4 ms·

Rich parents setting up their kids using tactics at various degrees along the ethical-unethical-illegal spectrum is not a US centric phenomenon but a basic huma

by zaroth 8y ago

Rich parents setting up their kids using tactics at various degrees along the ethical-unethical-illegal spectrum is not a US centric phenomenon but a basic human condition.

heavenlyblue 8y ago
Not being able to survive the vacuum of space is a basic human condition, too. Yet we developed space suits that allow ourselves to operate in there. >> Rich parents setting up their kids using tactics at various degrees along the ethical-unethical-illegal spectrum is not a US centric phenomenon but a basic human condition. Over the past 20 centuries we saw enough events that implied literally killing those who were abusing their positions of power, and I am pretty sure poor people are absolutely capable of doing so again today. History is periodic, but lack of ethics isn't a basic human condition.
- veryworried 8y ago
  Nobody is killing anybody. We need a peaceful, sustainable solution to let those who abuse power fall and those who have the good interests of people at heart to rise.
  - cheez 8y ago
    That's what they want you to do so they can maintain power. The threat of violence is what keeps people in line. Don't like it? Go talk to the police about it (you know... those people who use the threat of violence)
ojilles 8y ago
But different cultures look differently at that spectrum. I would expect to find differences from one country to another.
michaelt 8y ago
True. But the university-as-a-business, alumni-as-donors, and non-grades-based-admissions are famously strong at US universities. A university that was government-funded well enough that it didn't have to solicit rich alumni could employ traditional anti-corruption/anti-cheating mechanisms, like blind admissions based on grades alone.
- zaroth 8y ago
  Blind admissions based on grades alone sounds like a terrible way to prevent cheating or select college applicant in general. But that’s because I believe strongly in the power of outliers and that systems need to support and foster those outliers to achieve the best outcomes. The smartest and most qualified applicants often don’t have the best grades. In fact I think a purely grades based system would be far from optimal, select for the wrong strengths, and miss many of the best applicants. Of the top 10 universities ranked by number of Nobel prizes, the US holds 8 spots. US is doing something right.

by zaroth 8y ago

Rich parents setting up their kids using tactics at various degrees along the ethical-unethical-illegal spectrum is not a US centric phenomenon but a basic human condition.

heavenlyblue 8y ago

Not being able to survive the vacuum of space is a basic human condition, too. Yet we developed space suits that allow ourselves to operate in there. >> Rich parents setting up their kids using tactics at various degrees along the ethical-unethical-illegal spectrum is not a US centric phenomenon but a basic human condition. Over the past 20 centuries we saw enough events that implied literally killing those who were abusing their positions of power, and I am pretty sure poor people are absolutely capable of doing so again today. History is periodic, but lack of ethics isn't a basic human condition.

veryworried 8y ago
Nobody is killing anybody. We need a peaceful, sustainable solution to let those who abuse power fall and those who have the good interests of people at heart to rise.
- cheez 8y ago
  That's what they want you to do so they can maintain power. The threat of violence is what keeps people in line. Don't like it? Go talk to the police about it (you know... those people who use the threat of violence)

ojilles 8y ago

But different cultures look differently at that spectrum. I would expect to find differences from one country to another.

michaelt 8y ago

True. But the university-as-a-business, alumni-as-donors, and non-grades-based-admissions are famously strong at US universities. A university that was government-funded well enough that it didn't have to solicit rich alumni could employ traditional anti-corruption/anti-cheating mechanisms, like blind admissions based on grades alone.

zaroth 8y ago
Blind admissions based on grades alone sounds like a terrible way to prevent cheating or select college applicant in general. But that’s because I believe strongly in the power of outliers and that systems need to support and foster those outliers to achieve the best outcomes. The smartest and most qualified applicants often don’t have the best grades. In fact I think a purely grades based system would be far from optimal, select for the wrong strengths, and miss many of the best applicants. Of the top 10 universities ranked by number of Nobel prizes, the US holds 8 spots. US is doing something right.