Succeeding Against the Odds Can Make You Sick

Post by sg47 » Fri, Jan 27, 2017, 9:28 PM UTC

leereeves wrote: post #29

Applejinx wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you start with a massive inheritance, to some extent that will diminish the stress. Bathing in gold-plated bathtubs also cuts stress, and grabbing felines because you can. One could argue that a black American would have great difficulty taking advantage of these stress reliefs.

Can we put aside the partisan attacks and have a rational discussion here on Hacker News? In that spirit, I think you're wrong about inherited wealth, gold, and women who "let you do it" being unavailable to black Americans. A small number of people of both races have access to these things.

Post by divbit » Fri, Jan 27, 2017, 9:49 PM UTC

131012 wrote: post #37

divbit wrote: post #2

TLDR (or at least what I took from it): Too much adversity produces stress that is bad for the body in that it ages your immune system much faster than it should. Sounds plausible.

It is slightly more than adversity, as anyone can lose someone important or their job, suffer from brain trauma, etc. Upward mobility implies understanding and navigating through different sets of social rules and this can be extremely stressful and implies what sociologists call anomie. The sociological explanation of this phenomenon is almost a hundred years old. You can read it here: Merton, Robert K. (October 193…

Post by divbit » Fri, Jan 27, 2017, 9:53 PM UTC

afterburner wrote: post #5

treyfitty wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Important qualifier: (I only read up to the middle) the results were largely associated with African American subjects.

Yes, they kept saying the negative effects didn't happen to whites, so I'm not sure what the takeaway here is. Life is harder for black people?

Post by gicadin » Fri, Jan 27, 2017, 10:04 PM UTC

fdsfsaa wrote: post #35

You know what also makes you sick? A lack of professional accomplishment, missing respect from your peers, and a general sense of purposelessness. It's easy to look at the costs of ambition and ignore its benefits.

Post by leereeves » Fri, Jan 27, 2017, 10:06 PM UTC

yarou wrote: post #48

leereeves wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can we put aside the partisan attacks and have a rational discussion here on Hacker News? In that spirit, I think you're wrong about inherited wealth, gold, and women who "let you do it" being unavailable to black Americans. A small number of people of both races have access to these things.

I agree that people, regardless of race, can end up ranking pretty high on the ladder of Western society. However, it's pretty disingenuous to suggest that everyone starts out in the same position on that ladder.