Quora Answers — 2013
1,699 answers written on Quora between 2010 and 2014, during the peak of the Ribbonfarm era. Questions from others; answers entirely by Venkat. 35 substantive answers are indexed here. For a specific answer, use Search or ask vgr_zirp.
- If I want to become an entrepreneur, where do I start?
Sit down, make yourself comfy. Grab a beer. This might take a while. There are two basic choices. You can either become a Silicon Valley Style Capital-E Entrepreneur™ (SVSE), or a small-e entreprene…
- Who is more ignorant, the man who can't define lightning or the one who does not admire its awesome power?
While I mostly agree with Joshua's view on this matter, I think the position is not entirely vacuous. While most people who use this particular false dichotomy are, as Joshua says, mostly lying to the…
- What is the good way of learning?
Think of it as acquiring an addiction rather than "learning" something. Look for the most addictive component activity the subject involves, that can be repeated with minor variations and increasing c…
- Why do all TED presentations seem like fluff?
YMMV, but I think there is HUGE variance in TED. The speakers who come across as the most slick/polished/used-car-salesmen types tend to stick to your mind as being representative because they are the…
- What are the economics of lying?
There is some really interesting work (which won a Nobel prize) on used car sales, The Market for Lemons This is about lying specifically in the context of economic transactions in the presence of …
- What are the odds that by 2100, India will have split into multiple countries, given that India is a very diverse country, both geographically & culturally?
I'd put it at 20-25% at least. Possibly more, depending on how politics evolves. The three biggest tectonic forces are: Population stability in parts of the south and west and continuing growth, wit…
- What might young Einstein ponder today?
This is an interesting question. Erik Goldman and Anirudh Joshi basically using the question to make a rather cynical comment about the state of physics today (physicists turning to superficial Inter…
- What is the difference between Bollywood and Hollywood movies?
I'll stick to mainstream movies. TV and arthouse are harder to compare. Bollywood is mostly stories based on unreconstructed medieval sensibilities set in modern contexts. There is very little irony,…
- Is there such a thing as being too smart for your own good?
I just read a story that perfectly illustrates this pathology, the story of physicist Paul Frampton. The Professor, the Bikini Model and the Suitcase Full of Trouble He is a world-renowned physicist…
- What's the most important problem that Project Glass can solve?
I don't know about "important" but I do think there are interesting problems it can solve. I would definitely like one. A little quick analysis before I offer my answer. As an ambient-presence, alwa…
- What is it like to complete your final PhD defense? What happened and how did it feel?
At U. Michigan, for engineering, the stressful event is the "pre-defense" to the committee (no outsiders) about 6 months before the defense. All serious criticism comes out then and you have to go rew…
- Festivals: What is Holi?
I'll add a personal take: a thoroughly awful "festival" during which drunk and stoned extroverts try to drag introverts into unwanted physical revelry. The festivities are occassions for bullying hors…
- Why are the subcontinental people so uncomfortable with their core identity, yet pretend to be proud of themselves?
First, some support for the question since some people are questioning the premises, then an answer. Support for the premises of the question This is empirically documented in Pankaj Ghemawat's "Wo…
- How do you compete with Starbucks in the coffee industry?
I'll provide one perspective as an omnivorous coffee drinker. I drink everything from 7-11 machine coffee to the most pretentious pour-over outside the home. And everything from instant to my own pour…
- According to you, what was the underlying message from Foundation by Isaac Asimov?
I don't think there is one. Asimov doesn't come across as a very ideological writer. His nonfiction reveals a rather conventional, almost banal mid-century kind of unexamined American moral scientism.…
- Roughly how many books does a person need to read to be an expert on a particular subject?
Since you specified social science, here's your formula. Read three books (you will need help from a subject expert to pick them)Browse about a 100 papers in enough detail to know that you understan…
- What does a good answer on Quora look like? What does it mean to "be helpful"?
A good Quora answer is not the same as a good answer. If the question exhibits bad faith, a good answer is no answer. DNFTT. If the question seems to exhibit good faith, a good answer reframes the q…
- What will Nawaz Sharif's victory in elections in Pakistan mean for Pakistan?
I see no reason to think anything will be different from the last time around. It isn't military leaders versus civilian leaders. It's the lack of credible civilian institutions that drives Pakistani …
- What country do you least want to visit? Why?
A good way to ask the question seriously is to ask: where would you pay to go, where would you go only if it it were free, and where you would go only if you were paid to. I'd pay to go to: any pleas…
- What are some markets with 25 million+ customers that are ripe for disruption?
Career services for Generation X, especially women. The cohort is about 50 million individuals, mostly mid-career now, and extremely vulnerable to becoming victims of the Internet economy. The younges…
- What plot devices should be forbidden in all future Star Trek incarnations?
Short answer: none. They all have life in them. It's the larger narratives that are the problem. Fix the big arcs, and the plot devices will feel fresh again. I'd never watched more than a glimpse o…
- What features would make Quora better?
A racial and gender profiling tool. For example a block/allow mechanism that allows people to self-segregate out by checking off labels from a list, to control what they see and who sees what they sha…
- What are the most beautiful languages?
Let's elevate this question from a party game of posturing and flattery/pandering, shall we? I'll stick to spoken form and ignore the visual written form. The two are mostly unrelated questions. I'll…
- Why doesn't the U.S. adopt the Israeli model for airport security screening? The Israeli airport screening system has been largely successful in preventing terrorist incidents despite the ostensibly greater threat.
It's nice of Yair Levine to provide an answer that rationalizes the US model in as flattering a way as possible. But he's being too nice. The real answer is, "we don't deserve it." The harsh truth is…
- What is an operating system? What are the various functions of operating systems in layman's terms?
I like a political-economic metaphor: functions in the operating system are the equivalent of public utilities like water and power. If an economic sector has characteristics of a natural monopoly, is…
- How will you change the game if you are in charge of Microsoft Bing?
Solve enterprise search. Reposition consumer offering around strengths in increasing open data world derived from enterprise. Rethink search UX to vertically integrate bookmarking, analytics and note-…
- What was the most profitable lie ever told in history?
Probably the famous "two contracts" lie in the conspiracy that led to the Battle of Plassey and from there to British control of India. From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat... Mir Jafar…
- What's the difference between baseball and cricket?
I wrote a post about this a few years ago. http://www.ribbonfarm.com/2010/0... Here's an excerpt. Here’s all you really need to know about the cricket-baseball difference, as far as understanding …
- How paranoid is too paranoid?
With 99% probability you're buying your own bullshit and you don't really have anything worth protecting. Inventors routinely overestimate their own cleverness and the significance of what they do. …
- How effective are donations for monetizing a blog?
I am in my third year doing it. First year, I got $2200, second year I got about $4000. This year, I am on track to make significantly less... maybe $2600. Will explain reasons later. Some calibratio…
- Has anyone found any loopholes that would make the technology impossible in the Hyperloop project as detailed by Elon Musk?
Hyperloop is a hopelessly incomplete idea! Full of fatal gaps. Clearly, it needs an iPhone app and Facebook/Twitter integration. Glaring gap there. Integrated check-in (both Foursquare and airplane st…
- How do unemployed people introduce themselves?
Options. Select right one according to context of question "So, what do you do?" Brazen it out: "I am an unemployed bum, got any change? haha!"Convert to a networking opportunity: "I am on the market…
- What are the job prospects of Aerospace in USA compared to software? Which specializations between aerodynamics, propulsion and structures are in demand?
You are making a big category error here. All of modern aerospace engineering is effectively a specialized kind of software engineering. Most of your work will involve programming if you get into the …
- Is it possible to compete with free? If so, how?
Of course it is. Examples are all over the place. Microsoft vs. Linux. AirBnB vs. Couchsurfing (sort of), industry intelligence reports vs. Wikipedia, Posthaven vs. free blog platforms, books vs. blo…
- Can being an extrovert create social anxiety?
Oh hell yeah. There are two major situations where introverts are actually more socially comfortable and extroverts experience anxiety. Often crippling. 1. When there is an insufficient number of pe…