5 ms·

Smart people want money and prestige. There is always a perspective to justify anything. They will sleep fine at night.

by DSingularity 5y ago

jevgeni 5y ago
That’s about as much prestige as working for a tobacco company.
- nielsbot 5y ago
  Money, then
aogaili 5y ago
"Smart people want money and prestige." I'd question your definition of the word smart in this context.
- praptak 5y ago
  Facebook is fine with this weaker definition.
- DSingularity 5y ago
  What do you think all those new CS professors want after earning their PhD? What about the PhDs that join the big-tech research labs? Why do you think they joined big tech?
  - aogaili 5y ago
    I personally think that people motives are multi factorial. It is simplistic to project societal values on a group of people, especially the CS professors and PhDs, many of which are introverted and lead a quiet and simple lives. They engage in those programs because it is more aligned with their temperaments and personalities, as why joining big-tech research, because that is where the cutting-edge research is being done. Sure the prestige and money might follow, but for some it is more of a pleasant side effect than the ultimate goal. As an anecdote, I had a math university who was riding the public transport daily beside me, he was so simple and approachable that looking at him and his lifestyle you will never think he makes money or teaching at uni, yet his brain was sharp and his passion to mathematics was clear once he starts teaching. He is too "smart" to occupy his mind with status and vanities of life beyond his basic needs. Note that I'm not dismissing that many do those things for status and money but I tend to believe that a lot of the leaders in those areas do it because they can.
LurkingPenguin 5y ago
Not all smart people want money and prestige. Of course, in Silicon Valley, a lot of people assume that if you have money and a network, you must be smart. When I first arrived in the Valley, a colleague told me: > One of the reasons so many people stay here and put up with all of the BS is that somewhere along the line, you'll work with somebody incompetent or even stupid and years later, you'll see that they're very, very successful. Which will lead you to believe if somebody that stupid can become that rich, anybody can get rich here if they stick with the game long enough.

Smart people want money and prestige. There is always a perspective to justify anything. They will sleep fine at night.

jevgeni 5y ago

That’s about as much prestige as working for a tobacco company.

nielsbot 5y ago
Money, then

aogaili 5y ago

"Smart people want money and prestige." I'd question your definition of the word smart in this context.

praptak 5y ago
Facebook is fine with this weaker definition.
DSingularity 5y ago
What do you think all those new CS professors want after earning their PhD? What about the PhDs that join the big-tech research labs? Why do you think they joined big tech?
- aogaili 5y ago
  I personally think that people motives are multi factorial. It is simplistic to project societal values on a group of people, especially the CS professors and PhDs, many of which are introverted and lead a quiet and simple lives. They engage in those programs because it is more aligned with their temperaments and personalities, as why joining big-tech research, because that is where the cutting-edge research is being done. Sure the prestige and money might follow, but for some it is more of a pleasant side effect than the ultimate goal. As an anecdote, I had a math university who was riding the public transport daily beside me, he was so simple and approachable that looking at him and his lifestyle you will never think he makes money or teaching at uni, yet his brain was sharp and his passion to mathematics was clear once he starts teaching. He is too "smart" to occupy his mind with status and vanities of life beyond his basic needs. Note that I'm not dismissing that many do those things for status and money but I tend to believe that a lot of the leaders in those areas do it because they can.

LurkingPenguin 5y ago

Not all smart people want money and prestige. Of course, in Silicon Valley, a lot of people assume that if you have money and a network, you must be smart. When I first arrived in the Valley, a colleague told me: > One of the reasons so many people stay here and put up with all of the BS is that somewhere along the line, you'll work with somebody incompetent or even stupid and years later, you'll see that they're very, very successful. Which will lead you to believe if somebody that stupid can become that rich, anybody can get rich here if they stick with the game long enough.