I would like to understand why a few people say that the recommendation is so important.
If it is, then it means that the application process isn't working very well.
I understand that it can help if for some reason the application isn't very clear, but it shouldn't help "a lot", like someone said in one of the links.
Having only really come up with a new idea yesterday, this batch of YC is probably a little late for me. But still, it's fascinating to see the energy and devotion people are putting into their stuff, look forward to seeing the outcomes.