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I've come to realize that hard work is not what we get paid to do from 9-5 each working day, but what we choose to do with our spare time that either improves o

I've come to realize that hard work is not what we get paid to do from 9-5 each working day, but what we choose to do with our spare time that either improves or degrades our position in life. And it is the thousands of choices from early years through middle age that separate those with rarified skills and high wages from those with common skills and envy for their higher paid, lesser working (now) friends. It does not matter where you start. When you spend most of your life studying or smoking dope, the end is predictable.

acct1771 9y ago
What about if you do both?
WWLink 9y ago
You make a valid point, but a lot of people spend their spare time studying common skills - basically free training for their current and/or future employers. At least, I feel that way..
uyholes 9y ago
The problems we face today are not explained by the difference between studying or smoking dope. There's something more pernicious involved. Yes, if you smoke dope all the time your outcomes in life will probably be worse than if you study some "rarified" skill, to borrow your phrase. But studying takes resources, and time, and those are bought through money and social connections and luck. And increasingly, despite what we read about MOOCs and the new educational order, it doesn't matter if we study and learn, what matters is that we have a certificate of studying, a placeholder. And those placeholders are not the same as our knowledge, or one's ability to learn, and are subject to corruption and greasing like every other placeholder. And in the end, what does this say about how much value we should place on that rarified skill? Does our society really allocate financial reward according to actual value? Does Amazon really improve my life that much compared to the plumber or electrician who fixed my house? Is Facebook a net benefit to society? If it disappeared tomorrow, would nothing replace it? Could our healthcare be delivered under a different provider structure? Do I pay my ISP because it's the best of many choices, or because it's acceptable enough to not go without internet access? Is Amazon successful because of Bezos in particular? If Bezos was going around spouting all the ideas in his head, marshaling an army of imaginary workers, without any actual labor, would we still have Amazon? The point of this article is it's trivial to point out that hard work should and often is compensated. The problem is that the compensation structures in many fields are completely absurd in many cases relative to the actual value created.
- jinushaun 9y ago
  I grew up in the ghetto. While my friends smoked dope, I studied with free resources from the local library. All the books were old and outdated, but I didn't care. The drive to learn and improve is still with me today.
  - BoiledCabbage 9y ago
    >I grew up in the ghetto. While my friends smoked dope, I studied with free resources from the local library. All the books were old and outdated, but I didn't care. The drive to learn and improve is still with me today. And thousands of others did the exact same but didn't make it out. That's the entire point of this conversation. Hard work isn't a sufficient condition. If it were tons of people would easily make it out. But instead it's a lot of luck along with it.

acct1771 9y ago

What about if you do both?

WWLink 9y ago

You make a valid point, but a lot of people spend their spare time studying common skills - basically free training for their current and/or future employers. At least, I feel that way..

uyholes 9y ago

The problems we face today are not explained by the difference between studying or smoking dope. There's something more pernicious involved. Yes, if you smoke dope all the time your outcomes in life will probably be worse than if you study some "rarified" skill, to borrow your phrase. But studying takes resources, and time, and those are bought through money and social connections and luck. And increasingly, despite what we read about MOOCs and the new educational order, it doesn't matter if we study and learn, what matters is that we have a certificate of studying, a placeholder. And those placeholders are not the same as our knowledge, or one's ability to learn, and are subject to corruption and greasing like every other placeholder. And in the end, what does this say about how much value we should place on that rarified skill? Does our society really allocate financial reward according to actual value? Does Amazon really improve my life that much compared to the plumber or electrician who fixed my house? Is Facebook a net benefit to society? If it disappeared tomorrow, would nothing replace it? Could our healthcare be delivered under a different provider structure? Do I pay my ISP because it's the best of many choices, or because it's acceptable enough to not go without internet access? Is Amazon successful because of Bezos in particular? If Bezos was going around spouting all the ideas in his head, marshaling an army of imaginary workers, without any actual labor, would we still have Amazon? The point of this article is it's trivial to point out that hard work should and often is compensated. The problem is that the compensation structures in many fields are completely absurd in many cases relative to the actual value created.

jinushaun 9y ago
I grew up in the ghetto. While my friends smoked dope, I studied with free resources from the local library. All the books were old and outdated, but I didn't care. The drive to learn and improve is still with me today.
- BoiledCabbage 9y ago
  >I grew up in the ghetto. While my friends smoked dope, I studied with free resources from the local library. All the books were old and outdated, but I didn't care. The drive to learn and improve is still with me today. And thousands of others did the exact same but didn't make it out. That's the entire point of this conversation. Hard work isn't a sufficient condition. If it were tons of people would easily make it out. But instead it's a lot of luck along with it.