Could you quote a specific sentence that supports any of your claims here?
> I grew up thinking that being smart was the thing most to be desired. Perhaps you did too. But I bet it's not what you really want. Imagine you had a choice between being really smart but discovering nothing new, and being less smart but discovering lots of new ideas. Surely you'd take the latter. I would.
This seems like the closest thing. But it's perfectly fine to mention one's own childhood experiences.
You might want to read http://paulgraham.com/disagree.html, since it sounds like you don't actually disagree with him on anything. Which is to say, your reply is a DH2 at best.
Wouldn't it be better to comment on the actual essay rather than its author? It'd probably be more interesting.
> I grew up thinking that being smart was the thing most to be desired. Perhaps you did too. But I bet it's not what you really want. Imagine you had a choice between being really smart but discovering nothing new, and being less smart but discovering lots of new ideas. Surely you'd take the latter. I would.
This seems like the closest thing. But it's perfectly fine to mention one's own childhood experiences.
You might want to read http://paulgraham.com/disagree.html, since it sounds like you don't actually disagree with him on anything. Which is to say, your reply is a DH2 at best.
Wouldn't it be better to comment on the actual essay rather than its author? It'd probably be more interesting.