3 ms·

Not really. We all know poor people couldn't really do it, just as they couldn't do expensive sports and other expensive but still usual hobbies, for example.

Not really. We all know poor people couldn't really do it, just as they couldn't do expensive sports and other expensive but still usual hobbies, for example. But this guy is not the only upper middle class person in the world - he's from a country with the largest, richest middle class of all countries; and so discussing the money here is IMHO the more out of touch thing - there is more people in the US with enough money for this stunt than there is poor people. Can't we just celebrate the incredible achievement that literally not a single other not-poor kid was able to do (compare to the number of semi-pro hockey players - hockey is notoriously expensive)?

bradlys 5y ago
If you think your average American family can do this for their 22 year old, you’re out of touch.
- emteycz 5y ago
  Yeah I think most Americans could (not talking about averages here). It's roughly the same money as 1 year at an university, or a year of car lease payments, or a nice family vacation. Maybe two, but no more. Anyone who rides a new-ish motorbike demonstrably has enough money to spare. Are motorbikes that unusual? Are second cars unusual? I don't think so. (and don't even look at how much people spend on cigarettes) It's likely people wouldn't recognize the value and would buy the car or sports equipment instead and I'm not saying most people have the money on top of these other unnecessary expenses - but people prioritizing second cars/motorbikes/etc instead of their genius children are outside the scope of this discussion because they could, they just don't.
  - bradlys 5y ago
    Damn dude - you really are out of touch. You should really step outside your comfort zone and talk to more people! If you noticed anything about national trends - you'd know that motorcycles are basically dying and that things like sport cars are almost gone for good. MOST American families don't own an extra car. You're also ignoring the real estate costs that are associated with what this guy had. Man, seriously - reevaluate. Read about what people are struggling with these days. Parents aren't paying that tuition out of their pocket - the kids are paying it with student loans.
    - emteycz 5y ago
      Damn dude - let's look at some data. This feat of ingenuity requires cca $25k - but distributed over 5 years. How many family households in the US could pay $5k/year? 3/4 of all US family households have income over $50k, more than 1/2 have income over $85k, more than 1/3 have income over $125k and more than 1/8 have income over $200k.[1] $85k is enough to be comfortable and have $5k for the genius child even if you live in the Bay Area. $50k is enough for this outside major cities. [1] https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/cps-hinc/hinc-01.html https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-p...
Avamander 5y ago
> We all know poor people couldn't really do it, just as they couldn't do expensive sports and other expensive but still usual hobbies, for example. That's empirically not true and IMO kinda offensive. The example I brought up in my comment above is very real. Not all parents have overview what their kids do and have. When you've got food and housing, that provides the ability to spend that $600 bug bounty on "expensive hobbies" what you want. Not an electron microscope because your flat is 430 sq ft for four people, but a sleeper PC build, absolutely.

bradlys 5y ago

If you think your average American family can do this for their 22 year old, you’re out of touch.

emteycz 5y ago
Yeah I think most Americans could (not talking about averages here). It's roughly the same money as 1 year at an university, or a year of car lease payments, or a nice family vacation. Maybe two, but no more. Anyone who rides a new-ish motorbike demonstrably has enough money to spare. Are motorbikes that unusual? Are second cars unusual? I don't think so. (and don't even look at how much people spend on cigarettes) It's likely people wouldn't recognize the value and would buy the car or sports equipment instead and I'm not saying most people have the money on top of these other unnecessary expenses - but people prioritizing second cars/motorbikes/etc instead of their genius children are outside the scope of this discussion because they could, they just don't.
- bradlys 5y ago
  Damn dude - you really are out of touch. You should really step outside your comfort zone and talk to more people! If you noticed anything about national trends - you'd know that motorcycles are basically dying and that things like sport cars are almost gone for good. MOST American families don't own an extra car. You're also ignoring the real estate costs that are associated with what this guy had. Man, seriously - reevaluate. Read about what people are struggling with these days. Parents aren't paying that tuition out of their pocket - the kids are paying it with student loans.
  - emteycz 5y ago
    Damn dude - let's look at some data. This feat of ingenuity requires cca $25k - but distributed over 5 years. How many family households in the US could pay $5k/year? 3/4 of all US family households have income over $50k, more than 1/2 have income over $85k, more than 1/3 have income over $125k and more than 1/8 have income over $200k.[1] $85k is enough to be comfortable and have $5k for the genius child even if you live in the Bay Area. $50k is enough for this outside major cities. [1] https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/cps-hinc/hinc-01.html https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-p...

Avamander 5y ago

> We all know poor people couldn't really do it, just as they couldn't do expensive sports and other expensive but still usual hobbies, for example. That's empirically not true and IMO kinda offensive. The example I brought up in my comment above is very real. Not all parents have overview what their kids do and have. When you've got food and housing, that provides the ability to spend that $600 bug bounty on "expensive hobbies" what you want. Not an electron microscope because your flat is 430 sq ft for four people, but a sleeper PC build, absolutely.