3 ms·
It's always possible to find exceptions, of course. But there are exceptional people from all walks of life. Also, the wikipedia page makes it sound like it wa
by sillysaurus3 10y ago
It's always possible to find exceptions, of course. But there are exceptional people from all walks of life.
Also, the wikipedia page makes it sound like it was all due to his merit:
His parents were Swedish, from the city of Malmö, county of Scania. Kelly was ashamed of his family's poverty, and vowed to return one day in prominence.[6] Johnson was 13 years old when he won a prize for his first aircraft design. He worked his way through Flint Central High School and graduated in 1928, then went to Flint Junior College, now known as Mott Community College, and finally to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where he received a Bachelor's and Master's Degree in Aeronautical Engineering.
Who granted him the prize? It's fortunate they were paying attention to his work. How did he attend college with no money? It's fortunate he managed to find a source of income. Nowadays college is prohibitively expensive for those in poverty who don't achieve a full-ride scholarship or loans. And if you entered the workforce and later decide to go to college, you don't qualify for loans.
It seems less useful to say that someone will become something rather than they might overcome X and Y to become Z.
- WalterBright 10y agoYou might want to pick up Kelly's biography, where you can read about how easy it was for him :-) Kelly also had a bunch of siblings who are forgotten by history. People (especially in America) have choices about their path in life. They are not hapless victims of circumstance and do not follow preordained paths.
- sillysaurus3 10y agoPeople (especially in America) have choices about their path in life. They are not hapless victims of circumstance and do not follow preordained paths. Your thesis is that they do: "They are born that way." It's probably best to agree to disagree as to how much someone at the bottom can influence their situation in the modern day. You're talking about nearly a century ago.
- WalterBright 10y agoBeing a born engineer is not the same thing as being born into various external circumstances. > It's probably best to agree to disagree as to how much someone at the bottom can influence their situation in the modern day. You're talking about nearly a century ago. You're right it's different today. There's a lot MORE opportunity today than a century ago. Heck, I can get any information I want about any field of knowledge by pushing a button at my desk. How awesome is that? How about all those people becoming billionaires in their early 20s? That was utterly unheard of 50 years ago.
- sillysaurus3 10y agoTo clarify my thoughts on this: It sounds like you're saying "If someone is motivated and smart, they can always make significant opportunities for themselves." That's a very convenient model, isn't it? If someone fails to make opportunities for themselves, then they must not be very smart and motivated. It's like epicycles: The model can fit however you want it to fit. That's why it's worth being suspicious of it.
- WalterBright 10y agoThat is indeed what I'm saying. And the converse is also true - if someone needs excuses for failure, they can always find plenty. > then they must not be very smart and motivated. Negation does not work like that. A implies B does not mean that !A implies !B.
- sillysaurus3 10y agoWhy believe in a model that you can fit to whatever data you want? I leave you with Feynman noting that you cannot prove a vague theory wrong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIN_-Flswy0&feature=youtu.be&list=PLLzGzdSNup63lMYeOpU9Hax6MBsTjdDas&t=1324 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIN_-Flswy0&feature=youtu.be... Your model seems to fit that description.
- 10y ago