Trolltron, Assemble!

Oxide and Friends · 22 Mar 2022 · 1h 10m · Episode 9

What this episode covers

Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal of Oxide Computer Company, joined by Antranig Vartanian, Dan Cross, Ian, jasonbking, Jason Ozolins, Ken, and Drew Vogel, critique a Sam Altman tweet proposing to give tenured salaries to smart 18-year-olds in exchange for future earnings. The speakers argue that isolating young people from experienced mentors deprives them of crucial learning opportunities and that the financial model resembles exploitative income share agreements like those used by Lambda School. They discuss the psychological dangers of praising innate ability over effort, citing the story of a math prodigy who cheated because he never learned to struggle, and highlight how privilege and lack of adversity often lead to poor outcomes in young entrepreneurs.

Mentioned

Companies
Oxide Computer Company, Lambda School, Y Combinator
Also
Sam Altman, Thiel Fellowship

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