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

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

#211

Post by Traster »

mam2 wrote: post #110
lazyjones wrote: post #100

I love the way people who consider themselves smart rationalize their lack of success/wealth, including here. - I don't want to be wealthy anyway - To be wealthy you have to be ruthless and I prefer to be nice - smart people are so busy with issues much more important than money - wealthy people are just lucky idiots - wealthy people are just idiots who are better at exploiting other idiots - people who are wealthy s…

This is so true i don't understand the downvotes

It's getting downvoted because it's not a good argument. Accusing the people you disagree with of coming to their conclusions through motivated reasonsing neither actually addresses the logical arguments people are making, or gives the people you're disagreeing with any intellectual credit. It also throws up some horrendous strawmen - you have to be rich to take care of your family?

Want to have an open conversation with someone you disagree with? I have a good tip, don't open the conversation by accusing them of being incompetent and not in control of their own lives.

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

#212

Post by ByteJockey »

jeltz wrote: post #114
fwr wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a more powerful political position he could have?

Yes, he could be a president with reliable support from the senate and the house. But that said he still managed to reach very far.

Is that an option these days? When was the last time that existed?

2010?

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

#213

Post by tarsinge »

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.

Yeah the underlying causality between intelligence and wealth/success is always strange for me. Researchers, artists, philosophers... There are a lot of smart people actively choosing to pursue interests that are not valued by the market/don't bring shareholder value. Is this a cultural thing? It's a bit caricatural but where I live I find it's the opposite, "real" smart people should not pursue such lowly material and gross goals as money, being rich is kind of suspicious. But maybe there are nuances in the different kind of smartness that are talked that I miss.

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

#214

Post by iQuercus »

koheripbal wrote: post #152
jjeaff wrote: post #56

I agree with the premise of this article. That armchair quarterbacking is rarely helpful and usually oversimplified. But I dislike the common implication in the headline, which is that intelligence somehow always equates to wealth. First of all, it's not always easy to judge how wealthy another person is, no matter their profession or outward appearance. Secondly, I think we all need to disuade ourselves of the notio…

Would you agree that higher intelligence equates to a greater likelihood of wealth over the long run (lifetime)?

No. No correlation.

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

#215

Post by gwd »

nsgi wrote: post #39
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 .

So Trump is really good at the political game, for instance?

I think Trump is a good example of how luck and skill interact. He absolutely has a talent for selling his ideas to a big chunk of people. I don't think he would have actually become president though, if it weren't for a number of things out of his control: if Putin hadn't been trying to stir up discord, if there'd been a compelling Republican alternative, if James Comey hadn't made that last-minute announcement reminding everyone of the emails again.

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

#216

Post by jawns »

nsgi wrote: post #39
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 .

So Trump is really good at the political game, for instance?

You could think of it as, "Trump is good enough at the game to get elected president."

You could also think of it as, "Those with enough money and power to influence who gets elected president are good enough at the game to get Trump elected president."

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

#217

Post by globular-toast »

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.

These two things are more important than most people are prepared to admit. Very few people ever do the "rags to riches" thing. The few that do are probably good looking. Some people are just born with the ability to be far more successful than others.

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

#218

Post by [deleted] »

fao_ wrote: post #207
xtiansimon wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Exactly. People on here seem to forget that almost every single rich person that can be named had hereditary money. Jeff Bezos now has more money than can be made if an American family earned 63k for 2 million years. He also had parents that gave him a so-called "three hundred thousand dollar investment" (more money than most people see in a lifetime even while working hard for their family, dedicating most of their…

[deleted]

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

#219

Post by m463 »

baddox wrote: post #84

I don’t really understand the point of the article. It seems to be challenging an assumption that being “smart” has something to do with being financially successful. But why would we start with that assumption? Why would we conflate being “intelligent” with being good at making money? To me, this seems as preposterous as asking “if you’re so smart, why are you so bad at playing the violin, or why aren’t you a Hollyw…

I thought there was a correlation between intelligence and income?

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

#220

Post by pogorniy »

koheripbal wrote: post #136
beefield wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or maybe you do, but simply refuse to play the game due to ethical and moral grounds.

I don't see how that applies here. There are lots of ways to make high income that have no ethical dilemmas.

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