Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

theatlantic.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

191–200 of 438 posts

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#191

Post by Cthulhu_ »

aaronbrethorst wrote: post #13
AbrahamParangi wrote: post #4

Whenever you see someone who you believe to be an idiot succeeding, it usually means they're really good at the game and you don't even understand what the game is .

Or their family donated enough money to an Ivy to have a building named after them.

It means that not only do they have a business idea (or stole one), but they have the network and (financial) risk buffer to develop it into a business.

One thing to keep in mind is that the majority of businesses and products fail. Remember survivorship bias. For every successful Netflix there are a dozen failed movie streaming services. Anyone who has had a few weeks worth of software engineering can produce a Twitter clone, but none have been successful.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#192

Post by catssie »

innagadadavida wrote: post #34
DecayingOrganic wrote: post #28

While I agree with the article, it is important to distinguish the macro from the micro point of view. From the micro point of view, a talented individual has a greater a priori probability to reach a high level of success than a moderately gifted one. On the other hand, from the macro point of view of the entire society, the probability to find moderately gifted individuals at the top levels of success is greater th…

All of these are good factors, but don't leave out ego. Many smart people would rather be "right" and preserve their ego than make money.

Every time I am wrong, I rejoice, because it means I learned something new, I just objectively became less dumb. Ego is the bane of learning. Smart people with ego usually aren’t as smart as you think, it’s usually more luck, performance, and privilege.

Besides, “Mo money, mo problems”. I have a couple thousand square feet of house, few thousand square feet of yard and garden. It’s way too much for just me, I have a dedicated VR room. Billionaire or bust mentality is a sickness.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#193

Post by TuringNYC »

Grustaf wrote: post #166
DecayingOrganic wrote: post #28

While I agree with the article, it is important to distinguish the macro from the micro point of view. From the micro point of view, a talented individual has a greater a priori probability to reach a high level of success than a moderately gifted one. On the other hand, from the macro point of view of the entire society, the probability to find moderately gifted individuals at the top levels of success is greater th…

I think it's mostly just that intelligence is not terribly important for success. Tenacity, street smart, charisma, connections, passion are all more important than IQ.

Perhaps also there are more definitions of success? Some people find success in moderate income but good family happiness. Others find success in taking care of their community.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#194

Post by tosssingaksla »

risyachka wrote: post #70

Money an intelligence rarely correlate. I know many very smart people that are just not interested in creating the business, though they are working on super complex things just for the sake of science. Also there are lots of idiots why can become rich. There are so many opportunities. So you can be absolutely right saying that some guy is an idiot even if he has billions.

Depends on what you call "Money"

If you meant income, you are wrong.

If you meant wealth, you are right.

Just do a quick google search with income and IQ correlation. Random first article: https://ifstudies.org/blog/can-intelligence-predict-income , don't even know if it's a good source, but google was showing results for IQ having a correlation to income, and also for show results saying IQ having no correlation to wealth.

You own words:

> Though they are working on super complex things just for the sake of science

Those kind of things tend to pay higher that you usual trade job, and are only available to higher than average IQ. Wealth and Income are very distinct things.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#195

Post by heipei »

Ma8ee wrote: post #54
innagadadavida wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All of these are good factors, but don't leave out ego. Many smart people would rather be "right" and preserve their ego than make money.

And that many smart people have better things to do with their time than making more money. I have everything I need and really want. I much rather play with my three year old son in the garden than being able to afford a new Tesla.

And maybe that if you are smart (or think you are, based on previous success) you might be more relaxed about not optimizing for maximum monetary gain at every step of the way since you think you will always have plenty of good options down the road since your smarts is not a random one-off occurrence but something you can tap into repeatedly.

Personal anecdote: I used to be very anxious about making the absolutely "best" choice at every fork in my life and would agonize and analyze every decision meticulously. A few years into my career, I have had enough positive experiences and successes under my belt that I feel much more relaxed about the choices I make because I think I'll always have the ability to correct or pivot if I make one wrong move right now.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#196

Post by [deleted] »

xtiansimon wrote: post #183
Grustaf wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's mostly just that intelligence is not terribly important for success. Tenacity, street smart, charisma, connections, passion are all more important than IQ.

Don’t forget good looks and a rich uncle to bail you out of a jam.

[deleted]

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#197

Post by mlvljr »

xtiansimon wrote: post #183
Grustaf wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's mostly just that intelligence is not terribly important for success. Tenacity, street smart, charisma, connections, passion are all more important than IQ.

Don’t forget good looks and a rich uncle to bail you out of a jam.

How dare you, sir, attack the *n dream!

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#198

Post by ojnabieoot »

koheripbal wrote: post #147
ggm wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But he has conspicuously failed to sell to 50% of his nation. Obama was a consummate salesman too and occupied the middle. Do you really think a rich entitled Trump who inherited his millions out-sold the first black president of the USA? Trump sold to his own. Obama sold worldwide. Tony Blair is a consummate lier and fraud and he sold better than Trump. He has a post prime ministerial income based on selling. Once T…

No one is making the argument that he's the best president ever, or even a good one. The point is that he became the President of the USA - he played the game very very well. It becomes more apparent when you see his videos on the subject from the 1980s - he was planning this move for decades.

A huge part of the problem with Donald Trump is how many Americans have decided that he’s good at “playing the game” of winning is elections. But the 2016 presidential election was flagrantly stolen, and the entire national GOP was complicit. Even if you’re not willing to admit it was stolen it obviously had huge legitimacy problems because Trump significantly lost the popular vote. But instead of facing this reality of democratic backsliding, people who otherwise know better have decided that the wily salesman Donald Trump once again pulled a fast one on us.

(c.f. Bill Gates being seen as a tech genius rather than the reality that he’s just a vicious thug)

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#199

Post by iateanapple »

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #167
throwaway553321 wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Unless by "good at the game" you refer to the skill of dropping out of the right vagina, like royalists do. And some people are born athletically gifted, or extremely attractive, or with very high IQ and a temperament for grit. There are lottery winners that lose everything in a few years. Just because you are born into money, doesn’t mean you will succeed.

In the end it's not about the money. As you said, there are lottery winners who lose everything in a few years, and there are people who build a new fortune after losing everything. That doesn't mean that being born into a privileged life doesn't have advantages, but it's about way more than just the money. It's also the connections you have. The best example right now is Trump, who is a complete and utter failure as…

> who is a complete and utter failure as a businessman yet people keep throwing money at him.

Perhaps you are judging him by the wrong metrics?

Trump has always wanted to be a “great man” of history while being able to live a life of excess.

Re: A lot of “idiotic” things have reasonable explanations (2011)

#200

Post by wmeredith »

rubidium wrote: post #159
krapp wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Trump is a world-class salesman. When did Mexico agree to pay for the wall?

That’s part of the pitch. He’s not selling to Mexico.

This is what a lot of people don’t get. All the stupid shit he says is for his base. He doesn’t care about Mexico.
Post reply on HN