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>> why do veterans seem to do so poorly What are you saying that we do poorly at? Your comments are more "confounding" to me than any war situation I was ever

• gwern 15y ago
  You do poorly at kicking ass & making bank in civilian life. This is a tricky subject, of course (any statistics from 2001 and on are basically worthless because all the suicides and whatnot from Iraq & Afghanistan trash the data), and there are all sorts of correlation/causation problems (maybe the people who join would do poorly in the first place - these days, most of the graduating class of Harvard heads to Wall Street and not officer training). But if you have any citations to the contrary - that veterans do better than one would predict from their pre-military life - I'd be glad to hear them. Conscientiousness is as important as IQ, and any intervention which genuinely improves either is really valuable and ought to be well known.
  • count 15y ago
    Don't confuse work ethic with motivation. I know a number of successful veterans who are kicking ass and making bank in civilian life. I also know a ton who are just 'retired' and enjoying their low-key life with friends and family. You can't switch from studies and causation/correlation to just stating without citation that they suck at kicking ass.