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now that's an amusing take. But would you go so far as to call yourself an "elite" like this guy does... >This is a key part of what it means to be a responsi

now that's an amusing take. But would you go so far as to call yourself an "elite" like this guy does... >This is a key part of what it means to be a responsible elite. The best description I ever heard of an "elite" is "A term used ironically to describe someone so out of touch with reality that they think people are using it to refer to them unironically."

allendoerfer 5y ago
And I just thought elites had to be the men buying hygiene products labeled "tactical".
sho 5y ago
Around the time I signed up for this site, I thought the same as you. 10 years and a couple of successful startups later - perspectives change. I don't know if I'd actually unironically call myself "elite" but we need some name, right? The fact is there's a large number of very, very capable people out there who probably don't need to work for anyone else again if they don't want to. But they get jobs anyway because that's just the kind of people they are. I know quite a few of these people. This essay is a CTA to them. Give it a few years and you might find yourself in the exact same boat. And in case you hadn't realised, this whole site is the poster child for a "privileged elite" deciding the world needed something and just going and making it, and thank the gods he did.
- allendoerfer 5y ago
  Do you think the people you are describing do not realize themselves that they do not need to work? You claim to be part of them, did you need that essay to realize it? You just stated you created a couple of startups during the last 10 years, so you seem to have already quit your job a long time ago.
  - sho 5y ago
    > You claim to be part of them, did you need that essay to realize it? I'm not really claiming anything beyond saying that I believe there's quite a few successful people working in jobs they don't really need to be doing and i think the point of this essay is to encourage them to maybe have the confidence to do something on their own.
    - sho 5y ago
      The man of action serenely regards ruin as the most likely possible outcome, mitigates it where he can, and leaps anyway.
- mrjangles 5y ago
  The way I always hear the word used is to describe trust fund babies who have never had a job, or people who walked into a do nothing jobs because of their connections and are completely talentless. It is almost always used ironically, usually by people who have to put up with their incompetence. As I mentioned one of the defining features of this kind of 'elite' is that they are so completely detached from the real world that they don't realize people are making fun of them... amusingly, they also spend endless time trying to tell others how to live, which can be quite hilarious to most people. Now in your case you clearly are not that kind of person the word is usually used to describe.
barry-cotter 5y ago
Satya Nadella might not call himself an elite but he is one. Ditto Scott Alexander or Sarah Jeong or wide, wide swathes of other people, of different kinds, in different ways. People can be secure, honest and self-aware enough to accurately use a word to describe themselves.

allendoerfer 5y ago

And I just thought elites had to be the men buying hygiene products labeled "tactical".

sho 5y ago

Around the time I signed up for this site, I thought the same as you. 10 years and a couple of successful startups later - perspectives change. I don't know if I'd actually unironically call myself "elite" but we need some name, right? The fact is there's a large number of very, very capable people out there who probably don't need to work for anyone else again if they don't want to. But they get jobs anyway because that's just the kind of people they are. I know quite a few of these people. This essay is a CTA to them. Give it a few years and you might find yourself in the exact same boat. And in case you hadn't realised, this whole site is the poster child for a "privileged elite" deciding the world needed something and just going and making it, and thank the gods he did.

allendoerfer 5y ago
Do you think the people you are describing do not realize themselves that they do not need to work? You claim to be part of them, did you need that essay to realize it? You just stated you created a couple of startups during the last 10 years, so you seem to have already quit your job a long time ago.
- sho 5y ago
  > You claim to be part of them, did you need that essay to realize it? I'm not really claiming anything beyond saying that I believe there's quite a few successful people working in jobs they don't really need to be doing and i think the point of this essay is to encourage them to maybe have the confidence to do something on their own.
  - sho 5y ago
    The man of action serenely regards ruin as the most likely possible outcome, mitigates it where he can, and leaps anyway.
mrjangles 5y ago
The way I always hear the word used is to describe trust fund babies who have never had a job, or people who walked into a do nothing jobs because of their connections and are completely talentless. It is almost always used ironically, usually by people who have to put up with their incompetence. As I mentioned one of the defining features of this kind of 'elite' is that they are so completely detached from the real world that they don't realize people are making fun of them... amusingly, they also spend endless time trying to tell others how to live, which can be quite hilarious to most people. Now in your case you clearly are not that kind of person the word is usually used to describe.

barry-cotter 5y ago

Satya Nadella might not call himself an elite but he is one. Ditto Scott Alexander or Sarah Jeong or wide, wide swathes of other people, of different kinds, in different ways. People can be secure, honest and self-aware enough to accurately use a word to describe themselves.