Readings

The readings for Tuesday, February 28 are:

1. The Other Road Ahead

2. How To Make Wealth

3. Mind the Gap

Writings

In these essays, Paul Graham discusses the process of creating a startup:

1. What do you make of Paul Graham's pitch about startups:

   If you wanted to get rich, how would you do it? I think your best bet would be to start or join a startup. That's been a reliable way to get rich for hundreds of years.

   Do you find the possibility of creating your company enticing or frightening? Is this something you have pursued before or wish to pursue in the future?

2. What do you make of Paul Graham's justification of income inequality:

   Technology should increase the gap in income, but it seems to decrease other gaps. A hundred years ago, the rich led a different kind of life from ordinary people. They lived in houses full of servants, wore elaborately uncomfortable clothes, and travelled about in carriages drawn by teams of horses which themselves required their own houses and servants. Now, thanks to technology, the rich live more like the average person.

   Is technological progress and possible improvement in living conditions worth a widening incoming gap? Do we "unshackle" the "wealth creators" or should we, as a society, "steal" from them?

3. Finally, Paul Graham made his fortune by targeting the web. What do you think is the next big technological platform? Wearables? VR? Web? Mobile? Desktop? If you had to make an application today, what would you target and why?