I used to be annoyed by this and now I think it's the most delightful thing in the world. So-called contemporary art is like this sponge that just absorbs all of it. There's none left. Some of the things I buy, I'm the only bidder. I get it for the reserve price. No one else in the world wants it or even knows that it's being sold. They're all undervalued. Brand and craft became divorced. It used to be that the best artists were the best craftspeople. And once art started to be reproduced in newspapers and magazines you could create a brand that wasn't based on quality.
Tyler and Y Combinator co-founder Paul Graham sat down at his home in the English countryside to discuss what areas of talent judgment his co-founder and wife Jessica Livingston is better at, whether young founders have gotten rarer, whether he still takes a dim view of solo founders, how to 2x ambition in the developed world, on the minute past which a Y Combinator interviewer is unlikely to change their mind, what YC learned after rejecting companies, how he got over his fear of flying, Florentine history, why almost all good artists are underrated, what's gone wrong in art, why new homes and neighborhoods are ugly, why he wants to visit the Dark Ages, why he's optimistic about Britain and San Fransisco, the challenges of regulating AI, whether we're underinvesting in high-cost interruption activities, walking, soundproofing, fame, and more.
Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links.
Recorded July 15th, 2023.
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Photo credit: Dave Thomas