This is why so many of the best programmers are libertarians. In our world, you sink or swim, and there are no excuses. When those far removed from t… - Paul Graham

In our world, you sink or swim, and there are no excuses.

When those far removed from the creation of wealth -- undergraduates, reporters, politicians -- hear that the richest 5% of the people have half the total wealth, they tend to think injustice! An experienced programmer would be more likely to think is that all? The top 5% of programmers probably write 99% of the good software.

If Apple were to grow the iPod into a cell phone with a web browser, Microsoft would be in big trouble.

The press writes about startups as if there were already too many of them. But there's internal evidence showing how far from saturated this domain is: the time between when an idea becomes possible, and when it's realized. This can still sometimes be years.

When a political figure is killed, his supporters want to believe he was killed by some powerful, organized "them." They want his death to be meaningful, and it's more meaningful to be killed by a powerful political force than a random nut, as most actual killers turn out to be.