Anyone know if there's a recorded version of the talk I could watch? It sounded like an interesting event.
I would primarily like to see/hear a recorded version of the talk because the "transcription" in the article is very tough to follow.
Gates to students: Don’t try to be a billionaire, it’s overrated
31–40 of 131 posts
Re: Gates to students: Don’t try to be a billionaire, it’s overrated
#32This was an important thing for me to read. For the past several years I have been trying hard to deprogram myself of the "richer is better" mindset. Part of my problem has been the assumption that richer people believe themselves to be better than those less rich, to the point that someone like Bill Gates would think less of someone who "only" had a couple million dollars. I'm slowly weaning myself off of this damag…
I find it increasingly bizarre, day by day, that people are so fixated on money and not value, or meaningfulness. There's something about the way that money is discussed on HN that I find odd, but I haven't quite put my finger on it yet. Maybe it's that there can sometimes feel like a larger emphasis on politics or money than the things people have actually created... maybe. I'm not sure. I'm still working on figurin…
>There's something about the way that money is discussed on HN that I find odd, but I haven't quite put my finger on it yet.
I haven't frequented Slashdot in years, but this is definitely the most striking difference between it (as I remember it) an HN.
Re: Gates to students: Don’t try to be a billionaire, it’s overrated
#33This was an important thing for me to read. For the past several years I have been trying hard to deprogram myself of the "richer is better" mindset. Part of my problem has been the assumption that richer people believe themselves to be better than those less rich, to the point that someone like Bill Gates would think less of someone who "only" had a couple million dollars. I'm slowly weaning myself off of this damag…
I find it increasingly bizarre, day by day, that people are so fixated on money and not value, or meaningfulness. There's something about the way that money is discussed on HN that I find odd, but I haven't quite put my finger on it yet. Maybe it's that there can sometimes feel like a larger emphasis on politics or money than the things people have actually created... maybe. I'm not sure. I'm still working on figurin…
I think the fixation on money is mostly because it's quantifiable. Most people, at least at some point in their lives, feel the need to compare themselves to those around them. There's 2 problems with value and meaning. First when you have a life that is fulfilled and meaningful you tend to be less interested in demonstrating that you are provably superior others or even ranking yourself, after all if you are fulfilled what gain is there? And more practically, it's a qualitative thing, there is no ordered relation on the set of value and meaning in ones life, so you can't really compare in an absolute manner.
Having gone through several large pay increases in my life, the really strange thing is that salary doesn't really affect that much. It slightly reduces stress about 'having enough' though most middle class (upper and lower) people can always be wiped out by disasters, and it only slightly improves your day to day life. When I was younger I'm sure I dreamed about making what I do today, but having gotten there I realize that if I were ever to arrive at my revised dream salary today it probably wouldn't change all that much.
Re: Gates to students: Don’t try to be a billionaire, it’s overrated
#34Billionaire-scale conspicuous consumption is certainly overrated. But Gates's own example shows how wonderfully useful and fulfilling it can be to have tens of billions of dollars to mobilize in a really heroic cause, like working to eradicate various infectious diseases from the human experience. Just to get started, as long as we don't have clean water, plenty of food, proper healthcare, good education, meaningful…
But Gates's own example shows how wonderfully useful and fulfilling it can be to have tens of billions of dollars to mobilize in a really heroic cause, like working to eradicate various infectious diseases from the human experience. Maybe. But it doesn't particularly make me want to be a billionaire. If the main satisfaction you get out of having $100 billion dollars is giving it all away again, I'd rather let someon…
The point of making the billion dollars yourself is having a say in where it gets spent, not in "giving it all away" indiscriminately. Indeed, someone else might choose to just keep their billions in the family, for the sake of obnoxious levels of luxury. I'm sure there are some billionaires exactly like that.
Anyways, the whole problem with trying to become a billionaire is that it's really a lottery. Sure, someone determined could probably earn a few million through effort alone, but becoming a billionaire requires a special mix of smarts, hard work, and luck. Mostly luck, disproportionately so. You can't just will yourself to earn billions.
Re: Gates to students: Don’t try to be a billionaire, it’s overrated
#35Re: Gates to students: Don’t try to be a billionaire, it’s overrated
#36This was an important thing for me to read. For the past several years I have been trying hard to deprogram myself of the "richer is better" mindset. Part of my problem has been the assumption that richer people believe themselves to be better than those less rich, to the point that someone like Bill Gates would think less of someone who "only" had a couple million dollars. I'm slowly weaning myself off of this damag…
I find it increasingly bizarre, day by day, that people are so fixated on money and not value, or meaningfulness. There's something about the way that money is discussed on HN that I find odd, but I haven't quite put my finger on it yet. Maybe it's that there can sometimes feel like a larger emphasis on politics or money than the things people have actually created... maybe. I'm not sure. I'm still working on figurin…
There is a small but vocal subset of people on HN who find it hard to believe anyone cares about anything besides money. I think some people just want a simple way of deciding how good they are doing at life.
Re: Gates to students: Don’t try to be a billionaire, it’s overrated
#37Billionaire-scale conspicuous consumption is certainly overrated. But Gates's own example shows how wonderfully useful and fulfilling it can be to have tens of billions of dollars to mobilize in a really heroic cause, like working to eradicate various infectious diseases from the human experience. Just to get started, as long as we don't have clean water, plenty of food, proper healthcare, good education, meaningful…
But Gates's own example shows how wonderfully useful and fulfilling it can be to have tens of billions of dollars to mobilize in a really heroic cause, like working to eradicate various infectious diseases from the human experience. Maybe. But it doesn't particularly make me want to be a billionaire. If the main satisfaction you get out of having $100 billion dollars is giving it all away again, I'd rather let someon…
Well, counterpoint to that is whether the billionaire is giving to things with which you agree. If you're the billionaire, you get to choose where the money goes. :)
Re: Gates to students: Don’t try to be a billionaire, it’s overrated
#38What he says actually is "get 1 million" "you don't need a billion" Well yeah. 1 million is pretty cool. It means you're free to do whatever you like. Cause hey i'd be pretty happy with 1 million. Or half that. Or quarter that. Or less.
A million bucks isn't much nowadays. Certainly not enough to retire comfortably in the US (yes yes, I know we've had a recent rash of articles on how to retire on $9000 a year or whatever, but I don't wanna live in a trailer park). I reckon you need at least $2 million, preferably $4 million, before you have enough money to never have to worry about money again. Still, I like to think that Bill Gates, having been a m…
I think it's more likely he wasn't worried so much about gotcha-style internet scrutiny than making a general point about diminishing returns.
Re: Gates to students: Don’t try to be a billionaire, it’s overrated
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
But Gates's own example shows how wonderfully useful and fulfilling it can be to have tens of billions of dollars to mobilize in a really heroic cause, like working to eradicate various infectious diseases from the human experience. Maybe. But it doesn't particularly make me want to be a billionaire. If the main satisfaction you get out of having $100 billion dollars is giving it all away again, I'd rather let someon…
The point of making the billion dollars yourself is having a say in where it gets spent, not in "giving it all away" indiscriminately. Indeed, someone else might choose to just keep their billions in the family, for the sake of obnoxious levels of luxury. I'm sure there are some billionaires exactly like that. Anyways, the whole problem with trying to become a billionaire is that it's really a lottery. Sure, someone…
[deleted]
Re: Gates to students: Don’t try to be a billionaire, it’s overrated
#40This was an important thing for me to read. For the past several years I have been trying hard to deprogram myself of the "richer is better" mindset. Part of my problem has been the assumption that richer people believe themselves to be better than those less rich, to the point that someone like Bill Gates would think less of someone who "only" had a couple million dollars. I'm slowly weaning myself off of this damag…
If you make a billion dollars in a free market economy, you have also created a billion dollars in value for others.