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"Rich people in yachts" have some advantages and disadvantages when it comes to making conversation. On the plus side, they're more likely to be well educated

"Rich people in yachts" have some advantages and disadvantages when it comes to making conversation. On the plus side, they're more likely to be well educated and familiar with those arguments that have been developed over hundreds of years (often only because of core-curriculum or distribution requirements but still). If they're on yachts it also suggests that they have more leisure time to read and think about those subjects. If the kinds of conversations you had in your own college years are your thing, then conversing with other college grads - and not just those in technical fields - is a pretty good bet. OTOH, my experience as a not-quite-yacht-class person myself is that few such people remember much of anything from their college years or spend any time at all continuing their own education. Pursuing money in one of a few narrow fields, plus leisure, is usually the sum total of what they have to offer in conversation. Many of the best educated people I've known, and most of the best conversationalists, have not been affluent. The breadth of lived experience they can bring to bear, both in their many professions and in their personal lives, generally makes the yacht-club crowd look like a bunch of boring clones. The lack of pretension is also a plus. Which makes me wonder why I'm trying to discuss this here. ;)

SamoyedFurFluff 4y ago
Have you considered trying to volunteer in a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter instead? Or even offering free tutoring to children.
- notacoward 4y ago
  I wouldn't be talking about my experience with less-affluent people if I hadn't personally availed myself of opportunities to meet them. I'm just saying that most members of my class have practically made a sport out of avoiding anyone unlike themselves. Part of it is that people who have never lived outside of "the bubble" themselves often no idea what it's like or what people there are like. None whatsoever. Among my RL friends, sometimes I try to bridge the gap by sharing some of my own experiences. Other times, frankly, I just have to walk away before I say something we'll all regret. Classism tends to be built bit by bit, and has to be dismantled the same way.
seydor 4y ago
> On the plus side, they're more likely to be well educated Academics are much better educated , but they have molded the academic system in a way that it is dangerous to talk about certain things. I dont think rich people are particularly educated or smart, but their wealth attracts smart and educated people, while being relatively shielded from demonetization. The confounder is not education, but being rich
- notacoward 4y ago
  > I dont think rich people are particularly educated Maybe you need to recalibrate what "not well educated" means. Rich people might not all have advanced degrees, but the vast majority have at least some college (even if they dropped out). Compare that to the approximately 1/3 who have never attended even a community college, some barely or not even making it through high school. Thinking that a bachelor's doesn't qualify as "well educated" is exactly the kind of bubble I was talking about.

SamoyedFurFluff 4y ago

Have you considered trying to volunteer in a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter instead? Or even offering free tutoring to children.

notacoward 4y ago
I wouldn't be talking about my experience with less-affluent people if I hadn't personally availed myself of opportunities to meet them. I'm just saying that most members of my class have practically made a sport out of avoiding anyone unlike themselves. Part of it is that people who have never lived outside of "the bubble" themselves often no idea what it's like or what people there are like. None whatsoever. Among my RL friends, sometimes I try to bridge the gap by sharing some of my own experiences. Other times, frankly, I just have to walk away before I say something we'll all regret. Classism tends to be built bit by bit, and has to be dismantled the same way.

seydor 4y ago

> On the plus side, they're more likely to be well educated Academics are much better educated , but they have molded the academic system in a way that it is dangerous to talk about certain things. I dont think rich people are particularly educated or smart, but their wealth attracts smart and educated people, while being relatively shielded from demonetization. The confounder is not education, but being rich

notacoward 4y ago
> I dont think rich people are particularly educated Maybe you need to recalibrate what "not well educated" means. Rich people might not all have advanced degrees, but the vast majority have at least some college (even if they dropped out). Compare that to the approximately 1/3 who have never attended even a community college, some barely or not even making it through high school. Thinking that a bachelor's doesn't qualify as "well educated" is exactly the kind of bubble I was talking about.