Y Combinator Startup Podcast
00:41:45 · Amjad Masad, Paul Graham
[00:41:45] S0: Who knew? So that line, there's a lot of predictions you can make by truly understanding a line. More broadly, is [00:41:54] S1: Okay, so the reason you're so good at living in the future is because you have normalized that line. You assume that you're not living in a static world. In fact, that you're living in an exponential world. [00:42:05] S0: Yes, exponential world, and a lot of what you talk about in your essays is understanding the exponential. And I think once you truly understand the exponential, like you can look at an LLM. I can look at GPT-2 and extrapolate a lot better than than most people and just say, I I imagine chats, I imagine agents, I imagine personal assistant, all of that back in 2018 when I first saw GPT-2. So I think... But you just have to, like, believe, and you have to... Because most people have, like, this... Almost like, you know, this suspension of disbelief, like, suspension of... Like, you you have to actually believe... You have to truly embrace that and go against your instinct to... Because I think there's a human instinct, ah, there's all these reasons why this would not work and all [00:42:55] S1: these Well, implicitly treat things as static. Yeah. And the difference with you is that your default assumption is that things will change exponentially. That's what's unusual about
00:42:55 · Paul Graham, Amjad Masad
[00:42:55] S1: these Well, implicitly treat things as static. Yeah. And the difference with you is that your default assumption is that things will change exponentially. That's what's unusual about [00:43:05] S0: you. Yes. So having embraced that as a kid, like reading sci fi and reading Kurzweil's Wall and all of that, I think just you created two things in me. One is an ability to accept change and be okay with change. Computers are going to do more and more of the things of my Not [00:43:28] S1: skills just to accept. Expect. [00:43:30] S0: Expect. And then and then and then expect and and and build towards towards that and skate where the where the puck is is going. [00:43:37] S1: And the puck is moving faster and faster. It is moving faster faster. Which That's is what it means. [00:43:41] S0: But I feel more like in my element right now because [00:43:45] S1: Well, because nobody else can keep up with you. That's why someone is like assumes dramatic change. Imagine who would be perfect for this world where everything is changing under our feet every six months. The person who's assumes dramatic change. [00:43:59] S0: Yes. [00:43:59] S1: Right? Yes. You're just like perfectly suited to this moment. That's why Replit's doing so well.