'In my opinion, the most important question on the Y Combinator application, is this one: “Please tell us about the time you most successfully hacked some (non-computer) system to your advantage.”'
Not a criticism per se, but pg recently said that is actually one of their LEAST ("not in the top 10") important questions.
I don't think it's quite that simple. Here's some other things Paul Graham has said about that question:
"There's one question that acts like a wildcard, at least for me: [the question] ...
We're looking for people who like to beat the system. So if the answer to this question is good enough, it will make me go back and take a second look at an application that otherwise seemed unpromising. In fact, I think there are people we've invited to interviews mainly on the strength of their answer to this question."
"Sam Altman of Loopt is one of the most successful alumni, so we asked him what question we could put on the Y Combinator application that would help us discover more people like him. He said to ask about a time when they'd hacked something to their advantage—hacked in the sense of beating the system, not breaking into computers. It has become one of the questions we pay most attention to when judging applications."
Not a criticism per se, but pg recently said that is actually one of their LEAST ("not in the top 10") important questions.