HN is certainly full of plenty of disclosures and comments about that pitfalls of startups and success. (And things like what you just said above as if you are going to tell people to drop out of college or something..) But yet people will always focus on what they want to see, just like in a casino, which is the winners (that's why the machines make noise). On HN, TC etc. the bells are always ringing and the effect is quite clear. And obviously in the traditional media as well. Everybody wants to be a superstar. And thinks they can be a superstar or should have been a superstar. People apologetically talk about how they have chosen to be happy instead with their little "lifestyle" business and every now and then people acknowledge that that's ok.
This is really no different than what happens in any industry which is a pyramid. Entertainment, sports as two examples.
People have to take reality into account when making life decisions. But I can see how difficult that is now that there are more examples that younger people can see of people their age being great successes.
Added: "great successes" meaning the typical trappings of success even if that means just getting funded or even picked for YC.
HN is certainly full of plenty of disclosures and comments about that pitfalls of startups and success. (And things like what you just said above as if you are going to tell people to drop out of college or something..) But yet people will always focus on what they want to see, just like in a casino, which is the winners (that's why the machines make noise). On HN, TC etc. the bells are always ringing and the effect is quite clear. And obviously in the traditional media as well. Everybody wants to be a superstar. And thinks they can be a superstar or should have been a superstar. People apologetically talk about how they have chosen to be happy instead with their little "lifestyle" business and every now and then people acknowledge that that's ok.
This is really no different than what happens in any industry which is a pyramid. Entertainment, sports as two examples.
People have to take reality into account when making life decisions. But I can see how difficult that is now that there are more examples that younger people can see of people their age being great successes.
Added: "great successes" meaning the typical trappings of success even if that means just getting funded or even picked for YC.