The Story of Google's Unforgettable Success

A compelling narrative fosters an illusion of inevitability. The ultimate test of an explanation is whether it would have made the event predictable in advance. No story of gogle's unlikely success will meet that test because no story can include the myriad of events that would have caused a different outcome. There are fewer opportunities for young men to learn how to create a giant company, and fewer chances to avoid hidden rocks such as a brilliant innovation by a competing firm. Of course there was a great deal of skill in the google story, but luck played a more important role in the actual event than it does in the telling of it.