This little illuminated dragon is very happy about Pretext. He's too busy having fun to care about people's "hot takes" on how "it's not that special."
(This little dragon also only works on desktop right now but maybe I'll do mobile later)
https://t.co/k9FH6p1G0T
A bespoke software revolution? I don't buy it.
It'll exist. It already exists. Small consultants and big consulting firms have made custom software for years. It almost always sucks. It’s bloated, confusing, and because the client pays, it’s built wrong in all the ways.
Who’s excited about bespoke software? Software makers! Of course they're excited about building bespoke software — that's what they do. X is full of them. Your feed is full of people who love making software talking about making software. Of course they’re excited about the revolution. Echo, echo, echo...
Most people don’t like computers. Nobody in tech wants to say that out loud. People tolerate computers. They use them because they have to. Given the choice, most would rather not think about them at all.
So when someone suggests that AI means everyone will build their own custom tools, ask who "everyone" is. The three-person accounting firm drowning in client paperwork? They want the paperwork gone, not a new system to maintain. The regional logistics company with 40 trucks? They want the routes optimized, not Joe spouting off about this new system he’s been messing around with. The law firm billing 70-hour weeks? They want leverage on their time, not a software project to design.
They don’t hate technology. But building and maintaining their own critical systems isn’t their wheelhouse, regardless of how much faster and easier it’s become. It's another job on top of the job.
Will these people use AI? Absolutely, for all sorts of things. Will some outliers go deep and build real custom systems? Sure, but they're almost always people who already had some pull toward software. The curiosity was already there. They were dabblers before.
Giving everyone access to software building tools doesn't mean everyone becomes a builder. A powerful excavator doesn't turn a homeowner into a contractor. Most people just want the hole dug by someone else. They don’t want the responsibility either.
@rabois@sentdefender I have so much respect for your accomplishments as a VC. It's perplexing why you feel the need to be this hyperbolic about tragic events. Under what interpretation of the law would this tweet ever be considered defamatory?
I've reached the stage where I can't keep up with all of the nonsense of the world and can't form informed opinions about it all. This is why I'm quiet. There's this expectation that we must know everything and have a stance on it all. Well, I've decided to just focus on what I can control or do anything about. I think for years we've shouted into boxes and I'm not sure it actually does anything useful in the long run.
If I can get up to date on an issue before another one arrives, then I'll say something, but my stance this year is to wait until all the evidence comes forward before saying anything at all.
@marcrandolph@HarryStebbings Sure but that's not the question. It's about angel investing (presumably in other tech startups).
Diversify for sure. Take money off the table to buy your house, etc. but trading one high risk situation (a tech startup you control) for an even higher risk one seems bizarre.
@shaunmmaguire Did you just position the "power" exemplified by the actions of Russia, China and Iran as your view of the aspirational ambition of the USA?
Idea for The Pokémon Company:
I think there is a MASSIVE opportunity to capitalize on the decades of nostalgic equity that fans have with the franchise
The same frenzy that originally propelled Pokémon into mainstream culture lives within millions of adults that yearn for the feeling the original games provided
Every 2-3 years I find myself picking up a Gameboy and running back Pokémon Red/Blue/Crystal/Gold on the original cartridges, beating the Elite Four with just as much joy I had as a child. It’s a cycle that’s been happening for the last 15 years of my life. Admittedly, however, I don’t have as much of a connection with the newer Pokémon — although Annihilape and Baxcalibur have my heart lol
SO, I think the Pokémon company should create a remastered game inspired by the OGs that mirrors the original pixel graphics, combines the best generations of Pokémon, and introduces adaptive NPCs that evolve alongside the player.
Old school vibes powered by modern technology that gives players the ability to connect to the internet for easier trading/battling, downloadable content, etc.
This will do three things
1.) Give older fans a chance to relive their childhood thus awakening a massive, dormant demographic
2.) Give newer, younger fans a taste of what originally made the franchise so special
3.) Bridge the gap for older fans who don’t connect with newer Pokémon in a way that’s familiar to them
If we believe that video game cycles are like a pendulum, the near-future of gaming may birth a desire for more simplified, block-based aesthetics. We already see it happening with games like Minecraft & Roblox. As technology continues to advance at an alarmingly rapid pace, I personally believe the future will lean towards “retro”
With over 30 million copies of Pokemon Red & Blue sold in the 1990s, Pokemon can provide an experience for die-hard fans of all ages in a way no other company can.
#PokemonPink
@Pokemon
Here's an important question that we must contend with increasingly as AI-for-Mathematics pipelines become more commonplace:
Why do we care about solving hard problems? Almost always, the answer is *not* because we particularly want the hard problem to be solved. (1/12)
I hear from many young men that they find it difficult to meet young women in a public setting. In other words, the online culture has destroyed the ability to spontaneously meet strangers. As such, I thought I would share a few words that I used in my youth to meet someone that I found compelling.
I would ask: “May I meet you?” before engaging further in a conversation. I almost never got a No.
It inevitably enabled the opportunity for a further conversation. I met a lot of really interesting people this way.
I think the combination of proper grammar and politeness was the key to its effectiveness. You might give it a try.
And yes, I think it should also work for women seeking men as well as same sex interactions.
Just two cents from an older happily married guy concerned about our next generation’s happiness and population replacement rates.