2 ms·

I totally agree. What I disagree with is the people that want to dismiss Gates success completely because his family had some money. Tens of thousands of kids h

by darawk 8y ago

I totally agree. What I disagree with is the people that want to dismiss Gates success completely because his family had some money. Tens of thousands of kids have the same background that he did, but don't do anything half as incredible as starting Microsoft. While Gates should acknowledge the advantages he's had, I don't think it's unfair or unreasonable for him to feel pretty good about what he's accomplished.

ForHackernews 8y ago
> Tens of thousands of kids have the same background that he did Or alternatively: statistics suggests that out of a big sample of people, a few of them are going to strike it really rich.
- natalyarostova 8y ago
  That statistical model holds if you assume that the pool Bill Gate's was in generally had the same properties, and his ambition of talent was non-extraordinary.
- rchaud 8y ago
  Or, many people with Gates' background (computer classes in high school in the 70s), did start tech companies, but failed. As the vast majority of new businesses do. The only way we'd ever hear those stories is if they made it rich later, at which point their failures become noteworthy as part of the narrative arc of their career.
  - ForHackernews 8y ago
    Yeah, and? Most businesses fail. I'm not sure what you're disputing here?
danans 8y ago
> What I disagree with is the people that want to dismiss Gates success completely because his family had some money. I don't know who you are talking to, but I've only heard his family's wealth discussed in the context of people discouraging young adults from attending or completing university, on the example of Gates. The point being that his family's wealth gave him exposure to technology and social networks that people of lesser means could only get through university.
- darawk 8y ago
  Are you reading the other comments in this thread? I see people making that argument in this very comment's section. I wish that they weren't. Certainly he had advantages that other kids didn't have, and both he and society should acknowledge that. But it doesn't take away a whole lot from what he's accomplished, IMO.
  - danans 8y ago
    I don't see any comments completely placing the credit for Gates' success in his family's wealth. Many are just saying it played a factor (as Gates himself readily acknowledges). More importantly, his origins aren't a particularly useful example for a person who doesn't already have similar-enough privileges to what Gates had. If you are already in a place that Gates was when he started MS (financially secure, young, well-connected), then he is a fantastic of example of someone who seized the opportunities life presented him to great effect.

by darawk 8y ago

ForHackernews 8y ago

> Tens of thousands of kids have the same background that he did Or alternatively: statistics suggests that out of a big sample of people, a few of them are going to strike it really rich.

natalyarostova 8y ago
That statistical model holds if you assume that the pool Bill Gate's was in generally had the same properties, and his ambition of talent was non-extraordinary.
rchaud 8y ago
Or, many people with Gates' background (computer classes in high school in the 70s), did start tech companies, but failed. As the vast majority of new businesses do. The only way we'd ever hear those stories is if they made it rich later, at which point their failures become noteworthy as part of the narrative arc of their career.
- ForHackernews 8y ago
  Yeah, and? Most businesses fail. I'm not sure what you're disputing here?

danans 8y ago

> What I disagree with is the people that want to dismiss Gates success completely because his family had some money. I don't know who you are talking to, but I've only heard his family's wealth discussed in the context of people discouraging young adults from attending or completing university, on the example of Gates. The point being that his family's wealth gave him exposure to technology and social networks that people of lesser means could only get through university.

darawk 8y ago
Are you reading the other comments in this thread? I see people making that argument in this very comment's section. I wish that they weren't. Certainly he had advantages that other kids didn't have, and both he and society should acknowledge that. But it doesn't take away a whole lot from what he's accomplished, IMO.
- danans 8y ago
  I don't see any comments completely placing the credit for Gates' success in his family's wealth. Many are just saying it played a factor (as Gates himself readily acknowledges). More importantly, his origins aren't a particularly useful example for a person who doesn't already have similar-enough privileges to what Gates had. If you are already in a place that Gates was when he started MS (financially secure, young, well-connected), then he is a fantastic of example of someone who seized the opportunities life presented him to great effect.