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Do success stories cause false beliefs about success?

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Re: Do success stories cause false beliefs about success?

#261

Post by DarylZero »

hirvi74 wrote: post #224
kbenson wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It probably does, but it's not something you can affect, so not really of note when discussing what you can do to increase you odds of succeeding in something, which is what he was doing. It's also worth noting that the advice applies to people born wealthy too. You aren't likely to become a guitar god without practice even if you have money. It just might be easier to find the time to actually practice.

> not really of note when discussing what you can do to increase you odds of succeeding in something It's because it chips away at people's egos. It hurts people to realize how much of their success was pure luck. It's hard to look down on others that way. Same with intelligence -- no one chooses their intelligence, so I find it odd when people boast about their borderline-pseudo-science-better-than-you-score, I mean…

LOL the whole point of the "advice" is just to imply that people who aren't rich are all drug-users, high school dropouts, or convicts.

Re: Do success stories cause false beliefs about success?

#262

Post by DarylZero »

nickpp wrote: post #138
bitwize wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Some basic strategies: > 1. stay in school > 2. don't do drugs > 3. don't do crimes You forgot: 4. be born to rich parents That probably has a greater influence on chances of success than most others.

Actually location is the most important indicative of success in life. So if you were born in the USA you already won such a lottery that it completely dwarfs the rest of influences on your chances of success. As to rich parents - that can't be an important indicator, just by considering how many more rich people are in the current generation compared to the previous one: who helped them?!

> how many more rich people are in the current generation compared to the previous one

Fewer isn't it? There is _increasing_ inequality.

Anyway, it's structural, whether the social systems deliver the economic product to a smaller number or larger number of people. It's not down to differences between individuals receiving or not receiving the product.

Re: Do success stories cause false beliefs about success?

#263

Post by burntoutfire »

inter_netuser wrote: post #255
burntoutfire wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both numbers (5k in US, 2.5-3k in Europe) were monthly.

devs in Ukraine not infrequently make 10k a month. Ukraine.

And people in US make 50k-80k a month, too. But I'm not focusing on the top percentiles.

Re: Do success stories cause false beliefs about success?

#264

Post by kbenson »

hirvi74 wrote: post #224
kbenson wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It probably does, but it's not something you can affect, so not really of note when discussing what you can do to increase you odds of succeeding in something, which is what he was doing. It's also worth noting that the advice applies to people born wealthy too. You aren't likely to become a guitar god without practice even if you have money. It just might be easier to find the time to actually practice.

> not really of note when discussing what you can do to increase you odds of succeeding in something It's because it chips away at people's egos. It hurts people to realize how much of their success was pure luck. It's hard to look down on others that way. Same with intelligence -- no one chooses their intelligence, so I find it odd when people boast about their borderline-pseudo-science-better-than-you-score, I mean…

> It's because it chips away at people's egos.

I mean, I'm not going to dispute there's a massive amount of luck that goes into almost everyone's success, but I also think in many (probably even the vast majority) of cases, luck is just going to give you the opportunity, and drive and keeping on track as much as you can is what lets you take advantage of those opportunities.

The difference between the advantaged and disadvantaged is how many times those opportunities knock (or if you're really advantaged, kicks your door down and basically carries you).

Many people that have succeeded have a hard time accepting that it might not have been all their own drive and ambition and actions that account for where they ended up, because to be consistent with their view of themselves that might lead them to give some of their good fortune to others, and there's a lot of mental biases to prevent people from accepting that.

At the same time, many people that aren't succeeding have a hard time accepting that perhaps their own actions have played a large role in why some past opportunities never panned out. In the end, for your personal growth it's best to focus on what you can affect, which is not your birth circumstances and how that might affect you negatively (not to ignore it, but don't let it prevent forward movement). For society, we should look at both.

Re: Do success stories cause false beliefs about success?

#265

Post by pastage »

WalterBright wrote: post #194
pastage wrote: post #103

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"My mom" is short for you are not alone in your success. How can you describe that in a sane way when you know that just one small variable led to this specific outcome. Tech conferences did not get us Linux, it was just an idea that failed many times before and since. For me networking has been vital because I've gotten to do so much fun, but it has been a massive waste of time for the most part.

It's still been vital to you. Who knows who you're going to meet the next time you go to a conference. The last one I went to (Handmade Seattle) I happened to meet and have a great conversation with the creator of Zig. I met lots of others, too. Never would have happened if I didn't go attend it.

Careerwise it was a bad choice for me. I spent too much time finding interesting things rather than seeking compensation. Not being bored is important I'll give you that!
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