A New Aristocracy: Yale Law School Commencement Address (2015) [pdf]

Post by lotsofpulp » Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 6:33 AM UTC

nytesky wrote: post #15

jchallis wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the risk associated with a medical degree? It seemed to be the default path for risk averse middle class kids with science talent.

The risk of Medical and Law school is the enormous debt you take on. Those costs would have been about 4x times the value of my parents homes for example. If for some reason you don’t make it through Med or Law school, it’s not like they forgive the debt.

Post by onion2k » Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 6:41 AM UTC

toasterlovin wrote: post #10

FWIW, the issue with life experience anecdotes is that they don't control for genetic confounding. Most rich kids have both the environment their parent created for them, as well as the genes their parents gave them. So it's impossible to tell which is more important in determining the life outcomes we see. There is a whole discipline called behavioral genetics that uses twin and adoption studies and, increasingly, g…

Post by cm2187 » Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 6:47 AM UTC

nytesky wrote: post #6

My school and work experience span working class coal power plant techs (a friend used to climb through exhaust channels) to Ivy League educated lawyers and founders. Most people’s career trajectory will be set by the time they are in high school, so the importance of secondary school education and resources of your parents is paramount. Also, wealth from family of origin allows risk taking, funding for law or medica…

Post by marcoseliziario » Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 6:51 AM UTC

onion2k wrote: post #26

marcoseliziario wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

maybe not. Probably lottery winners are addicted gamblers, have poor impulse control and so on.

That's exactly the point. That should mean their children won't succeed if genetics rather than money are the most important factor. If their children do succeed then money was (probably) more important. EDIT: If 'being good with money' is an issue, for example if lottery winners don't spend their winnings on their kids, then an alternative would be to look at the successes of children who are adopted in to wealthy f…

Post by sjg007 » Wed, Oct 23, 2019, 7:01 AM UTC

lotsofpulp wrote: post #22

esoterica wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Going to Yale law is a very low risk strategy.

Only if you ignore the costs of getting into Yale (and failing to get into Yale), as well as the costs of not coming out with the necessary connections and pay.