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POPSTechnology Doesn’t Dumb Us Down. It Frees Our Minds. Paul Saffo, the futurist, says he could divide the technology world into two kinds of people: engineers and natural scientists. He says the world outlook of the engineer is by nature optimistic. Every problem can be solved if you have the right tools and enough time and you pose the correct questions. Other people, who can be just as scientific, see the natural order of the world in terms of entropy, decline and death. Those people aren’t necessarily wrong. But the engineer’s point of view puts trust in human improvement. But over the course of human history, writing, printing, computing and Googling have only made it easier to think and communicate.
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POPSLog on, drop out, cash in... Top techies who left school "Of course, for every dropout's success story there are untold stories of disappointment and failure. Nathan Ensmenger, a University of Pennsylvania history professor who tracks the Silicon Valley labor market, says youngsters often are lured by high starting salaries and low barriers to entry. But not everyone can hit a startup grand slam, leaving many with fewer options as they try to climb the corporate ladder that quickly tops out for techies without a degree. "If we were shooting a movie of this, there would be a disclaimer at the bottom, 'Do not attempt this at home,' " said Paul Graham, a startup investor and founder of Y Combinator. "It's an extreme example of a fundamental, underlying trend: If you can program, you don't have to play by the rules." "We discourage people from starting startups too young. You're not a loser if you finish college first."
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