On: How to earn a billion dollars

[vannevar]

>1. Growing at a rapid rate over long periods of time is hard, doable and rewarding

and depends on factors outside your control.

This last is a critical caveat, and really the crux of the argument. It's not about cheating, but the limits of predictability in complex dynamic systems.

[epsteingpt → vannevar]

Exactly. The rewards need to make the toil worth it. Many started social networks and search engines in the late 90s / early 2000s. Many failed. My guess is some are broke.

You can't predict these systems at all!