3 ms·

Especially because the author has said in other instances that he got lucky to get accepted to Stuyvesant high school in NYC, which is basically the premiere pu

Especially because the author has said in other instances that he got lucky to get accepted to Stuyvesant high school in NYC, which is basically the premiere public school, and that opened up huge pathways for him to later get into an ivy league, and to get into tech investing. Where would he be in life if the coinflip in the Stuy admission office went the other way and he ended up going to a more normal public school and some other 14 year old got accepted in his stead? Also, he hasn't talked much about his family - except that they were "immigrants and nobodies". But his mom did emigrate from India to NYC with two children, which isn't exactly common. I suspect, perhaps, his family is a little better connected, or a little better off financially, than he has let on. But it would be impossible to get the truth at this point unless it came from an outside source because Naval is going big on narrative building his own life.

losvedir 5y ago
> he got lucky to get accepted to Stuyvesant high school in NYC ... Where would he be in life if the coinflip in the Stuy admission office went the other way and he ended up going to a more normal public school I'm pretty sure "got lucky" here is kind of a humble brag, like "I'm so lucky to be smart". Stuyvesant admissions are straightforwardly and deterministically based on a test, with spots going to the highest scores. There's no admissions officers considering extracurriculars, or interview or anything like that.
- oh_sigh 5y ago
  The luck could come into play by getting questions on the test that he was prepared to answer. For example, in 2014 I worked at a FAANG, and was applying to another FAANG. I had a co-worker who was the same level as me who also applied to the same company, and bombed the interview. However, I knew from extreme first-hand experience that this coworker was a better engineer than I was by far. But it just so happened that I got lucky with the questions I got, where they all fell into my wheelhouse, and he got unlucky. I got the job - he didn't. I consider that luck on my part. In retrospect, maybe he did get lucky and I got unlucky, since his stock has outperformed my stock by 3x over that time range.
redisman 5y ago
Just the fact that his mom moved from India to NYC is a giant multiplier on ones chance of financial success. Some might even call that.. luck?

losvedir 5y ago

> he got lucky to get accepted to Stuyvesant high school in NYC ... Where would he be in life if the coinflip in the Stuy admission office went the other way and he ended up going to a more normal public school I'm pretty sure "got lucky" here is kind of a humble brag, like "I'm so lucky to be smart". Stuyvesant admissions are straightforwardly and deterministically based on a test, with spots going to the highest scores. There's no admissions officers considering extracurriculars, or interview or anything like that.

oh_sigh 5y ago
The luck could come into play by getting questions on the test that he was prepared to answer. For example, in 2014 I worked at a FAANG, and was applying to another FAANG. I had a co-worker who was the same level as me who also applied to the same company, and bombed the interview. However, I knew from extreme first-hand experience that this coworker was a better engineer than I was by far. But it just so happened that I got lucky with the questions I got, where they all fell into my wheelhouse, and he got unlucky. I got the job - he didn't. I consider that luck on my part. In retrospect, maybe he did get lucky and I got unlucky, since his stock has outperformed my stock by 3x over that time range.

redisman 5y ago

Just the fact that his mom moved from India to NYC is a giant multiplier on ones chance of financial success. Some might even call that.. luck?