Joel Kotkin takes issue with Paul Graham's recent commentary on "How To Be Silicon Valley", asserting that his logic is elitist and much of his evidence incorrect, in this three-part Inc.com blog entry.
"Paul Graham addressed the issue of 'How to be Silicon Valley,' which alleged that to become a high-tech hotbed 'you only need two kinds of people...rich people and nerds.'
This reflects the conceit of a small, but influential group of elite techies and their supporting claque of pundits. According to these worthies, the 'right people' only congregate in certain places with 'well preserved old neighborhoods instead of cookie cutter suburbs, and locally-owned shops and restaurants instead of national chains'. Unlike the rest of us, the chosen will cluster in places 'with personality.'"
"I agree with Graham that most techies may well prefer places 'with personality' (who doesn't?) but they also like good schools, affordable housing, and a lot of other things as well. If they can get both -- which is sometimes possible -- they will take it. If the choice is between a nice, albeit somewhat non-descript suburb good for families or a 'funky' mega-priced urban center that is not, most will opt for outer ring Nerdistan. At least that’s what they have been doing for the past 50 years."
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