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Founder School Session: The Future Doesn't Have to Be Incremental

DEMO · talk · Watch on YouTube

Tech pioneers & interviewsStartups & entrepreneurshipSoftware architecture & design

What it is

Alan Kay speaks at the DEMO Founder School session on why real progress takes invention rather than incremental innovation. He argues for problem-oriented thinking and long-term research funding.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN commenters treat it as a thought-provoking talk on invention versus innovation, and cite it in discussions of software complexity and startups.

  • 5 people recommended it
  • 5 different months
  • 2 strong recommendations
  • first 2014, last 2026

What HN commenters said

  1. “I highly recommend everyone working in or with IT to see it.”

    Why computing recreates the past; research funding

    romaniv, 2017-03 · Strong recommendation · in “The AI Misinformation Epidemic”

  2. “probably the most insightful and though-provoking technology talk I have ever seen”

    Kay on difference between invention and innovation

    gambler, 2017-04 · Strong recommendation · in “Tim Berners-Lee wins Turing Award”

  3. “Video by Kay which goes into more depth”

    Kay on slow deep thinking enabling leaps

    nrao123, 2014-09 · Recommendation · in “Read Slowly to Benefit Your Brain and Cut Stress”

  4. “reminded me very much of this talk”

    Aiming for the future rather than piling on the stack

    rtens, 2016-12 · Recommendation · in “What's wrong with Software nowadays and how we can fix it”

  5. “Here is some material you may be interested in which bolsters this viewpoint”

    Supports thinking bigger than incremental startup ideas

    georgewsinger, 2017-10 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: We have a great team and capital but can't find a good idea”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: alan kay, innovation, research funding, software engineering, startups

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