A few speculative reasons for HN’s beliefs: 1. Financially privileged people are emotionally and culturally incentivized to believe that their position in life

A few speculative reasons for HN’s beliefs: 1. Financially privileged people are emotionally and culturally incentivized to believe that their position in life has more to do with their effort than luck. There are a lot of of high earners here. 2. Many members here were active during the golden age of silicon valley startups. This brief period of new opportunity in online services allowed a lot of speculative money to flow to new businesses if you were lucky enough to experience it. This temporary and narrow band of economic opportunity for people in the industry at the time serves as their historical “evidence” that the system “works.” 3. The tech industry has had, so far, slightly fewer gatekeepers than other industries with high paying careers due to the temporary shortage of required labor. A lot of people have been able to come from marginalized positions in life and become financially successful, myself included. Survivorship bias is very high amongst those people, especially when it is encouraged by people and institutions of privilege. It’s frustrating, but on the bright side younger generations of tech folk seem much less convinced by the mythology. You’ll find a lot more of them on Reddit. HN skews older, and the status quo of popular ideology is comfortable and convenient for people already established in their careers. “I learned to code and got a six figure job” is the next iteration of “I could pay for college by working summers.”