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Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not

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Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not

#311

Post by fuzzfactor »

fuzzfactor wrote: post #268
blurbleblurble wrote: post #110

Capital is so trapped up that people don't even have the capital to take care of basic needs.

Seems to me capital is not just ordinary resources. More like when preservation or a positive return is intended in a businesslike situation, even though negative returns are often encountered. Other people's money can be used to leverage some amazing outcomes. When capitalism is dominated by greedy capitalists, basic needs are not intended to be taken care of, since no return on that type investment can be recognize…

pizzazzaro wrote: >So... How are we to ensure that we have these "benevolent Capitalists"?

Good point, that's a tough one. Sometimes there will obviously be a devastating shortage, or none available at all.

Maybe the only benevolence some cultures will be able to muster is an incomplete removal of opportunity.

I would estimate real benevolence should be obvious to the widest of consensus, and easily distinguishable almost universally from situations where there is some doubt.

Not saying it's easy or possible to ensure anything, especially an anti-greed approach during a greed-power consolidation trend lasting longer than a lifetime.

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not

#312

Post by bsanr2 »

criddell wrote: post #29
eaenki wrote: post #9

Imo Education is overvalued, Capital is under appreciated, And, Because Capital is trapped into networks, that Capital is squandered among an infinite array of companies employing the talent and producing products that don’t make you, or the planet, better, healthier, smarter or happier. (Apple’s SJ era, Google until 2014~ and Tesla fit the useful smarter happier paradigma, and not many other) My solution is: take a…

If I had been given $1 million when I was 22 to build something, the world would have a pretty awesome Honda Civic with a flamethrower on the front, a 40" subwoofer in the hatch, and a dial to change the camber angle of the wheels on the fly.

That's cool. If I'd gotten that money at 22, the world would have a reddit-like that weighted the clout points that you could give to someone else's post inversely to how similar you were to the other poster (based on the style and content of your previous posts), thereby helping to alleviate the echo chamber effect found on other discussion forums. Not that I could have actually gotten it off the ground even with funding.

I think the point is less that every recipient will have good ideas than it is that you're increasing the chances of idea + execution + funding falling into place once or twice for transformative initiatives.

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not

#313

Post by bsanr2 »

imtringued wrote: post #115
easytiger wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Unbelievably childish idea which would be trivial to gamify. You only have to look at the industrialised corruption of public tenders for legitimate needs in Africa for a glimpse of human nature.

I agree. A lot of people would just secretly buy real estate or some other investment instead of actually doing the work.

Balkanization of the real estate market into the hands of less savvy, more competitive operators might be a good thing, actually?

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not

#314

Post by bsanr2 »

buboard wrote: post #124
ta1234567890 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what is the solution to corruption? It does seem like it's getting worse, or maybe media coverage about it is getting better. Has any country in the world successfully fought corruption in a peaceful way? (ie. no revolutions, no guillotines)

Most of the west is not corrupt. You have to visit eastern europe, latin america, middle east and east asia to experience it The solution is not throwing more free money in public coffers. It definitively exacerbated corruption in greece for example

>Most of the west is not corrupt.

That's laughable.

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not

#315

Post by akhilcacharya »

thrower123 wrote: post #11
akhilcacharya wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What, pray tell, is socialistic about this?

It's not socialist, necessarily, but it's definitely blank-slatist, and the two are often stablemates.

I’m far from a blank slatist or a socialist, but as someone who is generally considered “untalented” on the HN scale of things please continue. What is objectionable about this viewpoint?

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not

#316

Post by wolco »

nradov wrote: post #201
__MatrixMan__ wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think just giving the money to whoever has a prototype is a good idea. Some culturally relevant projects aren't the sort of thing you can make a prototype of, but I like where you're going. I'd amend it like so: Once I've been a citizen long enough (i.e. paid enough taxes) I get to invoke my free year, which is a year where the government pays me enough to cover my bills and maybe a bit extra for projects and…

As a taxpayer I'm not interested in paying people to take a year off. If they want to do that they can save up their own money.

We can call it the year of innovation. For one year projects get funded that otherwise never would. The output would solve many problems and create so many opportunities.

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not

#317

Post by wolco »

JPKab wrote: post #195
__MatrixMan__ wrote: post #132

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think just giving the money to whoever has a prototype is a good idea. Some culturally relevant projects aren't the sort of thing you can make a prototype of, but I like where you're going. I'd amend it like so: Once I've been a citizen long enough (i.e. paid enough taxes) I get to invoke my free year, which is a year where the government pays me enough to cover my bills and maybe a bit extra for projects and…

"Once I've been a citizen long enough (i.e. paid enough taxes) I get to invoke my free year, which is a year where the government pays me enough to cover my bills and maybe a bit extra for projects and stuff." I really wish people would stop saying "the government" in these scenarios. It's the taxpayers. Actual humans whose money is taken by force. Not saying it's a bad idea, just saying that we need to be thinking a…

Not all money that government generates comes from tax payers.

From selling stamps, casino taxes, parking/speeding tickets, lotteries (where out of state purchases are allowed) to charging fees for applications or rent/selling land or charging fees to camp in parks.

I don't have to be a taxpayer for the government to make money from me.

Thinking the govermment is the taxpayer is wrong. The government must represent all citizens very young and old and many are not taxpayers.

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not

#318

Post by eaenki »

WalterBright wrote: post #266
eaenki wrote: post #9

Imo Education is overvalued, Capital is under appreciated, And, Because Capital is trapped into networks, that Capital is squandered among an infinite array of companies employing the talent and producing products that don’t make you, or the planet, better, healthier, smarter or happier. (Apple’s SJ era, Google until 2014~ and Tesla fit the useful smarter happier paradigma, and not many other) My solution is: take a…

> producing products that don’t make you, or the planet, better, healthier, smarter or happier. Business Capital goes towards products that people are willing to pay for. People buy products that make them better, healthier, smarter, or happier. Or at least they believe so. Are you sure you know what's better for them to buy?

Most products are either chemical addiction (FB, Coca Cola, tobacco), vaporware (Most B2B), non world changing utility (intuit, JPM)

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not

#319

Post by WalterBright »

eaenki wrote: post #318
WalterBright wrote: post #266

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> producing products that don’t make you, or the planet, better, healthier, smarter or happier. Business Capital goes towards products that people are willing to pay for. People buy products that make them better, healthier, smarter, or happier. Or at least they believe so. Are you sure you know what's better for them to buy?

Most products are either chemical addiction (FB, Coca Cola, tobacco), vaporware (Most B2B), non world changing utility (intuit, JPM)

Nothing that you've bought you actually wanted?

Re: Talent is everywhere, opportunity is not

#320

Post by burntoutfire »

fuzzfactor wrote: post #259
burntoutfire wrote: post #197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> obviously talented The only "obvious" proof of talent that will convince anyone is having impressive accomplishments in a given field. Do you have any?

Exactly. A naturally unfair advantage at the type of research that involves experimentation and/or discovery is a characteristic that most PhD's do not actually have. Plenty still do, but most do not. But without a PhD you will need to work your way up to outperforming those with credentials by a factor of 10x to 20x. Forget working in academia, but you will be expected to hang with them and make progress that they c…

In most cases, successful inventors of the past didn't have access to capital either. It often took decades of relentless dedication for their ideas to come to life. Sometimes, they even straight up risked their lives (like doctors trying out new therapies on themselves). You could say that's unfair, but it kind of makes sense - this way, only people with a singular focus and huge drive make it to the other end - and it's precisely the kind of people who are most fit to be leading the progress anyway (i.e. it's better for everyone when people who get to do cancer research are obsessed about curing cancer and not just very smart, normal people).
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