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Feynman was just making the point that there is a point where no matter how hard your work your little tail off, you will simply be at a disadvantage compared w

by gxs 16y ago

Feynman was just making the point that there is a point where no matter how hard your work your little tail off, you will simply be at a disadvantage compared with someone who has genetic gifts or the like. This thread is curious because it's treating the nurture vs. nature debate as if it were some novel concept. In America, we're taught to believe that if we work hard, we can be anything we want. This thread largely stinks of people clinging on to this belief, if only for their own sanity. It's no secret that the HN crowd holds itself in high regard intellectually and it would be damning to believe otherwise, as all of a sudden you wouldn't have a shot at being the next Bill Gates or the next Linus Torvalds or whoever it is you worship, on the basis of your hard work alone. This ideal is highly romanticized and is part of our education problem. We strongly belief EVERYONE should go to college, and EVERYONE is equal, when in reality, some people would be better suited to work with their hands as a mechanic than some paper pusher at an insurance company. In Europe, they are more slanted towards the nature point of view, and this is reflected in their vocational training in education - ie, everyone isn't born equal, everyone doesn't have to follow the exact same path for the sake of appeasing some romantic ideal that we can't prove true either way. While the truth is probably somewhere in the middle, it's plain foolish to ignore that some people are just born with an innate talent. If you played sports, it would be easier for people to wrap their head around this - a 5'5 basketball player will never play starting center in the NBA. It's just the way it is. It is part of your responsibility as a human being to find out what those things are that you are most gifted at and exploit them to their maximum potential.

chesser 16y ago
> Feynman was just making the point that there is a point where no matter how hard your work your little tail off, you will simply be at a disadvantage compared with someone who has genetic gifts or the like. Actually it was Hans Bethe speaking about Feynman, and he didn't indicate that it was due to genetics. When I see people multi-tabling poker it looks like magic to me, yet it's just a skill that is developed from years of practice. > a 5'5 basketball player will never play starting center in the NBA. Neither will a 6'6" player like Michael Jordan. They will play the guard position. Earl Boykins has been a starting guard for 4 teams, and he is 5'5". Scored 36 points twice. He has certain advantages against tall, lanky players such as being able to shoot under them, being able to change direction more quickly, accelerate more quickly, and pick balls up off the ground more quickly, including getting under their dribble for a steal. > In Europe, they are more slanted towards the nature point of view Michael Jordan grew from 5'11" to 6'3" between 10th and 11th grade. None of his family members are tall. His older brother who he used to practice against all the time is 5'7". Even when you can SEE something very easily, you only see how it is, and not how it will be. > This ideal is highly romanticized and is part of our education problem. We strongly belief EVERYONE should go to college, Actually in the startup world, this is not true at all. Peter Thiel even started a fund to pay kids to drop out of school and do start-ups instead. http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/27/peter-thiel-drop-out-of-school/ http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/27/peter-thiel-drop-out-of-sch... > and EVERYONE is equal Equal rights, not equal ability. You should have the right to pursue whatever interests you. > and it would be damning to believe otherwise, as all of a sudden you wouldn't have a shot at being the next Bill Gates or the next Linus Torvalds or whoever it is you worship, on the basis of your hard work alone. Who thinks "success" is due to hard work alone? There's a big luck factor that everyone acknowledges, including things like being in the right place at the right time. But you can't just "luck into" being an expert programmer or artist; it's not like winning the lottery. > It is part of your responsibility as a human being to find out what those things are that you are most gifted at and exploit them to their maximum potential. For all I know, I'm gifted at being a ballerina, and could be the best to ever don a tutu. But I don't care! My only responsibility as a human being is to achieve my own enlightenment and not harm others.

by gxs 16y ago

chesser 16y ago

> Feynman was just making the point that there is a point where no matter how hard your work your little tail off, you will simply be at a disadvantage compared with someone who has genetic gifts or the like. Actually it was Hans Bethe speaking about Feynman, and he didn't indicate that it was due to genetics. When I see people multi-tabling poker it looks like magic to me, yet it's just a skill that is developed from years of practice. > a 5'5 basketball player will never play starting center in the NBA. Neither will a 6'6" player like Michael Jordan. They will play the guard position. Earl Boykins has been a starting guard for 4 teams, and he is 5'5". Scored 36 points twice. He has certain advantages against tall, lanky players such as being able to shoot under them, being able to change direction more quickly, accelerate more quickly, and pick balls up off the ground more quickly, including getting under their dribble for a steal. > In Europe, they are more slanted towards the nature point of view Michael Jordan grew from 5'11" to 6'3" between 10th and 11th grade. None of his family members are tall. His older brother who he used to practice against all the time is 5'7". Even when you can SEE something very easily, you only see how it is, and not how it will be. > This ideal is highly romanticized and is part of our education problem. We strongly belief EVERYONE should go to college, Actually in the startup world, this is not true at all. Peter Thiel even started a fund to pay kids to drop out of school and do start-ups instead. http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/27/peter-thiel-drop-out-of-school/ http://techcrunch.com/2010/09/27/peter-thiel-drop-out-of-sch... > and EVERYONE is equal Equal rights, not equal ability. You should have the right to pursue whatever interests you. > and it would be damning to believe otherwise, as all of a sudden you wouldn't have a shot at being the next Bill Gates or the next Linus Torvalds or whoever it is you worship, on the basis of your hard work alone. Who thinks "success" is due to hard work alone? There's a big luck factor that everyone acknowledges, including things like being in the right place at the right time. But you can't just "luck into" being an expert programmer or artist; it's not like winning the lottery. > It is part of your responsibility as a human being to find out what those things are that you are most gifted at and exploit them to their maximum potential. For all I know, I'm gifted at being a ballerina, and could be the best to ever don a tutu. But I don't care! My only responsibility as a human being is to achieve my own enlightenment and not harm others.