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I’ve listened to many conversations in my life. In my experience, listening to conversations among wealthy people or high status people are far more interestin

by xwdv 4y ago

I’ve listened to many conversations in my life. In my experience, listening to conversations among wealthy people or high status people are far more interesting because as a group they have the ability to execute on a larger scale, and they can influence each other far more easily because of the credibility their wealth or status confers. I have been in many rooms before listening to people you would not believe, I was able to get there by simply playing the respected role of a modern day wizard: a software engineer of vast intellect with ability to generate new revenues from code. When I have listened to poorer people or low status “hustler” types talking to each other about big things, it mostly just comes off as myopic philosophizing or bullshit and puffery. Just a bunch of wannabes talking about things too big for the britches I’m afraid. If you spend too much time around these people you’ll get sucked into their delusions and waste years perpetuating terribly misguided thoughts. I talk to poor people when I want to learn about micro scale things: the plight of a gig worker, the struggles of a single mother, the hellish existence of a drug addict, depression, etc. I talk to wealthy people when I want to learn about macro scale things: the logistics of vaccine transport, alternative supply chains, subliminal eugenics initiatives, bureaucratic shortcuts, laundering, etc. And I’m not saying only listen to wealthy people wow how shallow, I’m saying go where wealthy people are and just open your mind and ears. Don’t try to stand out too much and your presence will not be a problem.

Bakary 4y ago
I don't entirely disagree with what you mentioned but I believe it paints only part of the picture and heading to the next level of abstraction is necessary. Tautologically, a wealthy or high status person will know quite a bit about how wealth and power affects life. They will have insights on parts of human nature that poorer people might not encounter. There's clearly value in listening to this with an open mind. However, even for those involved in high-level industries, that does not mean they do not have their own brand of myopic philosophizing and puffery. A large portion of their views on life is just as predictable as that of the small time hustler, and just as informed by their material conditions and cultural sphere, even if richer people have more of an opportunity to exist as individuals. There is this semi-aware understanding that wealthy people have to talk about Big Things, and the way they talk about Big Things inevitably leads to the 'architect' viewpoint and controlling the poor. I cracked a smile at the 'subliminal eugenics initiatives' because it's so representative of this mindset. Every once in a while, you get a reminder of this. A high-level fund might fail all of a sudden, a billionaire might make a lethal decision that clearly lacks perspective or understanding of reality, or it can be something as innocuous as releasing a fairly pedestrian reading list. All sorts of hints that they are not superhuman but merely boosted along by snowballing feedback effects. But since there is a culture of speaking in hushed tones about this, a range of complex emotions and fantasies when it comes to wealth and power, a nuclear grade sense of the halo effect, that we end up with OP thinking that yachts are filled with incredible insights 24/7 compared to the otherwise intellectually empty world of the non-elite, or yourself portraying the wealthy as divine enough that merely being in their presence is already an achievement on its own that must be accompanied with extra submissiveness and humility. You get a minor taste of this on HN itself. Since the atmosphere is a mixture of wealthy, wealth-adjacent, and normal, the HN reader will not just look at the specific brand of articles that do well here but will also be self-aware in doing so: that they are supposed to talk and make connections about history, art, science, politics in a certain way, and cultivate this sense of being above the fray of the masses.

by xwdv 4y ago

Bakary 4y ago

I don't entirely disagree with what you mentioned but I believe it paints only part of the picture and heading to the next level of abstraction is necessary. Tautologically, a wealthy or high status person will know quite a bit about how wealth and power affects life. They will have insights on parts of human nature that poorer people might not encounter. There's clearly value in listening to this with an open mind. However, even for those involved in high-level industries, that does not mean they do not have their own brand of myopic philosophizing and puffery. A large portion of their views on life is just as predictable as that of the small time hustler, and just as informed by their material conditions and cultural sphere, even if richer people have more of an opportunity to exist as individuals. There is this semi-aware understanding that wealthy people have to talk about Big Things, and the way they talk about Big Things inevitably leads to the 'architect' viewpoint and controlling the poor. I cracked a smile at the 'subliminal eugenics initiatives' because it's so representative of this mindset. Every once in a while, you get a reminder of this. A high-level fund might fail all of a sudden, a billionaire might make a lethal decision that clearly lacks perspective or understanding of reality, or it can be something as innocuous as releasing a fairly pedestrian reading list. All sorts of hints that they are not superhuman but merely boosted along by snowballing feedback effects. But since there is a culture of speaking in hushed tones about this, a range of complex emotions and fantasies when it comes to wealth and power, a nuclear grade sense of the halo effect, that we end up with OP thinking that yachts are filled with incredible insights 24/7 compared to the otherwise intellectually empty world of the non-elite, or yourself portraying the wealthy as divine enough that merely being in their presence is already an achievement on its own that must be accompanied with extra submissiveness and humility. You get a minor taste of this on HN itself. Since the atmosphere is a mixture of wealthy, wealth-adjacent, and normal, the HN reader will not just look at the specific brand of articles that do well here but will also be self-aware in doing so: that they are supposed to talk and make connections about history, art, science, politics in a certain way, and cultivate this sense of being above the fray of the masses.