Everyone has a distaste for the artificial

[Richard Kielbasa]

Everyone has a distaste for the artificial

But what does natural mean?

A human is as natural as a chimpanzee. The consequences of us existing is necessarily also natural.

Sex, laughter, sleep

But also airplanes, heroin, computers.

The line between natural and artificial is blurry and we are irrational about it

*Of course, the money machine has priced this information in nonconsciously as organic, “all natural”, foods and soaps and comforters and lifestyles.

Things that we generally consider natural sell better.

But natural doesn’t always mean good. Carrots are natural. Tomatoes are natural. But so is hemlock, and poisonous mushrooms.

Why the stigma against the artificial? Like it’s somehow inherently worse. It could be better, in fact.

We should look at a thing and judge it objectively

The organic startup myth

Is how all founders (even exited, but especially current) try to sell their startup, because things that are natural, that are organic, are irrationally given more value

Where is the startup story where a founder wanted to make money and went out and did it?

(1) Ah but that’s really quite a boring origin story for an exciting outcome.

*Search “proportionality bias”

(2) And by your logic the great founders, my heroes, are really just greedy fucks?

*Search “hero worship bias”

(3) And, what makes your story really horrible, is that by your logic anyone can start a company, even me. They just have to want to and be competent enough. Because I haven’t yet, you’re indirectly implying I lack both qualities. I don’t like negative claims being made about me.

*Search “ego”

The stories that get shared are the stories that sell are the stories that make the audience feel good.

Founders themselves say some form of “just do what genuinely interests you”

There is a founder archetype

It is the man who has succeeded too much and is bored by it

The exited founder is bound by cliches. 

They must tell the enthusiastic young man not to do the thing

They must claim they are unhappy

They must wear their painful, lonely smiles for the “blissful ignorant” and knowing ones for the fellow afflicted

But success is hard. They did it on purpose and that’s why it happened at all.

But maybe, maybe, there’s something before that

Something BEFORE deciding to make money off a thing

Is that what you mean PG?

“The way to get startup ideas is…live in the future and build what seems interesting”