4 ms·

Good example, now imagine the same Edison (w.r.t. potential) at the same time with the same hearing loss born to a black family. Imagine the great things a gen

by qayxc 4y ago

Good example, now imagine the same Edison (w.r.t. potential) at the same time with the same hearing loss born to a black family. Imagine the great things a genius like Srinivasa Ramanujan could have achieved if he had the privilege of a proper formal education and wouldn't have lived at the poverty line for most his life, which ultimately caused him to die young. For every Edison there's literally millions of (mostly) poor people, who for one reason or another (be that born with the wrong genitalia, wrong skin colour, or at the wrong place) simply never even get the chance to develop their full potential no matter how hard they try. Denying the impact of pure happenstance on people's destiny is denying a large part of reality. Unfortunately not everyone is lucky enough to be born into a supporting family or a country that offers actual opportunities in life. edit: basically what I'm trying to say is that it's incredibly hard to roll a 7 when using a single D6 versus someone rolling two D20s :)

WalterBright 4y ago
I don't buy the defeatism in your theory. Too many counterexamples. I recommend you read a biography on Edison's early life. Or just look at America itself. It was not settled by rich people, or even middle class people. It was settled by destitute people, criminals running from the law, indentured servants, and slaves. It became the richest country in the world, with the largest and wealthiest middle class. Why do you think millions of people desperately try to get into the US every year? What do they know that you're overlooking?
- qayxc 4y ago
  > I don't buy the defeatism in your theory. There's no defeatism, just a healthy dose of reality. It's not a theory either, it's a fact that can be demonstrated by statistics and even put in numbers (though I'm not a fan of GINI and the like). > Too many counterexamples. I recommend you look at the dire state of many people around the globe and throughout history. History only tells the story of those who made it - nobody writes about the millions who failed and why. It's an inherent bias that distorts our perception. > Or just look at America itself. I explicitly mentioned countries that provide opportunities, of which the US is one. Though it wasn't everyone who immediately benefitted; the slaves and the indigenous people weren't so lucky in their time, for example. The gain for some was a loss for the others. > Why do you think millions of people desperately try to get into the US every year? For the exact reason I mentioned: because they grew up in places that simply don't allow them to achieve their goals, no matter how hard they try. How many fail to cross the border or get rejected and how many are deported later? Thousands of refugees die every year while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. Were the survivors truly masters of their own destiny or did they just get lucky? Is it talent, determination and the right attitude that gets them out of the refugee camp on Lampedusa; or are they at the mercy of a cold and uncaring bureaucracy that just wants to get rid of them? I'm not saying only certain people can achieve their life goals. What I'm saying is that determination and talent alone are not always sufficient. Circumstances play a major role in life. Call me cynical, but for every success story there's a hundred young people who didn't live to their 21st birthday in the favelas of Rio or in the slums of Lagos. Your perception might be different and I'm not trying to convince you, I like your optimism, even though I don't share it.

by qayxc 4y ago

WalterBright 4y ago

I don't buy the defeatism in your theory. Too many counterexamples. I recommend you read a biography on Edison's early life. Or just look at America itself. It was not settled by rich people, or even middle class people. It was settled by destitute people, criminals running from the law, indentured servants, and slaves. It became the richest country in the world, with the largest and wealthiest middle class. Why do you think millions of people desperately try to get into the US every year? What do they know that you're overlooking?

qayxc 4y ago
> I don't buy the defeatism in your theory. There's no defeatism, just a healthy dose of reality. It's not a theory either, it's a fact that can be demonstrated by statistics and even put in numbers (though I'm not a fan of GINI and the like). > Too many counterexamples. I recommend you look at the dire state of many people around the globe and throughout history. History only tells the story of those who made it - nobody writes about the millions who failed and why. It's an inherent bias that distorts our perception. > Or just look at America itself. I explicitly mentioned countries that provide opportunities, of which the US is one. Though it wasn't everyone who immediately benefitted; the slaves and the indigenous people weren't so lucky in their time, for example. The gain for some was a loss for the others. > Why do you think millions of people desperately try to get into the US every year? For the exact reason I mentioned: because they grew up in places that simply don't allow them to achieve their goals, no matter how hard they try. How many fail to cross the border or get rejected and how many are deported later? Thousands of refugees die every year while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe. Were the survivors truly masters of their own destiny or did they just get lucky? Is it talent, determination and the right attitude that gets them out of the refugee camp on Lampedusa; or are they at the mercy of a cold and uncaring bureaucracy that just wants to get rid of them? I'm not saying only certain people can achieve their life goals. What I'm saying is that determination and talent alone are not always sufficient. Circumstances play a major role in life. Call me cynical, but for every success story there's a hundred young people who didn't live to their 21st birthday in the favelas of Rio or in the slums of Lagos. Your perception might be different and I'm not trying to convince you, I like your optimism, even though I don't share it.