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What the Bubble Got Right

2005-03-15 21:36:40.848139+00 by Dan Lyke 2 comments

More nerd ego-stroking from Paul Graham: What the Bubble Got Right.

Dressing up is not so much bad in itself. The problem is the receptor it binds to: dressing up is inevitably a substitute for good ideas. It is no coincidence that technically inept business types are known as "suits."

One of the things that happened during the bubble is that those who'd adopt camouflage started dressing like nerds. Those same people would have been in a suit and tie had that camouflage been effective. There are some other good ideas in the essay.

[ related topics: New Economy Fashion ]

comments in ascending chronological order (reverse):

#Comment Re: made: 2005-03-16 22:13:39.352553+00 by: meuon [edit history]

Some great quotes and insights. I did the Chattanooga Technology Council lunch today with the 'head geek evangelist' from ORNL and noticed that all the people there were well dressed, but all the known 'producers' of technology and engineering were fairly casual compare to the matching suit and tie crowd. They had their elbows on the tables and sans-tied unmatching jackets, shirts and slacks.. and then I read:

Consciously or not, they dress informally as a prophylactic measure against stupidity.

This afternoon while working from home and contemplating the future. Great article. Back to my killer CMS.. ;)

#Comment Re: made: 2005-03-20 07:26:53.760941+00 by: Shawn [edit history]

From the article:

Build it, and they will come. Make something great and put it online. That is a big change from the recipe for winning in the past century.

I think a lot of people [still] think this, but I don't buy it any longer. The signal to noise ratio is just too high. The average person can't manage the firehoses of data that are pummeling them from every direction. A lot of good ideas get lost in the crowd, which leaves advertising with the leverage it needs to maintain its power.

Even those of us in vanguard are scrambling to find ways to filter and manage all the information that comes our way.