51–60 of 68 posts
What motivation is there to do any better?
Because to me the real issue is if a person finds themselves in a less than ideal situation that they look for ways to improve rather than waiting on all of us to figure out how to change the system.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. There are hundreds of millions of people born into the American middle class. There are tens of millions of people born into the "global 1%". On average, the richer are going to better, because you average out all other factors, like work ethic. So if I'm "floating" through life, putting in the average work into everything I do, I think it's pretty obvious that I'm going to benefit from having rich parents t…
It is certainly true that productively developing a valuable skill set will set you apart from the vast majority. With a few helpful insights, the right attitude, and an ability to quickly overcome obstacles, you will be an exceptional person, without a doubt. If you assign credit for success to a person's attitude and perseverance, then certainly "luck" had little to do with it. Where things get dicey is when you as…
ONE delusion common among America’s successful people is that they triumphed just because of hard work and intelligence. The ability to work hard (conscientiousness) and intelligence are also heritable to a significant degree. The central supposed conflict between inherited privilege and innate qualities simply doesn't exist because our qualities are inherited[1]. This always surprises me when I read about privilege…
One of the things that middle and upper class kids get is good medical care, good nutrition, early intervention for speech problems and endless other things which make it possible for them do sustained work of the sort that pays money. I actually grew up with a lot of advantages. My misfortune is largely being born with the wrong genes as I have a serious genetic disorder. Because I am smart, hard working, and have a long list of other "virtues"/resources, my situation is gradually improving. But it has definitely been a very long haul and an uphill climb -- made all the harder by the fact that many people who are already successful do not take me very seriously. This has helped to keep doors closed for me in ways which I find enormously frustrating.
I'm not sure if most of the commentators here are joking or just being too subtly sarcastic, but truly the best predictor of a person's success is the success of his parents during his formative years. It's not a hard-coded rule, but it's statistics: if, given two persons of equal age, gender and health, you would have to bet how they turn out, your best bet would be to look at their parents and assume the same will…
So -- success of parents, yes, it's a strong predictor. During formative years, not really relevant.
I'm not sure if most of the commentators here are joking or just being too subtly sarcastic, but truly the best predictor of a person's success is the success of his parents during his formative years. It's not a hard-coded rule, but it's statistics: if, given two persons of equal age, gender and health, you would have to bet how they turn out, your best bet would be to look at their parents and assume the same will…
In the case of adopted children, the success of the biological parents is a better predictor of the child's success than that of the adoptive parents. So -- success of parents, yes, it's a strong predictor. During formative years, not really relevant.
From an European (Belgian, if you're interested) perspective, it's borderline shocking that these questions are so hotly debated. When I contrast the image I get by consuming American media and what I witness here, the contrast is astonishing. Social mobility seems to be much more prevalent here than in the states. Of course, the gap between "poors" and "rich" is much smaller. But I can legitimately say that everyone…
These are all good points, but it's also important to realize that American and European populations are very different in regards to constituency (you touched on this a bit with your point about the rich-poor gap). So a simple drop-in-place European substitute isn't likely to be as effective as it might seem. That's not to say that things don't need to change or that they have to be this way, but I think it will req…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In the case of adopted children, the success of the biological parents is a better predictor of the child's success than that of the adoptive parents. So -- success of parents, yes, it's a strong predictor. During formative years, not really relevant.
Citation please. (genuine request)
Be careful reading it though, facts are racist.
I'm not sure if most of the commentators here are joking or just being too subtly sarcastic, but truly the best predictor of a person's success is the success of his parents during his formative years. It's not a hard-coded rule, but it's statistics: if, given two persons of equal age, gender and health, you would have to bet how they turn out, your best bet would be to look at their parents and assume the same will…
But at what point do we draw the line of responsibility? There are many examples of poor/struggling people that made the best of what they had and made sure that their children had a good start in life. Yes, my parents were poor and struggling. But they pushed through, made sacrifices and made sure that me and my sister had a good start in life. Free from the burdens that they bore. To me, the line of responsibility…
Many successful people will resent contributing to the welfare of the not-so-successful regardless of who is to blame for the misfortune of the latter. It's yet another instance of the tribal mentality dividing people into "us" and "them". We generally find it easier to empathize with those who are like us and perceived to belong to the same group. I used to think tribal divisions are characteristic of the earlier st…
" Many successful people will resent contributing to the welfare of the not-so-successful regardless of who is to blame for the misfortune of the latter. It's yet another instance of the tribal mentality dividing people into "us" and "them". " Yes, but you should take care to not attribute their definitions of "us" and "them", with the ones you imagine they do. It's all too-popular to assume that they mean "us, wealt…
Your point stands, though. I seriously doubt anyone's being deliberately mean or hateful. They just genuinely believe that they succeeded on their own merits.
I also think that most definitions of "us" and "them" are usually after-the-fact justifications for including/excluding people from a group. The groups form, then the criteria arise, not vice versa. But I have nothing to back that up. It's just something worth considering when seeing the categorisations people discriminate based on.