Dignity

What curriculum doesn't teach you about negative numbers until the 7th grade??

One of the most poignant and evocative things I've read of late. I don't want to spoil the experience if you plan to read, so just two excerpts.

> What I learned from the book is that the differences between the back and front row are more than money, marginality, jobs, and education. That is, the back row kids chose lives and educations that weren’t going to get them fancy jobs and high salaries, and they did it only partly because their schools and towns and society hedged them in. They also chose the lives that were going to keep them close to their communities, their families. I believe that, I’ve seen it. And it’s admirable.

> Looking back I had never expected to have my atheism challenged. Certainly not in the drug dens of the South Bronx, but that is what happened. Part of it was recognizing a simply utilitarian value in faith. It was a more informed scientific view of religion. The realization that what the cold secular world that science so often offers up is just that, Cold & secular. Science is not very appealing and often hard for those dealing with trauma to see what “good” it offers. [...] It became a realization that being educated and wealthy had removed me from the best evidence for the “truth” behind faith. When you shield yourself from the messy details of life it is easy to convince yourself that humans can figure it all out, that we all got it under control, or that with enough data, thinking, and computer power, we could figure it out. Maybe, just maybe, we couldn’t and can’t ever do so. Maybe there is stuff just too big and complex to understand and perhaps that is the essential truth.

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Succinctly illustrates something that is a complete blind spot for the mythical "Silicon Valley", with it's mood of techno-optimism and focus on "technology" (sic software). I'm sure reality is much more nuanced even for people with one foot in this bubble. I don't want to kickstart a cliched thread so we can all pile on SV, but I wonder how (where from) others here get such broader perspective in life. It would also be great to hear from people in very different circumstances & geography, about how they manage their intellectual interests and their human side.

This interview is one of the most insightful things I've read in a long time. It is truly profound. I think you quoted two of the best passages in the interview.

The observation that some people in the "back row" have (to some extent) chosen to be there in order to be closer to family struck a chord with me. This isn't to suggest that it's "their fault they are poor" or anything like that. It just provides deeper insight into why they have made certain choices. Consider that the children of the "front row" suffer from disproportionately high instances of mental illness and substance abuse [1]. It appears to be because people who are in the "front row" are afraid their children will fall behind, and place enormous expectations on them. If you stay in the "back row" with your family, maybe you avoid some of these problems.

More and more I am convinced that as a society our increasing economic inequality is forcing everyone to make choices that have no good options. It needs to stop.

[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-dolphin-way/20...

In much the same topic, I recommend this one too:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008AUKKUC/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?...

Check out the book if you can. Among other things, it gave me a new perspective on McDonald’s as one of the greatest social institutions in postmodern America. I think a lot of HN readers would find that part interesting.

Like others, I was struck by the discussion of (not) moving away from home. Arnade describes the bewildered reaction that he usually got from people if he asked them why they never left the area where they grew up. i.e., how is that even a question?