HN user
How different is this from what PG says in "A Student's Guide to Startups"?
"If it can work to start a startup during college, why do we tell people not to? ...[the] answer works out to be the right advice for everyone. The ones who are uncertain believe it and give up, and the ones who are sufficiently determined think "screw that, I'll succeed anyway."
I agree also. Guy Kawasaki calls this the "Chinese Soda Myth" - If we can get 0.X% of the population to buy our soda then we'll make $XX million.
As a VC, he blames hearing this too often from startups as one of the reasons he has developed tinnitus :)
I recall a more interesting article on commonly misused words..
Eg. Bemused means confused only. Not "confusingly amused" as it typically is used.
Peruse means to examine in great detail, despite the fact that perusal time in college usually means skimming over the paper quickly.
I forget them all, but I think pristine and ironic were on the list.
* Getting Real - 37signals
* Don't make me think! - Steve Krug
* Envisioning Information - Edward Tufte
* Purple Cow - Seth Godin (see TED talk for 15 min summary)
* The Art of the Start - Guy Kawasaki