It’s better to be born rich than gifted
washingtonpost.com
It’s better to be born rich than gifted
1–10 of 202 posts
Re: It’s better to be born rich than gifted
#2Depends on how 'better' is defined. It looks like they are defining 'better' in this study as 'graduating from college'. That seems like an awfully narrow view of better.
Re: It’s better to be born rich than gifted
#3No-bullshit link: https://archive.is/Yp12Q
Also, I feel like it's necessary to point out just how scummy this site really is. They advertise a more expensive, no-tracking subscription, but say "By subscribing, you agree to the use by us and our third-party partners of technologies such as cookies to personalize content and perform analytics" on the subscription page.
Re: It’s better to be born rich than gifted
#4> Contrast that with a finding from the other end of the genetic scoring scale: about 27 percent of those who score at the bottom quarter of the genetic index, but are born to high-income fathers, graduate from college.
Is this "genetic index" real and scientifically accepted? It sounds vaguely like eugenics.
> And their work has limitations, in addition to being limited to white people for now.
I guess you can use the idea of "genetic scoring" as long as you side step race, but the idea has a long dark history and strikes me as un-scientific.
Re: It’s better to be born rich than gifted
#5Reminds me of the original "Ocean's 11" -- after silver-spoon punk Jimmy Foster [Lawford] is done needling his gangster soon-to-be stepdad Duke Santos [Romero], Santos launches in to a story about growing up tough in the streets and how it prepared him to "always fight" [and thereby become wealthy], but at a cost of years and health.
After a beat, Foster says "Just goes to show : My way's better."
Santos [incredulous] : "What way is that?"
Foster : "Choose rich parents."
Santos : "Ha! You can bet your boots it is."
Re: It’s better to be born rich than gifted
#6This isn’t going to be popular, but:
Should parents be allowed to try to give their children a boost in life? If the answer is yes, then it follows that parents with more resources will be more able to provide that boost.
For me, the line is drawn at “legacy” admissions or jobs, where a clearly lesser candidate is given the nod over someone who is more qualified. But if the parent is able to provide e.g. volunteer opportunities or early business exposure, tutoring, and other extracurriculars, and their child grows as a result of that, I think that’s actually progressive at a societal level (spurring more growth at earlier ages).
The problem with summary statistics like in this article is that there’s no nuance — just a brute “unfair” reflex triggered in the reader.
Re: It’s better to be born rich than gifted
#7Depends on how 'better' is defined. It looks like they are defining 'better' in this study as 'graduating from college'. That seems like an awfully narrow view of better.
If you're born to wealth but not particularly bright, you might have some any degree and live a lifetime of silenced frustration through easy habits; if you're gifted and poor, you'll struggle and it might take you decades longer but there's still a decent shot at finding deep fulfillment. Gifted talent, pursued, provides a deeper feeling of gratitude in the long run than any means.
Re: It’s better to be born rich than gifted
#8Completing college and getting a well paid job is not the absolute measure of a person, nor the highest attainment of success.
Ghandi.
Joan of Arc.
Jesus of Nazareth.
Dr. Martin Luther King.
William Wallace.
Einstein.
Etc.
Freedom, human dignity, compassion, knowing how to live right. These all tend to fall outside the scope of corporate aspiration.
The article is talking about "success" by essentially a single metric. Humankind does not live by bread alone.
Re: It’s better to be born rich than gifted
#9Completing college and getting a well paid job is not the absolute measure of a person, nor the highest attainment of success. Ghandi. Joan of Arc. Jesus of Nazareth. Dr. Martin Luther King. William Wallace. Einstein. Etc. Freedom, human dignity, compassion, knowing how to live right. These all tend to fall outside the scope of corporate aspiration. The article is talking about "success" by essentially a single metri…
born rich (his dad was a provincial minister)
poor
poor (middle-class, if you think a carpenter is that way, maybe)
middle-class
rich (born a landed knight)
rich (although his father's engineering firm went bust but restarted and did well in the second time and they had money worries at times)
about 0.5-5% of people are rich by most definitions
humankind does not live by bread alone, but put a human in a box and don't feed them and see what happens
Re: It’s better to be born rich than gifted
#10This isn’t going to be popular, but: Should parents be allowed to try to give their children a boost in life? If the answer is yes, then it follows that parents with more resources will be more able to provide that boost. For me, the line is drawn at “legacy” admissions or jobs, where a clearly lesser candidate is given the nod over someone who is more qualified. But if the parent is able to provide e.g. volunteer op…
> Should parents be allowed
To paraphrase: "the question is not who will let them, but who will stop them?"