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> Sincerely, a person who went to a school you've never heard of, but makes a ton of money I always find it odd when people choose this as a metric for success

> Sincerely, a person who went to a school you've never heard of, but makes a ton of money I always find it odd when people choose this as a metric for success. Why not "a person who went to a school you've never heard of, but has a job they enjoy deeply and that gives them purpose"?

grumple 3y ago
I think this arises because we view academics as accomplished experts within their walled gardens, but don't bestow a similar place in the real estate of the mind to people who have been successful at applying their skills in the real world.
archontes 3y ago
Ikigai.
bhouston 3y ago
It is not that dissimilar as branding in the real world. There are a ton of great little restaurants, but when you don't have time to really explore, some many small restaurants are also horrible, you pick a brand you are familiar with. The reason is that you know what to expect. Similar to why so many people want to get Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, etc on their resume. While there are a ton of amazing small companies they just do not have the same brand recongition. I think the economic term for this is "signalling." Having associating with these brand name schools gives you instant credibility: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_(economics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_(economics)
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
robertlagrant 3y ago
> I always find it odd when people choose this as a metric for success. Why not "a person who went to a school you've never heard of, but has a job they enjoy deeply and that gives them purpose"? It's not odd. If your metric was "be as useful as possible to others" then making lots of money is an excellent proxy metric.
- a_cardboard_box 3y ago
  It's more a measurement of how useful you appear to rich people. You can't make money being useful to people without money. You can make money convincing rich people you're useful to them when you're not.
  - vorpalhex 3y ago
    Lots of businesses make money from people who are poor. Your average McDonalds demographic.
  - robertlagrant 3y ago
    > It's more a measurement of how useful you appear to rich people. You can't make money being useful to people without money. I disagree that the two types of people are "rich people" and "people with no money"; the latter of which is vanishingly rare in developed countries. > You can make money convincing rich people you're useful to them when you're not. You can, but I don't think this accounts for all or most or much movement of money.
    - mahathu 3y ago
      >the latter of which is vanishingly rare in developed countries. You may live in a bubble
      - robertlagrant 3y ago
        Hence the limiting of things to developed countries.
        mahathu 3y ago
        Even in developed countries many people live in poverty!
        robertlagrant 3y ago
neilv 3y ago
They could be saying "by the metrics and values of this thing I'm criticizing, I'm successful by not doing that." Also, financial success is on-topic here, as this forum originated for Silicon Valley bros seeking wealth. In past lives, we were "greed is good" Wall Street bros. I'm sure some percentage of our earlier counterparts started out really loving spreadsheets, before the schemes.
joncrane 3y ago
>Why not "a person who went to a school you've never heard of, but has a job they enjoy deeply and that gives them purpose"? Because when a person has a lot of money, it vastly increases the scope of available activities that they enjoy and give them purpose.
bluefirebrand 3y ago
> Why not "a person who went to a school you've never heard of, but has a job they enjoy deeply and that gives them purpose"? Because by and large people go to university to have a better chance of making more money
manicennui 3y ago
All ten of those people don't make a good case for any particular school.
gonzo41 3y ago
Because in America (and most places), if you can have a job your enjoy that gives you purpose you're probably already rich. Usually with inherited middle class wealth, like having a stable home or better. You're probably sitting on top of the privilege pyramid by your countries standard. Most aspirational people who are out to make mega bucks are trying to put distance between themselves and the time they didn't have that, and to setup the structures in their life so if they have kids, they can give that easy going life to their heirs.

grumple 3y ago

I think this arises because we view academics as accomplished experts within their walled gardens, but don't bestow a similar place in the real estate of the mind to people who have been successful at applying their skills in the real world.

archontes 3y ago

Ikigai.

bhouston 3y ago

It is not that dissimilar as branding in the real world. There are a ton of great little restaurants, but when you don't have time to really explore, some many small restaurants are also horrible, you pick a brand you are familiar with. The reason is that you know what to expect. Similar to why so many people want to get Google, Meta, Microsoft, Apple, etc on their resume. While there are a ton of amazing small companies they just do not have the same brand recongition. I think the economic term for this is "signalling." Having associating with these brand name schools gives you instant credibility: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_(economics) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signalling_(economics)

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

robertlagrant 3y ago

> I always find it odd when people choose this as a metric for success. Why not "a person who went to a school you've never heard of, but has a job they enjoy deeply and that gives them purpose"? It's not odd. If your metric was "be as useful as possible to others" then making lots of money is an excellent proxy metric.

a_cardboard_box 3y ago
It's more a measurement of how useful you appear to rich people. You can't make money being useful to people without money. You can make money convincing rich people you're useful to them when you're not.
- vorpalhex 3y ago
  Lots of businesses make money from people who are poor. Your average McDonalds demographic.
- robertlagrant 3y ago
  > It's more a measurement of how useful you appear to rich people. You can't make money being useful to people without money. I disagree that the two types of people are "rich people" and "people with no money"; the latter of which is vanishingly rare in developed countries. > You can make money convincing rich people you're useful to them when you're not. You can, but I don't think this accounts for all or most or much movement of money.
  - mahathu 3y ago
    >the latter of which is vanishingly rare in developed countries. You may live in a bubble
    - robertlagrant 3y ago
      Hence the limiting of things to developed countries.
      - mahathu 3y ago
        Even in developed countries many people live in poverty!
        robertlagrant 3y ago

neilv 3y ago

They could be saying "by the metrics and values of this thing I'm criticizing, I'm successful by not doing that." Also, financial success is on-topic here, as this forum originated for Silicon Valley bros seeking wealth. In past lives, we were "greed is good" Wall Street bros. I'm sure some percentage of our earlier counterparts started out really loving spreadsheets, before the schemes.

joncrane 3y ago

>Why not "a person who went to a school you've never heard of, but has a job they enjoy deeply and that gives them purpose"? Because when a person has a lot of money, it vastly increases the scope of available activities that they enjoy and give them purpose.

bluefirebrand 3y ago

> Why not "a person who went to a school you've never heard of, but has a job they enjoy deeply and that gives them purpose"? Because by and large people go to university to have a better chance of making more money

manicennui 3y ago

All ten of those people don't make a good case for any particular school.

gonzo41 3y ago

Because in America (and most places), if you can have a job your enjoy that gives you purpose you're probably already rich. Usually with inherited middle class wealth, like having a stable home or better. You're probably sitting on top of the privilege pyramid by your countries standard. Most aspirational people who are out to make mega bucks are trying to put distance between themselves and the time they didn't have that, and to setup the structures in their life so if they have kids, they can give that easy going life to their heirs.