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shadowgovt said it very well and he speaks for me there. But I do believe that when hard work and preparation meets opportunity, good things happen. I'm not sa

shadowgovt said it very well and he speaks for me there. But I do believe that when hard work and preparation meets opportunity, good things happen. I'm not saying everything is pointless at all. I've earned every one of the few pennies I have the hard way, believe me. I have a non-stop work history going back to when I was 11 years old, grinding down spot welding tips on a lathe to buy my own video games and toys. My efforts mattered. These experiences and my self-discipline built my character and who I am today. There's some luck involved though. Whether it's your genetic makeup, how you were or were not groomed by your family, and simple right place, right time. To dismiss everyone as "failures in the meritocracy" is short sighted. For example: John Carmack is a very successful programmer. I'd bet there's many here just as hard working, and as intelligent. He did the right thing, when he was at the right place, at the right time. That's all that separates Carmack from swaths, or multitudes of programmers on HN.

CPLX 5y ago
> 11 years old, grinding down spot welding tips on a lathe Where did you store the lathe at night? Where did you plug it in? And how did you get the electricity to that outlet, was there an account in your name with the power company as an 11 year old?
- BitwiseFool 5y ago
  >"Where did you store the lathe at night? Where did you plug it in? And how did you get the electricity to that outlet, was there an account in your name with the power company as an 11 year old?" I'm not the GP but you're being obtuse and counterproductive. The idea that no one does anything completely on their own is not particularly revelatory or insightful. It comes off as dismissive more than anything else.
  - BuckRogers 5y ago
    As GP, I agree. You hit the nail on the head there. I actually think the guy you're responding to and myself agree if we sat down and discussed in a more open and honest way. He's trying to prove a point about my opportunity, and win the internet. My response to that attitude always is: you win! See ya! It's why I don't use Twitter. That's the thing- I'm 50/50 on this issue. I believe there's inherent advantages that people have, and it's also about discipline and will. Some people will never grasp opportunity when it comes knocking. That's why many that do grasp (and are lucky to have) opportunity are often pretty upset when others try to dismiss their success. I get that. It's true too. Both can be true at the same time, some are fortunate by no effort of their own, and some are unambitious. It's a Venn diagram of conditions. But in 2022, everyone wants to be the victim. I don't believe in victimhood as a lifestyle. I firmly believe that "no one has more control over your life, than you".
AndrewUnmuted 5y ago
God damn, that is such an insult to the brilliance and uniqueness of a single individual such as Carmack. > That's all that separates Carmack from swaths, or multitudes of programmers on HN. I am astounded by HN's hatred for the extraordinary every day I remain on this putrid hellhole of a site.
- jason0597 5y ago
  Hatred? It's just a fact. If you were smart enough, born in the right time period when computers were taking off, born in the right country that wasn't torn by war and poverty, and also born in a reasonably wealthy family to afford computers, only then did you become successful in tech. Notice how all of those variables are outside the individual's control. I never chose to be born in the shithole that is Greece that was ravaged by the debt crisis, yet it affected me as an individual significantly. Sure I may have had the ability to fight my way through, but I know many who didn't. Furthermore, Bill Gates and Bill Joy never chose to be born into the year they were born just as computers were taking off, they just did. And they used their smarts to make billions. The sad truth still remains that the strongest predictor of an individual's success is their economic and family background. No one has proven otherwise.

CPLX 5y ago

> 11 years old, grinding down spot welding tips on a lathe Where did you store the lathe at night? Where did you plug it in? And how did you get the electricity to that outlet, was there an account in your name with the power company as an 11 year old?

BitwiseFool 5y ago
>"Where did you store the lathe at night? Where did you plug it in? And how did you get the electricity to that outlet, was there an account in your name with the power company as an 11 year old?" I'm not the GP but you're being obtuse and counterproductive. The idea that no one does anything completely on their own is not particularly revelatory or insightful. It comes off as dismissive more than anything else.
- BuckRogers 5y ago
  As GP, I agree. You hit the nail on the head there. I actually think the guy you're responding to and myself agree if we sat down and discussed in a more open and honest way. He's trying to prove a point about my opportunity, and win the internet. My response to that attitude always is: you win! See ya! It's why I don't use Twitter. That's the thing- I'm 50/50 on this issue. I believe there's inherent advantages that people have, and it's also about discipline and will. Some people will never grasp opportunity when it comes knocking. That's why many that do grasp (and are lucky to have) opportunity are often pretty upset when others try to dismiss their success. I get that. It's true too. Both can be true at the same time, some are fortunate by no effort of their own, and some are unambitious. It's a Venn diagram of conditions. But in 2022, everyone wants to be the victim. I don't believe in victimhood as a lifestyle. I firmly believe that "no one has more control over your life, than you".

AndrewUnmuted 5y ago

God damn, that is such an insult to the brilliance and uniqueness of a single individual such as Carmack. > That's all that separates Carmack from swaths, or multitudes of programmers on HN. I am astounded by HN's hatred for the extraordinary every day I remain on this putrid hellhole of a site.

jason0597 5y ago
Hatred? It's just a fact. If you were smart enough, born in the right time period when computers were taking off, born in the right country that wasn't torn by war and poverty, and also born in a reasonably wealthy family to afford computers, only then did you become successful in tech. Notice how all of those variables are outside the individual's control. I never chose to be born in the shithole that is Greece that was ravaged by the debt crisis, yet it affected me as an individual significantly. Sure I may have had the ability to fight my way through, but I know many who didn't. Furthermore, Bill Gates and Bill Joy never chose to be born into the year they were born just as computers were taking off, they just did. And they used their smarts to make billions. The sad truth still remains that the strongest predictor of an individual's success is their economic and family background. No one has proven otherwise.