boss asked about communication, but emphasized that all of my tasks were going through him. There was concern about the programmer getting mad at people asking me for stuff that they don't understand. Apparently that's happened before. What was important was my independence and ability to solve problems, because nobody else is going to be able to help me. Suited me just fine.
What this requirement tells me is that my work is going to intersect significantly with other people who don't do what I do and I'll be a part of planning meetings and such. I might also be called upon to give reports to people who don't know what I do.
Every job I've gotten has that line, or something similar.. and yet there are people there that can barely communicate, much less work well with others.
Education is a business and college administrators want to spend as little as possible. Radically changing things and incorporating new technologies costs money.
There are plenty of students willing to fork over cash for the product as it is now, and there is no competition to drive innovation. Prestige requirements, accreditation requirements, etc. lock small schools and newcomers out of the education market. It's also pretty obvious that the top universities and their administrators are connected to each other and act together to hold a monopoly on the business.
If you take the story literally, yes. If you assume that the problem is slightly more complicated and the author simplified for the benefit of having a readable story, your little notes app does squat.
If the solution for a complicated problem comes to you this way, you have managed to see dozens of moving parts at just the right time, from just the right angle, in your mind. It is incredibly hard to hold on to that, and writing it out in notes takes several pages.
When that solution comes to you, you cling on to it for dear life until you can put it into a form that works - several pages of notes, a test proving your point, a large diagram. Whatever it is. None of those answers can be captured with a phone app.
I see this from a different perspective. I feel, the story is less about the feel that you might forget it if you don't cling to it. Rather, it is more about the intense need you have inside your mind to test your hypothesis and see to it that it is working.
I'm skeptical that an insight can be both simple enough to spontaneously occur during a social outing AND complicated enough to require multiple pages of notes just to capture enough to remind you of the idea.
The point is, words might not be the best way to capture your insight. You have _something_ in your mind, and it doesn't always translate into few words. To quote Blaise Pascal: "I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter."
No, you don't need pages to describe your moment of clarity. In fact, the author did it in four short sentences.
>He wasn’t paying attention. He missed the elevator.
>I bet you that’s exactly what happens in my code. If the remote end hangs up while I’m waiting for my authentication tokens, my app won’t notice, error out, and leak the socket.
You should be able to capture that thought in a few words. That will let you get back in the moment when you need to while also allowing you to fully engage with the people talking to you at the party.
