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repos | 14 years ago | on: How Geniuses Think

All these comments seem to be missing the point.. Sure these aren't the traits that make up 'genius, sure 'genius' probably can't even be quantified or reduced to this level, but nonetheless these are all qualities we can learn from and adapt as we pursue our own paths.

repos | 14 years ago | on: Frighteningly Ambitious Startup Ideas

Preventative Diagnostics as Paul describes in #7 will really be the future - it's barbaric that we can only make a diagnosis when the disease has already manifested (in most cases). There are a few players in this space (Scanadu comes to mind), but it's seems like nano biosensors and the like are still very new technologies. Correct me if I'm wrong.

repos | 14 years ago | on: Re: Did You Hear We Got Osama?

It's the premise that exposing ourselves to communities based on idea dissemination (HN, Twitter, etc) maximizes our serendipity. Reading X article may set you on a path that leads to an opportunity you never could have predicted.

As with all things, moderation is critical. On one extreme, you're just gorging articles and reading about ideas. But you don't do anything about them, you just keep on reading. On the other extreme, you shut out the world and live in your head. There is the chance that you'll "create your own opportunity" (to use the phrase of the author) but you limit your chances by not interacting with others.

Read something, see if you can act on it. If not, move along. There's no reason to take either extreme.

repos | 14 years ago | on: Don't change the world

Some of the points are valid, but you shouldn't generalize the situation. Very few people in the 90's woke up with the idea that they needed to be connected with someone on the other side of the world. But they eventually realized they did when they were shown the internet.

Yeah sometimes you don't need to be "disruptive", but sometimes you do. And it's especially hard to realize which is appropriate when you are building for a profit, a bit easier when you are building for change.

repos | 14 years ago | on: Vote on The Tech Startup Bubble

I think the issue is that a lot of startups delude themselves into believing that they're putting "a dent in the universe" - trying to create a Steve Jobs-like world in their minds.

But at the same time, if they don't, it's really hard to motivate themselves and their employees to put in all the effort needed to make a startup work.

repos | 14 years ago | on: Peter Thiel launches Breakout Labs to fund bold early-stage research

Regardless of whether the amount is enough to fund scientific research endeavors (which range at > 250k/ year), Breakout Labs is a reflection of the current nature of scientific research.

The NIH or other foundations tend only to fund "safe" research proposals. Someone with a more radical idea with no funding resources is effectively shut down. 50k may not be enough to research something for a year, but it may be enough to prototype an idea. Win for creativity, win for science.

repos | 14 years ago | on: List.js

Is there a neat collection of all these javascript libraries out there?

I'm sure there are tons of awesome libraries I don't know about.

repos | 14 years ago | on: The Y Combinator Family

It was just really moving to be in a room packed with people willing to throw down everything and start up - one of the YC speakers aptly described the experience as a war.

repos | 14 years ago | on: The Elusive Big Idea

"The collection itself is exhausting: what each of our friends is doing at that particular moment and then the next moment and the next one; who Jennifer Aniston is dating right now; which video is going viral on YouTube this hour; what Princess Letizia or Kate Middleton is wearing that day."

To say this is a modern construct is false. People may not have been following Jennifer Aniston, but they were doing whatever the equivalent was at the time. As with any generation, there will be your rare innovators as well as your 'average chumps.'

repos | 14 years ago | on: Thousands of scientific papers uploaded to The Pirate Bay

Is software the issue? I think the problem is that the only way to get your science out to other scientists is through journals. Yeah journals filter the good research from the bad, but there has to be a better way. The review process itself isn't even great.

A better system would also allow for the release of negative data.

repos | 14 years ago | on: Thousands of scientific papers uploaded to The Pirate Bay

Scientific publications/journals are highly ineffective, but what is the alternative? The current system is so entrenched in the politics of science - you need publications in respectable journals to advance your career or to get grants.

It's going to be very difficult to break.

repos | 14 years ago | on: Boston open source science lab

So the idea is to 'open source' what they are doing in the sense of reporting day-to-day findings in the lab online? Pretty neat, though I wonder if there is a fear of snooping lab results / projects.
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