Those essays (especially the ones written after Viaweb and before YC) can be inspiring if you're stuck in a cube at Big Company, Inc. and neither your managers nor your fellow programmers are interested in doing anything else with their lives.
That doesn't mean everything Graham writes about is as compelling (the essay on philosophy is an example), though, and you're right to point out that it can go too far.
I've been lucky enough to get to know Paul a little. He invited me to take part in the first MIT Spam Conference in 2003 and I've seen him on and off since then. I don't think hero worship is appropriate, but I think Paul should be celebrated for a few things: sunny personality, good writing, openness, curiosity. There are a lot of people in the computer industry with difficult personalities, who can't communicate in writing, who are fixated on a particular technology. Paul isn't like that. Those things make him worth looking up to.
Those essays (especially the ones written after Viaweb and before YC) can be inspiring if you're stuck in a cube at Big Company, Inc. and neither your managers nor your fellow programmers are interested in doing anything else with their lives.
My thoughts exactly. I first encountered PG's essays at a time when I really needed his brand of encouragement. They persuaded me that I wasn't 100% crazy to think I could start a company. Still haven't switched to Lisp though. =)
That doesn't mean everything Graham writes about is as compelling (the essay on philosophy is an example), though, and you're right to point out that it can go too far.