Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Let's not forget, Bill Gates was handed a 0th birthday gift of $1 million from his grandfather, the keys to his private middle school computer (the same one Stanford had), and a free ticket to do business with IBM because his mother already knew its chairman. The rest of your post is very insightful, but this part above strikes me as petty - I was low born myself, was given almost nothing except birth in the USA in…
...but this part above strikes me as petty... Sorry if it came across that way; that was not my intent. Everyone's starting point is relative. No one ever gave me the gifts that Bill Gates got. But then again, I've had gifts that 99% of everyone who ever lived couldn't imagine. With those gifts comes responsibility. Whenever I have an opportunity to use my gifts to do good things, I think of how proud those who made…
I don't have too much more to add, just wanted to say we fairly similar to you, and think you're an awesome contributor on HN, and wanted to let you know that. Absolutely no disrespect intended and it'd be good to break bread sometime if we're ever in the same place, I've learned a lot from your comments.
I very slightly disagree that with gifts comes responsibility, because I think only an individual can assign responsibility to themselves outside of the basics of not intruding on other people. But I'm probably strange, most people don't think that way. With that said, I assign high responsibility levels to myself (service, charity, helping people, good citizenship, protecting the weak, serving the strong and virtuous, and those who wish to be strong and virtuous). Anyways, that's somewhat a minor point - I wanted to comment more to show some respect. You're one of the best commentors in HN history and I've learned a lot from you.