Please Build More Silly Things - by Varun Shenoy

Lightbulb ideas from young people tend to fall into one three categories: hacks, projects, and startups. Ideas can start in a bucket, and end up in another as time passes. Let’s walk through them in reverse order. I should also note, that when I refer to “build” I generally mean making something with code/engineering, but I think a lot of the thoughts here can extrapolate to other definitions.

Startups are thesis-driven ideas. Some form of the future necessitates your idea, and you are convinced that you are the perfect person to lead the way. You can actively look for these ideas by immersing yourself among bright people, or it can fall into your lap, often after years of tossing and turning between less fruitful ones.

Projects are ideas with a means to an end. Generally, they’re not very unique, but are great tools for learning. Projects look fantastic on a resume due to their technical challenge, but can be uninspiring. You can develop real world skills by working on projects.

Finally, my favorite: hacks. Hacks can be weird (like *really* weird), random, clunky, and unpolished. But most of all, they are explorative. You learn how to harness new technologies and craft joy when hacking. It’s hard to describe hacks precisely, but everyone has a good intuition for its ingredients. Hacking is play. Hacking is for fun and curiosity.

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