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

Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

online.wsj.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 73 posts

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#51

Post by argonaut »

hello_newman wrote: post #46
codex wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why I love Steve Jobs' commencement address at Stanford. He was brutally honest. I love how he attributes much of his success to not having a college degree.

"I love how he attributes much of his success to not having a college degree." I love the part where he talks about Reed College and says something along the lines of "It was almost as expensive as Stanford" and he chuckled. The camera pans to the audience, and you can see the Professors behind him just stare with a straight face. Kind of seemed like he reminded all the students in the audience (and some adults I am…

To be clear, you are much more likely to graduate with debt from a low to mid-upper tier private college than you are likely to graduate with debt from a wealthy school like Stanford, due to the fact that Stanford can afford to spend a large amount on financial aid.

Exceptions always abound, though, and there are always a few who fall through the cracks (and these people tend to show up on HN attacking my assetions :) )

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#52

Post by [deleted] »

YokoZar wrote: post #47
rayiner wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If substantial inflation is on the way, the winning play is not to save but take on debt.

If substantial inflation is on the way, the interest rate earned by your savings will increase accordingly provided you're not investing in mattress funds.

[deleted]

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#53

Post by umsm »

rayiner wrote: post #44
127001brewer wrote: post #5

Another point would be to save . When you're young, it's easy to spend and not save. However, it's important to get into a disciplined habit of saving - don't depend on someone else to force you to save. Also, while it's financially advantageous to have a two-income family, once you have kids priorities might change. The better choice may be to have a parent at home with the kid(s) instead of utilizing day-care. You'…

If substantial inflation is on the way, the winning play is not to save but take on debt.

Saving can include investments. Real-estate is a good one.

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#54

Post by Livven »

umsm wrote: post #50
tokenadult wrote: post #33

I can't believe that five hours after this interesting essay was posted, none of the comments have yet mentioned Paul Graham's essay (also a commencement speech never heard at an actual graduation) "What You'll Wish You'd Known" (January 2005). http://paulgraham.com/hs.html I like much of the advice of that essay, which is the second Paul Graham essay local friends recommended that I read. I have all my children read…

He mentions that "the school authorities vetoed the plan to invite me"... why?

Read the essay, and it should quickly become clear.

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#55

Post by kosei »

codex wrote: post #19
michaelochurch wrote: post #6

Most commencement speakers are double outliers. 1. They're highly successful. Most people aren't. 2. The validation of an academic meritocracy where many top members (compared to anything else in society) hate the corporate world means that they're likely to be people of merit. Most highly successful people aren't. They're great at inspiring, but they've had just too much good luck to know how the world really works…

This is why I love Steve Jobs' commencement address at Stanford. He was brutally honest. I love how he attributes much of his success to not having a college degree.

The other big piece of his speech I enjoyed was echoed here on "borrowed time":

'Would I regret spending my life this way if I were to get hit by a bus next week or next year? And the important corollary: Does this path lead to a life I will be happy with and proud of in 10 or 20 years if I don't get hit by a bus.'

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#56

Post by enraged_camel »

umsm wrote: post #53
rayiner wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If substantial inflation is on the way, the winning play is not to save but take on debt.

Saving can include investments. Real-estate is a good one.

Real estate is a horrible investment. Houses appreciate at a much, much lower rate than index funds.

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#57

Post by sliverstorm »

enraged_camel wrote: post #56
umsm wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Saving can include investments. Real-estate is a good one.

Real estate is a horrible investment. Houses appreciate at a much, much lower rate than index funds.

Horrible? The recent bubble aside, I understand real estate has historically been quite stable. Any good portfolio is diversified, so I don't really see why they are horrible.

P.S. Many people who "invest" in real estate rent the property, which throws a tremendous wrench in comparisons of simple appreciation.

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#58

Post by hello_newman »

argonaut wrote: post #51
hello_newman wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"I love how he attributes much of his success to not having a college degree." I love the part where he talks about Reed College and says something along the lines of "It was almost as expensive as Stanford" and he chuckled. The camera pans to the audience, and you can see the Professors behind him just stare with a straight face. Kind of seemed like he reminded all the students in the audience (and some adults I am…

To be clear, you are much more likely to graduate with debt from a low to mid-upper tier private college than you are likely to graduate with debt from a wealthy school like Stanford, due to the fact that Stanford can afford to spend a large amount on financial aid. Exceptions always abound, though, and there are always a few who fall through the cracks (and these people tend to show up on HN attacking my assetions :…

Exactly. I have always found that funny. Schools like Harvard, Stanford, MIT are often on on par with, if not somewhat cheaper (factoring in the "school brand-name"), than lower level schools. Stanford also pays for your education if your house-hold income is less than 100k.

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#59

Post by GFischer »

jtbigwoo wrote: post #12

Interesting read. If I was asked to give a commencement speech (which never will be, by the way), I'd cover only three points. -Make connections to others My boy scout leader used to say, "Humans are herd animals." Even if you're an introvert and socializing sounds like the worst torture imaginable, at least invite a friend over to watch a movie once a week or sign up for the company bowling league. The research says…

As an added bonus, Volunteering makes you feel a lot better :)

http://www.livescience.com/4443-study-good-feel-good.html

(first link I found, plenty of other studies)

Re: Things Your Commencement Speaker Won't Tell You

#60

Post by gibybo »

YokoZar wrote: post #47
rayiner wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If substantial inflation is on the way, the winning play is not to save but take on debt.

If substantial inflation is on the way, the interest rate earned by your savings will increase accordingly provided you're not investing in mattress funds.

Well, the strategy would be to take on as much debt as possible with a low interest rate, then put it in savings accounts as interest rates rise (so the interest from the savings account will be > interest on the debt).
Post reply on HN