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> if I was lucky enough to stumble upon some great hack to make lots of money, why would I be telling people about it? Because you understand that the number i

> if I was lucky enough to stumble upon some great hack to make lots of money, why would I be telling people about it? Because you understand that the number in your bank account isn't the score of some weird game. Having more money than other people doesn't make you a better person. If you have enough money to reach your goals - pay your rent, buy food, indulge your hobbies - that's good. If 20 other people also have enough money to reach their goals, that's a world with more happiness in it. That's a better world. So why not tell other people how to make money in the same way you did, and help bring that world about?

the_snooze 3y ago
>So why not tell other people how to make money in the same way you did, and help bring that world about? I think this does happen quite frequently. It's just that the knowledge gets passed through networks, so the most successful people help those who are socially near them (and probably not too different in terms of success and comfort). This is the whole "insider knowledge" that the article alludes to.
- Consultant32452 3y ago
  This comment is in no way an endorsement of Scott Adams, I generally do not like him. However, he recently posted something on Twitter that has been a brain worm for me. >"Success is mostly imitation. We study successful people and then try to imitate what worked." >"Imagine being Black, learning the history of slavery and racism, and being asked to imitate your oppressors to succeed." And a followup tweet: >"The most damaging reframe in American history is that using the universal tools for success is “acting white.” Solve that problem and we’ll have better visibility on the systemic racism that is primarily caused by the teachers unions."
  - jdpigeon 3y ago
    The last tweet is a little confusing. Teacher's unions? Really?
    - Consultant32452 3y ago
      I used to watch Adams' podcast. It would require a lot of context to fully make sense. Suffice to say he thinks teacher's unions are a big component of the problem here and imo the primary value of his comment here could be conveyed if you remove the tail end of that Tweet which puts it on the teacher's unions.
      - lostlogin 3y ago
        I’m not sure context helps him with his other outbursts. “Based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to White people is to get the hell away from Black people,” the 65-year-old author exclaimed. “Just get the (expletive) away. Wherever you have to go, just get away. Because there’s no fixing this. This can’t be fixed.” https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/02/23/dilberts-scott-adams-white-people-should-get-the-hell-away-from-black-people/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/02/23/dilberts-scott-adams-... “The reality is that women are treated differently by society for exactly the same reason that children and the mentally handicapped are treated differently.” https://ew.com/article/2011/03/30/dilbert-scott-adams-feminist-outrage/ https://ew.com/article/2011/03/30/dilbert-scott-adams-femini... Trump is like the founding fathers and Jesus. https://www.thedailybeast.com/dilbert-creator-on-how-trump-is-like-the-founding-fathers-and-jesus https://www.thedailybeast.com/dilbert-creator-on-how-trump-i... There is a bit of coverage in the wiki. He writes a good cartoon but he is radioactive in his views. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Adams https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Adams
        Consultant32452 3y ago
        Terrible people are sometimes capable of saying things worth considering, and it's possible to consider one thing he says without endorsing or accepting other things he's said or even his personal context for the words being considered.
        zlg_codes 3y ago
        It's difficult to defend a stance like one you're adopting, because of how quick to judge the general public is. They'd never know that someone like Ted Kaczynski actually held a PhD and wrote an interesting essay before committing to his campaign of terror. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski) It's rather strange that people will choose to wholly dismiss a person based on one thing, without realizing that even "evil" people have more facets than a simple bevel. Ted killed himself in prison a few months ago. What benefit could society have gained if someone had heard him out and took some measures to help the environment? Most people won't ask that question, because they have the intellectual and philosophical depth of a puddle. One of the most illuminating things in my life has been discovering what the "bad" and "evil" side of humanity actually thought, instead of the version that the authorities or victors give us. There's also this modern tendency to assume that whatever you read, you become. So superstitious.
  - rodrattt 3y ago
    Just a thing I noticed since I don't know Scott Adams etc. — surely being a slave couldn't be considered a success‽ I'm sure I'm missing the meaning here somehow but to me it's quite obvious we may imitate something successful and not imitate something unsuccessful.
    - barrkel 3y ago
      The implied theory in the paraphrased quotes is that Black people are not successful in part because they have learned a framing where success requires acting like a slave owner, or acting white. That is, behaviors that correlate with success are tainted with being the way (oppressive) white people act.
      - CMCDragonkai 3y ago
        This obviously can't be true for African Africans. Even including former colonies.
    - Consultant32452 3y ago
      I think this part clarifies it: >The most damaging reframe in American history is that using the universal tools for success is “acting white.” If you are not American it may not be clear. One specific example of a "universal tool for success" being marred in this way is that black kids who are successful academically are sometimes bullied for "acting white." I've intentionally found a left leaning source discussing this phenomenon. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/acting-white-charge-origins/594130/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/acting-whi...
      - porkbeer 3y ago
        My darker friends often caught hell from associating with a 'white boy' like me. The racism problem is bad on the other side too and many people discount this, but it may be a bigger problem than the obverse for culture and progress.
        3y ago
jancsika 3y ago
OP would presume they covered that in their last OR branch: > or I'm actually stupid and about to see my business model crash and burn In other words, they wouldn't be able to reach their long term goals because one of the 20 other people are going to eat their lunch. (And all will in fact attempt to monopolize their lunch.)
kabalunga 3y ago
That's so refreshingly naive a view that I'd almost upvote you for it. Unfortunately it's not how the world works and is overall damaging since it lays the foundation to believing all those ads on youtube in which some guru promises to tell you their secret to success if you only sign up ("for free") on their website to watch their video ("for free"). Next thing you know is your aunt lost most of her savings to paying for seminars in which she was promised to learn how to get successful, but it is all a scam and made her poor.
tomcam 3y ago
Oops, I didn’t realize you had made this comment, which is better than mine: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37103107 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37103107

the_snooze 3y ago

>So why not tell other people how to make money in the same way you did, and help bring that world about? I think this does happen quite frequently. It's just that the knowledge gets passed through networks, so the most successful people help those who are socially near them (and probably not too different in terms of success and comfort). This is the whole "insider knowledge" that the article alludes to.

Consultant32452 3y ago
This comment is in no way an endorsement of Scott Adams, I generally do not like him. However, he recently posted something on Twitter that has been a brain worm for me. >"Success is mostly imitation. We study successful people and then try to imitate what worked." >"Imagine being Black, learning the history of slavery and racism, and being asked to imitate your oppressors to succeed." And a followup tweet: >"The most damaging reframe in American history is that using the universal tools for success is “acting white.” Solve that problem and we’ll have better visibility on the systemic racism that is primarily caused by the teachers unions."
- jdpigeon 3y ago
  The last tweet is a little confusing. Teacher's unions? Really?
  - Consultant32452 3y ago
    I used to watch Adams' podcast. It would require a lot of context to fully make sense. Suffice to say he thinks teacher's unions are a big component of the problem here and imo the primary value of his comment here could be conveyed if you remove the tail end of that Tweet which puts it on the teacher's unions.
    - lostlogin 3y ago
      I’m not sure context helps him with his other outbursts. “Based on the current way things are going, the best advice I would give to White people is to get the hell away from Black people,” the 65-year-old author exclaimed. “Just get the (expletive) away. Wherever you have to go, just get away. Because there’s no fixing this. This can’t be fixed.” https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/02/23/dilberts-scott-adams-white-people-should-get-the-hell-away-from-black-people/ https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/02/23/dilberts-scott-adams-... “The reality is that women are treated differently by society for exactly the same reason that children and the mentally handicapped are treated differently.” https://ew.com/article/2011/03/30/dilbert-scott-adams-feminist-outrage/ https://ew.com/article/2011/03/30/dilbert-scott-adams-femini... Trump is like the founding fathers and Jesus. https://www.thedailybeast.com/dilbert-creator-on-how-trump-is-like-the-founding-fathers-and-jesus https://www.thedailybeast.com/dilbert-creator-on-how-trump-i... There is a bit of coverage in the wiki. He writes a good cartoon but he is radioactive in his views. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Adams https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Adams
      - Consultant32452 3y ago
        Terrible people are sometimes capable of saying things worth considering, and it's possible to consider one thing he says without endorsing or accepting other things he's said or even his personal context for the words being considered.
        zlg_codes 3y ago
        It's difficult to defend a stance like one you're adopting, because of how quick to judge the general public is. They'd never know that someone like Ted Kaczynski actually held a PhD and wrote an interesting essay before committing to his campaign of terror. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Kaczynski) It's rather strange that people will choose to wholly dismiss a person based on one thing, without realizing that even "evil" people have more facets than a simple bevel. Ted killed himself in prison a few months ago. What benefit could society have gained if someone had heard him out and took some measures to help the environment? Most people won't ask that question, because they have the intellectual and philosophical depth of a puddle. One of the most illuminating things in my life has been discovering what the "bad" and "evil" side of humanity actually thought, instead of the version that the authorities or victors give us. There's also this modern tendency to assume that whatever you read, you become. So superstitious.
- rodrattt 3y ago
  Just a thing I noticed since I don't know Scott Adams etc. — surely being a slave couldn't be considered a success‽ I'm sure I'm missing the meaning here somehow but to me it's quite obvious we may imitate something successful and not imitate something unsuccessful.
  - barrkel 3y ago
    The implied theory in the paraphrased quotes is that Black people are not successful in part because they have learned a framing where success requires acting like a slave owner, or acting white. That is, behaviors that correlate with success are tainted with being the way (oppressive) white people act.
    - CMCDragonkai 3y ago
      This obviously can't be true for African Africans. Even including former colonies.
  - Consultant32452 3y ago
    I think this part clarifies it: >The most damaging reframe in American history is that using the universal tools for success is “acting white.” If you are not American it may not be clear. One specific example of a "universal tool for success" being marred in this way is that black kids who are successful academically are sometimes bullied for "acting white." I've intentionally found a left leaning source discussing this phenomenon. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/acting-white-charge-origins/594130/ https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/acting-whi...
    - porkbeer 3y ago
      My darker friends often caught hell from associating with a 'white boy' like me. The racism problem is bad on the other side too and many people discount this, but it may be a bigger problem than the obverse for culture and progress.
      - 3y ago

jancsika 3y ago

OP would presume they covered that in their last OR branch: > or I'm actually stupid and about to see my business model crash and burn In other words, they wouldn't be able to reach their long term goals because one of the 20 other people are going to eat their lunch. (And all will in fact attempt to monopolize their lunch.)

kabalunga 3y ago

That's so refreshingly naive a view that I'd almost upvote you for it. Unfortunately it's not how the world works and is overall damaging since it lays the foundation to believing all those ads on youtube in which some guru promises to tell you their secret to success if you only sign up ("for free") on their website to watch their video ("for free"). Next thing you know is your aunt lost most of her savings to paying for seminars in which she was promised to learn how to get successful, but it is all a scam and made her poor.

tomcam 3y ago

Oops, I didn’t realize you had made this comment, which is better than mine: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37103107 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37103107