5 ms·

I don't know how widespread this was, but when I was a youngster, people started noticing that high achieving people tend to both do well in the workplace and i

I don't know how widespread this was, but when I was a youngster, people started noticing that high achieving people tend to both do well in the workplace and in school. Many took that visible correlation to mean that school is what causes one to become a high achiever, and from there started pushing the idea that you will be forever stuck working for minimum wage at McDoanlds if you do not graduate from top academic programs. While, from an adult perspective, it is logically silly and a violation of all standard economic models, when impressionable children are hearing this from respected adults on a frequent basis it is something that sticks in the mind. Now the people I grew up with are adults, doing just fine for themselves, and most are certainly not stuck forever working at McDonalds for minimum wage, no matter how less than stellar their academic track record ended up being. I feel these success stories are appealing to these people because it is a sort of "I told you so" moment towards those who pushed the wrong message on them.

smichel17 9y ago
Or an instance of Goodhart's law.
Domenic_S 9y ago
> it is a sort of "I told you so" moment towards those who pushed the wrong message on them Or it's self-validation that struggling in school doesn't doom them to a life defined by mediocrity.
- randomdata 9y ago
  I think it is fair to say that "I told you so" is always about self-validation.
wahern 9y ago
We also exaggerate the addictive potential of drugs. For the most part, only a fraction of individuals, those particularly genetically prone to serious drug addiction, will suffer. Moreover, environment is often a strong causative factor in almost all forms of addiction. Yet there are good reasons for exaggerating addiction potential to young children. Taboos are a coarse but effective social mechanism, and maintaining them often requires lying. Moreover, it's far easier and cheaper (especially given paucity of our scientific knowledge) than attempting to identify those particular children and adults most likely to become addicted. Likewise, exaggerating the necessity for going to college is a cheap and easy way to guide expectations and channel effort. It's no surprise that upper-middle class children both graduate from college at higher rates _and_ generally have much better economic prospects--it's because of this very sort of unquestioned enculturation. Same phenomenon for Asian groups and other highly successful subgroups within society. Reality will intrude soon enough. You don't need to tell a kid that Santa Claus doesn't exist; he'll figure it out. The only difference between that and other cultural lies is that when a kid figures out there's no Santa Claus he doesn't have a life-long chip on his shoulder or believe that he uniquely outsmarted the man. But when it comes to drugs, college, and now apparently homeownership, people seem to think they've attained some sort of unique, hard-won insight. And that cynicism is the only reasonable reaction. I grew up super poor. Nobody ever told me to go to college. In fact, adults ridiculed "book learning" and school counselors exaggerated the unavoidable costs of college. But I did go to college--a private one with a generally elite upper-middle-class and upper-class student body. Both cultures lied to their children, but as an adult I can tell you which lie I'd have much preferred. And I can't say I'd have preferred the cold, hard truth, either. The truth is usually far more difficult, if not impossible, to articulate, especially to young people. Indeed, the truth usually requires context that just doesn't exist when you're talking about the distant future.
- randomdata 9y ago
  Drugs are another good example. When we hear stores about people like Steve Jobs and other success stories having used drugs, and even sometimes crediting their success to drug use, we get a similar feelings toward those who told us the wrong stories. I suppose there is something satisfying about showing them that they were wrong.

smichel17 9y ago

Or an instance of Goodhart's law.

Domenic_S 9y ago

> it is a sort of "I told you so" moment towards those who pushed the wrong message on them Or it's self-validation that struggling in school doesn't doom them to a life defined by mediocrity.

randomdata 9y ago
I think it is fair to say that "I told you so" is always about self-validation.

wahern 9y ago

We also exaggerate the addictive potential of drugs. For the most part, only a fraction of individuals, those particularly genetically prone to serious drug addiction, will suffer. Moreover, environment is often a strong causative factor in almost all forms of addiction. Yet there are good reasons for exaggerating addiction potential to young children. Taboos are a coarse but effective social mechanism, and maintaining them often requires lying. Moreover, it's far easier and cheaper (especially given paucity of our scientific knowledge) than attempting to identify those particular children and adults most likely to become addicted. Likewise, exaggerating the necessity for going to college is a cheap and easy way to guide expectations and channel effort. It's no surprise that upper-middle class children both graduate from college at higher rates _and_ generally have much better economic prospects--it's because of this very sort of unquestioned enculturation. Same phenomenon for Asian groups and other highly successful subgroups within society. Reality will intrude soon enough. You don't need to tell a kid that Santa Claus doesn't exist; he'll figure it out. The only difference between that and other cultural lies is that when a kid figures out there's no Santa Claus he doesn't have a life-long chip on his shoulder or believe that he uniquely outsmarted the man. But when it comes to drugs, college, and now apparently homeownership, people seem to think they've attained some sort of unique, hard-won insight. And that cynicism is the only reasonable reaction. I grew up super poor. Nobody ever told me to go to college. In fact, adults ridiculed "book learning" and school counselors exaggerated the unavoidable costs of college. But I did go to college--a private one with a generally elite upper-middle-class and upper-class student body. Both cultures lied to their children, but as an adult I can tell you which lie I'd have much preferred. And I can't say I'd have preferred the cold, hard truth, either. The truth is usually far more difficult, if not impossible, to articulate, especially to young people. Indeed, the truth usually requires context that just doesn't exist when you're talking about the distant future.

randomdata 9y ago
Drugs are another good example. When we hear stores about people like Steve Jobs and other success stories having used drugs, and even sometimes crediting their success to drug use, we get a similar feelings toward those who told us the wrong stories. I suppose there is something satisfying about showing them that they were wrong.