pgstrata

What if you could pinch to zoom in and out of an essay?

Each one here is stratified. Slide from its one-line shape down to Paul Graham’s exact words — now linked and annotated. The same essay, read at whatever altitude you want.

One passage, four depthsThe Best Essay ↗

The best essay isn’t just well-written; it’s about the most important topic you could tell people something surprising about — which usually means describing the most important discovery it was possible to make.

Challenge accepted.

Dedicated to Paul Graham, with love.

— Cyrus

The library

230 essays
  1. How to Convert Between Wealth and Income TaxMay 2026 · 699 words
  2. The Brand AgeMarch 2026 · 7,656 words
  3. The Shape of the Essay FieldJune 2025 · 769 words
  4. Good WritingMay 2025 · 1,645 words
  5. What to DoMarch 2025 · 1,590 words
  6. The Origins of WokenessJanuary 2025 · 6,167 words
  7. Writes and Write-NotsOctober 2024 · 555 words
  8. When To Do What You LoveSeptember 2024 · 1,545 words
  9. Founder ModeSeptember 2024 · 1,244 words
  10. The Right Kind of StubbornJuly 2024 · 1,936 words
  11. The RedditsMarch 2024 · 1,168 words
  12. How to Start GoogleMarch 2024 · 2,826 words
  13. The Best EssayMarch 2024 · 4,338 words
  14. Superlinear ReturnsOctober 2023 · 4,258 words
  15. How to Do Great WorkJuly 2023 · 11,824 words
  16. How to Get New IdeasJanuary 2023 · 147 words
  17. What You (Want to)* WantNovember 2022 · 511 words
  18. The Need to ReadNovember 2022 · 446 words
  19. Alien TruthOctober 2022 · 684 words
  20. What I've Learned from UsersSeptember 2022 · 2,194 words
  21. HeresyApril 2022 · 2,113 words
  22. Putting Ideas into WordsFebruary 2022 · 1,164 words
  23. Is There Such a Thing as Good Taste?November 2021 · 1,123 words
  24. Beyond SmartOctober 2021 · 1,422 words
  25. Weird LanguagesAugust 2021 · 348 words
  26. A Project of One's OwnJune 2021 · 2,510 words
  27. How to Work HardJune 2021 · 3,317 words
  28. An NFT That Saves LivesMay 2021 · 314 words
  29. Crazy New IdeasMay 2021 · 1,326 words
  30. Fierce NerdsMay 2021 · 1,248 words
  31. How People Get Rich NowApril 2021 · 2,583 words
  32. The Real Reason to End the Death PenaltyApril 2021 · 781 words
  33. Write SimplyMarch 2021 · 509 words
  34. Donate UnrestrictedMarch 2021 · 485 words
  35. What I Worked OnFebruary 2021 · 13,810 words
  36. EarnestnessDecember 2020 · 1,671 words
  37. The AirbnbsDecember 2020 · 1,102 words
  38. Billionaires BuildDecember 2020 · 3,425 words
  39. How to Think for YourselfNovember 2020 · 3,448 words
  40. Early WorkOctober 2020 · 2,507 words
  41. Modeling a Wealth TaxAugust 2020 · 421 words
  42. Orthodox PrivilegeJuly 2020 · 650 words
  43. The Four Quadrants of ConformismJuly 2020 · 1,971 words
  44. Coronavirus and CredibilityApril 2020 · 237 words
  45. How to Write UsefullyFebruary 2020 · 2,868 words
  46. Being a NoobJanuary 2020 · 373 words
  47. HatersJanuary 2020 · 1,391 words
  48. The Two Kinds of ModerateDecember 2019 · 668 words
  49. The Lesson to UnlearnDecember 2019 · 4,043 words
  50. Having KidsDecember 2019 · 1,537 words
  51. Fashionable ProblemsDecember 2019 · 190 words
  52. Novelty and HeresyNovember 2019 · 255 words
  53. The Bus Ticket Theory of GeniusNovember 2019 · 2,635 words
  54. General and SurprisingSeptember 2017 · 439 words
  55. Charisma / PowerJanuary 2017 · 121 words
  56. The Risk of DiscoveryJanuary 2017 · 216 words
  57. This Year We Can End the Death Penalty in CaliforniaNovember 2016 · 187 words
  58. How to Make Pittsburgh a Startup HubApril 2016 · 2,636 words
  59. Life is ShortJanuary 2016 · 1,675 words
  60. The RefragmentationJanuary 2016 · 7,198 words
  61. Economic InequalityJanuary 2016 · 3,434 words
  62. Jessica LivingstonNovember 2015 · 1,968 words
  63. Write Like You TalkOctober 2015 · 709 words
  64. A Way to Detect BiasOctober 2015 · 565 words
  65. Default Alive or Default Dead?October 2015 · 1,498 words
  66. Why It's Safe for Founders to Be NiceAugust 2015 · 785 words
  67. Change Your NameAugust 2015 · 758 words
  68. What Microsoft Is this the Altair Basic of?February 2015 · 377 words
  69. What Doesn't Seem Like Work?January 2015 · 488 words
  70. The Ronco PrincipleJanuary 2015 · 630 words
  71. Don't Talk to Corp DevJanuary 2015 · 1,292 words
  72. The Fatal PinchDecember 2014 · 1,602 words
  73. How You KnowDecember 2014 · 648 words
  74. How to Be an Expert in a Changing WorldDecember 2014 · 1,061 words
  75. Let the Other 95% of Great Programmers InDecember 2014 · 924 words
  76. Mean People FailNovember 2014 · 1,138 words
  77. Before the StartupOctober 2014 · 4,593 words
  78. How to Raise MoneySeptember 2013 · 10,671 words
  79. Investor Herd DynamicsAugust 2013 · 1,096 words
  80. How to Convince InvestorsAugust 2013 · 3,682 words
  81. Do Things that Don't ScaleJuly 2013 · 4,345 words
  82. Startup Investing TrendsJune 2013 · 2,955 words
  83. How to Get Startup IdeasNovember 2012 · 7,208 words
  84. The Hardware RenaissanceOctober 2012 · 400 words
  85. Black Swan FarmingSeptember 2012 · 2,148 words
  86. Startup = GrowthSeptember 2012 · 5,345 words
  87. The Top of My Todo ListApril 2012 · 234 words
  88. How Y Combinator StartedMarch 2012 · 1,447 words
  89. Writing and SpeakingMarch 2012 · 1,194 words
  90. Defining PropertyMarch 2012 · 980 words
  91. Frighteningly Ambitious Startup IdeasMarch 2012 · 3,779 words
  92. A Word to the ResourcefulJanuary 2012 · 789 words
  93. Snapshot: Viaweb, June 1998January 2012 · 869 words
  94. Schlep BlindnessJanuary 2012 · 840 words
  95. Why Startup Hubs WorkOctober 2011 · 1,796 words
  96. The Patent PledgeAugust 2011 · 685 words
  97. Subject: AirbnbMarch 2011 · 1,370 words
  98. TabletsDecember 2010 · 549 words
  99. Founder ControlDecember 2010 · 769 words
  100. The New Funding LandscapeOctober 2010 · 3,572 words
  101. Where to See Silicon ValleyOctober 2010 · 1,071 words
  102. What We Look for in FoundersOctober 2010 · 787 words
  103. High Resolution FundraisingSeptember 2010 · 702 words
  104. What Happened to YahooAugust 2010 · 2,039 words
  105. The Future of Startup FundingAugust 2010 · 3,867 words
  106. The Top Idea in Your MindJuly 2010 · 1,158 words
  107. How to Lose Time and MoneyJuly 2010 · 678 words
  108. The Acceleration of AddictivenessJuly 2010 · 1,273 words
  109. Organic Startup IdeasApril 2010 · 994 words
  110. Apple's MistakeNovember 2009 · 2,134 words
  111. What Startups Are Really LikeOctober 2009 · 5,129 words
  112. Post-Medium PublishingSeptember 2009 · 1,772 words
  113. The List of N ThingsSeptember 2009 · 1,446 words
  114. Persuade xor DiscoverSeptember 2009 · 1,301 words
  115. The Anatomy of DeterminationSeptember 2009 · 1,489 words
  116. What Kate Saw in Silicon ValleyAugust 2009 · 813 words
  117. The Trouble with the SegwayJuly 2009 · 379 words
  118. Ramen ProfitableJuly 2009 · 1,833 words
  119. Maker's Schedule, Manager's ScheduleJuly 2009 · 1,157 words
  120. Why Twitter is a Big DealApril 2009 · 147 words
  121. A Local Revolution?April 2009 · 1,339 words
  122. The Founder VisaApril 2009 · 404 words
  123. Five FoundersApril 2009 · 757 words
  124. Relentlessly ResourcefulMarch 2009 · 995 words
  125. Why TV LostMarch 2009 · 1,529 words
  126. How to Be an Angel InvestorMarch 2009 · 3,953 words
  127. Can You Buy a Silicon Valley? Maybe.February 2009 · 1,912 words
  128. Keep Your Identity SmallFebruary 2009 · 867 words
  129. What I've Learned from Hacker NewsFebruary 2009 · 2,864 words
  130. Startups in 13 SentencesFebruary 2009 · 1,312 words
  131. The High-Res SocietyDecember 2008 · 1,522 words
  132. Could VC be a Casualty of the Recession?December 2008 · 1,349 words
  133. After CredentialsDecember 2008 · 2,385 words
  134. The Other Half of \"Artists Ship\"November 2008 · 1,309 words
  135. Why to Start a Startup in a Bad EconomyOctober 2008 · 1,098 words
  136. A Fundraising Survival GuideAugust 2008 · 4,825 words
  137. The Pooled-Risk Company Management CompanyJuly 2008 · 1,260 words
  138. Lies We Tell KidsMay 2008 · 5,249 words
  139. Disconnecting DistractionMay 2008 · 1,151 words
  140. Cities and AmbitionMay 2008 · 3,604 words
  141. Some HeroesApril 2008 · 2,695 words
  142. Why There Aren't More GooglesApril 2008 · 1,328 words
  143. Be GoodApril 2008 · 2,948 words
  144. A New Venture AnimalMarch 2008, rev May 2013 · 1,987 words
  145. How to DisagreeMarch 2008 · 1,518 words
  146. You Weren't Meant to Have a BossMarch 2008, rev. June 2008 · 2,521 words
  147. TrollsFebruary 2008 · 893 words
  148. Six Principles for Making New ThingsFebruary 2008 · 1,167 words
  149. The Future of Web StartupsOctober 2007 · 3,394 words
  150. Why to Move to a Startup HubOctober 2007 · 1,458 words
  151. How to Do PhilosophySeptember 2007 · 4,721 words
  152. News from the FrontSeptember 2007 · 2,216 words
  153. Holding a Program in One's HeadAugust 2007 · 1,842 words
  154. How Not to DieAugust 2007 · 1,963 words
  155. StuffJuly 2007 · 1,246 words
  156. The Equity EquationJuly 2007 · 1,132 words
  157. An Alternative Theory of UnionsMay 2007 · 515 words
  158. Microsoft is DeadApril 2007 · 1,288 words
  159. Two Kinds of JudgementApril 2007 · 740 words
  160. The Hacker's Guide to InvestorsApril 2007 · 6,246 words
  161. Why to Not Not Start a StartupMarch 2007 · 6,274 words
  162. Is It Worth Being Wise?February 2007 · 3,743 words
  163. Learning from FoundersJanuary 2007 · 832 words
  164. How Art Can Be GoodDecember 2006 · 3,624 words
  165. The 18 Mistakes That Kill StartupsOctober 2006 · 5,593 words
  166. A Student's Guide to StartupsOctober 2006 · 6,446 words
  167. How to Present to InvestorsAugust 2006, rev. April 2007, September 2010 · 2,829 words
  168. The Island TestJuly 2006 · 755 words
  169. Copy What You LikeJuly 2006 · 931 words
  170. The Power of the MarginalJune 2006 · 6,052 words
  171. How to Be Silicon ValleyMay 2006 · 3,623 words
  172. Why Startups Condense in AmericaMay 2006 · 4,764 words
  173. The Hardest Lessons for Startups to LearnApril 2006 · 4,827 words
  174. See RandomnessApril 2006, rev August 2009 · 593 words
  175. Why YCMarch 2006, rev August 2009 · 376 words
  176. Are Software Patents Evil?March 2006 · 4,658 words
  177. 6,631,372March 2006, rev August 2009 · 693 words
  178. How to Do What You LoveJanuary 2006 · 4,680 words
  179. Good and Bad ProcrastinationDecember 2005 · 1,805 words
  180. Web 2.0November 2005 · 3,364 words
  181. The Venture Capital SqueezeNovember 2005 · 1,564 words
  182. How to Fund a StartupNovember 2005 · 8,921 words
  183. What I Did this SummerOctober 2005 · 2,574 words
  184. Ideas for StartupsOctober 2005 · 3,934 words
  185. What Business Can Learn from Open SourceAugust 2005 · 4,353 words
  186. After the LadderAugust 2005 · 585 words
  187. Inequality and RiskAugust 2005 · 2,819 words
  188. Hiring is ObsoleteMay 2005 · 4,777 words
  189. The SubmarineApril 2005 · 2,369 words
  190. Why Smart People Have Bad IdeasApril 2005 · 3,159 words
  191. Writing, BrieflyMarch 2005 · 459 words
  192. A Unified Theory of VC SuckageMarch 2005 · 1,472 words
  193. How to Start a StartupMarch 2005 · 9,742 words
  194. Return of the MacMarch 2005 · 1,004 words
  195. UndergraduationMarch 2005 · 3,669 words
  196. What You'll Wish You'd KnownJanuary 2005 · 5,074 words
  197. Made in USANovember 2004 · 1,852 words
  198. Bradley's GhostNovember 2004 · 623 words
  199. It's Charisma, StupidNovember 2004, corrected June 2006 · 1,505 words
  200. A Version 1.0October 2004 · 4,266 words
  201. The Age of the EssaySeptember 2004 · 4,523 words
  202. What the Bubble Got RightSeptember 2004 · 3,732 words
  203. The Python ParadoxAugust 2004 · 449 words
  204. Great HackersJuly 2004 · 5,224 words
  205. How to Make WealthMay 2004 · 8,938 words
  206. Mind the GapMay 2004 · 5,684 words
  207. The Word \"Hacker\"April 2004 · 1,937 words
  208. What You Can't SayJanuary 2004 · 5,455 words
  209. Filters that Fight BackAugust 2003 · 831 words
  210. If Lisp is So GreatMay 2003 · 418 words
  211. Hackers and PaintersMay 2003 · 5,599 words
  212. The Hundred-Year LanguageApril 2003 · 4,791 words
  213. Why Nerds are UnpopularFebruary 2003 · 5,707 words
  214. Design and ResearchJanuary 2003 · 2,664 words
  215. Better Bayesian FilteringJanuary 2003 · 4,346 words
  216. A Plan for SpamAugust 2002 · 5,342 words
  217. Succinctness is PowerMay 2002 · 3,032 words
  218. Revenge of the NerdsMay 2002 · 5,830 words
  219. Taste for MakersFebruary 2002 · 4,324 words
  220. What Made Lisp DifferentDecember 2001 (rev. May 2002) · 706 words
  221. The Other Road AheadSeptember 2001 · 11,971 words
  222. The Roots of LispMay 2001 · 367 words
  223. Being PopularMay 2001 · 7,605 words
  224. Five Questions about Language DesignMay 2001 · 2,946 words
  225. Java's CoverApril 2001 · 1,380 words
  226. Beating the AveragesApril 2001, rev. April 2003 · 4,462 words
  227. Programming Bottom-Up1993 · 926 words
  228. Why Arc Isn't Especially Object-Oriented494 words
  229. Lisp for Web-Based Applications58 words
  230. What Languages Fix213 words