5 ms·

Having good health, proper nutrition, and extracurriculars in an affluent society, i.e. having two parents who don’t suck, is a regular American baseline that p

Having good health, proper nutrition, and extracurriculars in an affluent society, i.e. having two parents who don’t suck, is a regular American baseline that public school kids experience. Gates’s particular advantages were being smart and having access to computers in high school in his day, which countered the bad luck of not being born a few years earlier such that he’d encounter computing in college with the same lead time before the 8086. Of course he found some great luck in business, too, well after the company was established and had employees on the payroll.

tolbish 5y ago
> Gates’s particular advantages were being smart and having access to computers in high school in his day That's a rather inaccurate description of his advantages.
- CheezeIt 5y ago
  If that’s inaccurate, tell us what gives us more bits of information distinguishing him from the general population born in the same year he is. The smart part puts him in the 0.1%, 10 bits right there, and early access to computers adds another rare multiplier to that.
  - tolbish 5y ago
    What did his parents do?
heavyset_go 5y ago
> Gates’s particular advantages were being smart and having access to computers in high school You're forgetting something important[1] about Bill Gates' mom: > Her tenure on the national board's executive committee is believed to have helped Microsoft, based in Seattle, at a crucial time. In 1980, she discussed her son's company with John Opel, a fellow committee member, and the chairman of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). Opel, by some accounts, mentioned Mrs. Gates to other IBM executives. A few weeks later, IBM took a chance by hiring Microsoft, then a small software firm, to develop an operating system for its first personal computer. More about this here[2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Maxwell_Gates#Career https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Maxwell_Gates#Career [2] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/05/how-bill-gates-mother-influenced-the-success-of-microsoft.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/05/how-bill-gates-mother-influe...
musingsole 5y ago
> having two parents who don’t suck, is a regular American baseline that public school kids experience Is it? Not from my experience, but I wish every community could boast such "baselines".
AvocadoCake 5y ago
Good health and proper nutrition is the not the baseline, as over 40% of children in the US are overweight, obese, or severely obese [1]. Two parents, let alone parents who "don't suck", is also not the baseline, as 25% of children grow up in single parent households [2]. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-child-17-18/obesity-child.htm#table1 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-child-17-18/obe... [2] https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/543941-americas-single-parent-families https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/543941-americas-single-p...

tolbish 5y ago

> Gates’s particular advantages were being smart and having access to computers in high school in his day That's a rather inaccurate description of his advantages.

CheezeIt 5y ago
If that’s inaccurate, tell us what gives us more bits of information distinguishing him from the general population born in the same year he is. The smart part puts him in the 0.1%, 10 bits right there, and early access to computers adds another rare multiplier to that.
- tolbish 5y ago
  What did his parents do?

heavyset_go 5y ago

> Gates’s particular advantages were being smart and having access to computers in high school You're forgetting something important[1] about Bill Gates' mom: > Her tenure on the national board's executive committee is believed to have helped Microsoft, based in Seattle, at a crucial time. In 1980, she discussed her son's company with John Opel, a fellow committee member, and the chairman of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). Opel, by some accounts, mentioned Mrs. Gates to other IBM executives. A few weeks later, IBM took a chance by hiring Microsoft, then a small software firm, to develop an operating system for its first personal computer. More about this here[2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Maxwell_Gates#Career https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Maxwell_Gates#Career [2] https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/05/how-bill-gates-mother-influenced-the-success-of-microsoft.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/08/05/how-bill-gates-mother-influe...

musingsole 5y ago

> having two parents who don’t suck, is a regular American baseline that public school kids experience Is it? Not from my experience, but I wish every community could boast such "baselines".

AvocadoCake 5y ago

Good health and proper nutrition is the not the baseline, as over 40% of children in the US are overweight, obese, or severely obese [1]. Two parents, let alone parents who "don't suck", is also not the baseline, as 25% of children grow up in single parent households [2]. [1] https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-child-17-18/obesity-child.htm#table1 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hestat/obesity-child-17-18/obe... [2] https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/543941-americas-single-parent-families https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/543941-americas-single-p...