
Six Principles for Making New Things (2008) - dayve
http://paulgraham.com/newthings.html
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jamessun
My favorite line in PGs essay:

"I like to find (a) simple solutions (b) to overlooked problems (c) that
actually need to be solved, and (d) deliver them as informally as possible,
(e) starting with a very crude version 1, then (f) iterating rapidly."

~~~
ai_ia
That is the Tl;dr of the essay. I looked at that and moved on.

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QuadrupleA
A little sad to read this 10 years later knowing that Arc hasn't really caught
on. There's a clear optimism in the writing about the project's presumed
future success - I think anybody who creates something public shares that
feeling - but marketplaces are unpredictable and the odds aren't usually in
your favor.

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shawn
Are you sure Arc hasn’t caught on? After all, we’re submitting comments via
Arc.

Some of the best work in history was done because the creator wanted it
themselves. Even if no one else uses it, the work speaks for itself.

Arc also played a crucial role in bringing attention to pg’s essays, which
YC’s success was a direct consequence of. No essays, no audience; no audience,
no founders, and no YC.

~~~
JBiserkov
I guess what he means is that Arc is no Clojure.

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cammil
I wonder if initial crudeness actually has a _strictly positive_ contribution
to the likelihood of success.

Perhaps the form of the product has a role in setting expectations. If so this
would have a role in attracting forgiving first customers (e.g. those most in
need of your product) and repelling those customers expecting a more
"complete" product.

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weliketocode
I'm on the fence about the message here.

PG announces Arc and receives flack for it. Then writes an article noting that
he's always received this same flack for everything that he's done.

Sounds to me like the message is less about Arc or even the principles that he
states but more about keeping your head down and working through unproductive
feedback.

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Dowwie
Can someone share info about Cezanne and Klee that PG was referring to? I
doubt their approaches were as solution-oriented as PG believed them to be
because of the disposition of artists, who usually create for themselves first
and society a far second.

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cammil
I agree with this whole heartedly, yet somehow I don't often practice it. I
wonder why.

