How did you answer the final application question?!
12 comments
I actually care a lot about the last question. It often makes me give an application a second look. I don't think the other 3 YC partners care very much about it though.
I'm cringing inside because I wrote the most bland and uninteresting thing in the world.
I'm going to rewrite and resubmit by the deadline tonight, if that's alright.
I'm going to rewrite and resubmit by the deadline tonight, if that's alright.
I am way more curious to hear about the best answers to this one you've heard from this or previous rounds. Someone should remember to ask again after the 10th.
One of my cofounders came up with our answer:
"In 2005, Matt discovered the best way to deal with Nigerian 413-scams on CraigsList: when someone offers thousands of dollars for your stereo via some phony money-wiring organization, just request a receiver-pays-shipping slip and FedEx them 40 pounds of bricks."
"In 2005, Matt discovered the best way to deal with Nigerian 413-scams on CraigsList: when someone offers thousands of dollars for your stereo via some phony money-wiring organization, just request a receiver-pays-shipping slip and FedEx them 40 pounds of bricks."
I talked about choice and the sensory overload it often causes. We have reached a point where the only type of cell phones we can't buy anymore are cell phones that are just a phone. The suppliers, however, cannot be held responsible for this. Afterall, they are simply trying to satisfy the users constant demands. So eventhough this mental toxin often makes us feel miserable, it is preferable by consumers over having less choice. And this fascinates me.
I am contemplating writing an article about choice and relating it to Web 2.0. Here is an excerpt from another article I wrote that relates to this: "...if a choice is present, perfectionists spend a ridiculous amount of time over simple decisions. Such is the mentality governing users of today's social networks. We are caught up in a web of choices; indeed, the core reason behind MySpace's success is that users rule. MySpace might suck, but it gives its users ample of choice. Once a user has invested an hour of their life customizing their profile, they are not likely to leave the site anytime soon."
I am contemplating writing an article about choice and relating it to Web 2.0. Here is an excerpt from another article I wrote that relates to this: "...if a choice is present, perfectionists spend a ridiculous amount of time over simple decisions. Such is the mentality governing users of today's social networks. We are caught up in a web of choices; indeed, the core reason behind MySpace's success is that users rule. MySpace might suck, but it gives its users ample of choice. Once a user has invested an hour of their life customizing their profile, they are not likely to leave the site anytime soon."
http://www.jitterbug.com/
Jitterbug phones is a MVNO with a custom-made Samsung phone that is really just a phone.
Jitterbug phones is a MVNO with a custom-made Samsung phone that is really just a phone.
I crawled the MIT facebook and built a friendship predictor that will take guesses at who, out of the people you are not currently listed as being friends with, you actually are friends with in real life. People's traits (age, sex, home state, etc.) are significantly less predictive than how close you are on the [ friendship / class / photo / group ] network. In descending order of predictive power, the most important traits when considering two people as potential friends are:
how many friends you have in common how many pictures you simultaneously appear in how many classes you have together relationship status looking for (e.g. friendship, dating, random play) how many facebook groups you have in common
how many friends you have in common how many pictures you simultaneously appear in how many classes you have together relationship status looking for (e.g. friendship, dating, random play) how many facebook groups you have in common
I couldn't think of anything that didn't sound trite when I first filled out the form, so I left it blank and decided to come back to it later.
(As far as I'm concerned it's a long shot. I don't think my idea and my goals for my business line up that well with what YC is really looking for, based on what they've done in the past. So I filled out the form more for myself than for them.)
But then I thought of the best answer to that question -- the most personally meaningful thing I've discovered, something that I don't think anyone else has ever noticed -- over the weekend, and only realized this morning that the deadline had whooshed right by while I was sleeping.
Oops.
(As far as I'm concerned it's a long shot. I don't think my idea and my goals for my business line up that well with what YC is really looking for, based on what they've done in the past. So I filled out the form more for myself than for them.)
But then I thought of the best answer to that question -- the most personally meaningful thing I've discovered, something that I don't think anyone else has ever noticed -- over the weekend, and only realized this morning that the deadline had whooshed right by while I was sleeping.
Oops.
There is great knowledge in the classics. Patterns of human nature always repeat. WhenI know the mind of the other person, I know who their allies are. I also know their team and the position they stand in. Now take this point of view and apply it in your software app. It is a paraphrase from Sunzi AoW Chapter 3.
I thought that "discovered" was very ambiguous (was it intentional?)
I wanted to write something offbeat, like, "The Dawson City mayor stole cable TV for all its citizens in 1996" or "DNA-polymerase can synthesize 10000 nucleotides/second" (I can't find the actual number on the net, but it's crazy high)
I solved the problem by not applying at all.
I wanted to write something offbeat, like, "The Dawson City mayor stole cable TV for all its citizens in 1996" or "DNA-polymerase can synthesize 10000 nucleotides/second" (I can't find the actual number on the net, but it's crazy high)
I solved the problem by not applying at all.
Vervet monkeys have three main predators, and can alert the rest of their group to the presence of each. The rest of the group responds appropriately to the type of call given. If, for example, a monkey gives a loud, barking call, signifying the approach of a leopard, the other monkeys run to the trees.
Kevin has discovered the universe's greatest civilization: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Attractor
"I often think that the night is more alive and more richly colored than the day." - Van Gogh
Images of galaxy clusters always sadden me. Our insignificance in the Universe is laughable.
Images of galaxy clusters always sadden me. Our insignificance in the Universe is laughable.
http://www.futuroscope.com/eng/attraction-cosmos.php
I had the chance while in France to visit Futuroscope by luck. When I found my self in this Cosmos attraction, a huge sphere room watching the universe as a spectator like you are among the stars, has caused me one of the most undescribable, fascinating feelings in my life.
I advice it highly, if you ever find your self in France, go to Futuroscope! Most of the attractions are in AMAZING 3D!
I had the chance while in France to visit Futuroscope by luck. When I found my self in this Cosmos attraction, a huge sphere room watching the universe as a spectator like you are among the stars, has caused me one of the most undescribable, fascinating feelings in my life.
I advice it highly, if you ever find your self in France, go to Futuroscope! Most of the attractions are in AMAZING 3D!
Looking up at the nigkt sky has that effect on me too. What makes it worse is that whenever I mention it to anyone else they clearly don't understand why.
python_kiss wrote, "Images of galaxy clusters always sadden me. Our insignificance in the Universe is laughable".
Only if you do not know what the purpose of life is. http://juwo.blogspot.com/2006/12/what-is-purpose-of-life.html
Only if you do not know what the purpose of life is. http://juwo.blogspot.com/2006/12/what-is-purpose-of-life.html
That's less useful for those of us who don't believe in a creator.
Jesus is more insignificant to the universe than you and me.
"He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians%201:1...;
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians%201:1...;
"Great ideas can be implemented badly and fail; stupid ideas can be done well and succeed; key is to settle on a great idea and implement it well."
Copy me someone:) Please?
Copy me someone:) Please?
Sleep is a dumb waste of time.
Finding an algorithm for computing closed forms of indefinite binomial coefficient sums was an open problem in Knuth's Art of Programming; it was solved by Wilf and Zeilberger. In the example I considered, there is no closed form solution; however there is a way of finding a decomposition of the sum with good properties. Finding the asymptotically significant term required an idea: the point is that the algorithms I used don't help you find this. One of those algorithms I used was due to R. W. Gosper, a legendary hacker.