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One of the details that strike me is that the cheater comes from a fairly wealthy background and has no need for that prize money at all. They have much more to

by _lvbh 2y ago

One of the details that strike me is that the cheater comes from a fairly wealthy background and has no need for that prize money at all. They have much more to lose than gain and this doesn’t seem rational at all.

saagarjha 2y ago
They don’t need the money. They want to win so they can get into college.
- armchairhacker 2y ago
  Googling his name brings up this article as the third result. Someone in whatever college he has been accepted to will surely discover and spread rumors, which he can’t really defend against because all the evidence supports that he did it. If he tries to publish anything, people will see his name and immediately question its legitimacy. If he gets an offer and the employer finds out they may rescind it because they can’t trust him. Maybe he won’t outright get his admission rescinded, but I can’t see how a prestigious college is worth more than an intact reputation (I’m sure that without this award he still would’ve been accepted to a great community college at worst, and with his research internship assuming good AP scores, he may have even got into his top choice).
  - krisoft 2y ago
    Sure. The gist of what you write is true. Being caught cheating harms his future prospects. You are thinking that now because he was already caught. But when he decided to cheat he didn’t know he will be caught. Probably he either estimated the chanches of him it wrong. Thinking perhaps that he will do a better job with the cheating, or that nobody looks that hard. Or he assumed lower consequences. Perhaps assuming if they catch him they just won’t give him the award, as opposed to making a big deal out of it.
    - throwaway48476 2y ago
      If the chance of getting caught is low enough the expected value of cheating is positive.
- _lvbh 2y ago
  Is college that important when you’re already rich af? There are other channels to get in without risking reputational ruin.
  - JKCalhoun 2y ago
    > without risking reputational ruin Feels a bit like, "Hope this impresses the judges ... but not too much." Like I imagine the way card counters in Vegas must feel. I want to win, but not so much I attract the attention of the pit bosses.
  - navigate8310 2y ago
    The boy cones from an Indian background which is highly competitive and looks down on it's own people if they are not "successful" career wise
    - Reubachi 2y ago
      He comes from a rich caste family, which is on the opposite side in regards to "introspection and external perception". Indian society is unlike any other and cannot be simplified, even within the individual castes. Of course I do not know this individual and their mindset concerning "motivations", but I find it very unlikely that these "mistakes" are due to entrenched group morays shared among poor/dalit castes.
  - WillPostForFood 2y ago
    More important than ever. Rich and your kids didn't get into the Ivy you were graduated from? Shameful.
  - dagw 2y ago
    Is college that important when you’re already rich af? A lot of people care about prestige and reputation at least as much as they care about money, especially people who have money. For many people being rich isn't enough, they also have to be seen as smart and successful.
onetimeusename 2y ago
It's for university admissions. It's not that surprising. There's a lot of fraud in admissions. I've met students who have given TED talks on subjects they have no idea about, written science books with fake reviews on Amazon, etc. all for admissions.
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
  Wasn't there a recent scandal, about celebrities gaming the system to get their kids admitted to top-tier colleges? I seem to remember folks getting jailed/fired/fined for that.
- oefrha 2y ago
  There are a lot of firms specializing in designing bullshit extracurricular activities for rich snobs. As long as you’re willing to pay it’s not hard to have UN photo ops, TED talks like you said, philanthropy in Africa, etc. under your belt, all low risk activities that are usually good enough for Ivy League. It’s interesting this guy chose to fake one of the few things people might actually bother to scrutinize. He’s probably looking further than college, though.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
bigbacaloa 2y ago
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by _lvbh 2y ago

saagarjha 2y ago

They don’t need the money. They want to win so they can get into college.

armchairhacker 2y ago
Googling his name brings up this article as the third result. Someone in whatever college he has been accepted to will surely discover and spread rumors, which he can’t really defend against because all the evidence supports that he did it. If he tries to publish anything, people will see his name and immediately question its legitimacy. If he gets an offer and the employer finds out they may rescind it because they can’t trust him. Maybe he won’t outright get his admission rescinded, but I can’t see how a prestigious college is worth more than an intact reputation (I’m sure that without this award he still would’ve been accepted to a great community college at worst, and with his research internship assuming good AP scores, he may have even got into his top choice).
- krisoft 2y ago
  Sure. The gist of what you write is true. Being caught cheating harms his future prospects. You are thinking that now because he was already caught. But when he decided to cheat he didn’t know he will be caught. Probably he either estimated the chanches of him it wrong. Thinking perhaps that he will do a better job with the cheating, or that nobody looks that hard. Or he assumed lower consequences. Perhaps assuming if they catch him they just won’t give him the award, as opposed to making a big deal out of it.
  - throwaway48476 2y ago
    If the chance of getting caught is low enough the expected value of cheating is positive.
_lvbh 2y ago
Is college that important when you’re already rich af? There are other channels to get in without risking reputational ruin.
- JKCalhoun 2y ago
  > without risking reputational ruin Feels a bit like, "Hope this impresses the judges ... but not too much." Like I imagine the way card counters in Vegas must feel. I want to win, but not so much I attract the attention of the pit bosses.
- navigate8310 2y ago
  The boy cones from an Indian background which is highly competitive and looks down on it's own people if they are not "successful" career wise
  - Reubachi 2y ago
    He comes from a rich caste family, which is on the opposite side in regards to "introspection and external perception". Indian society is unlike any other and cannot be simplified, even within the individual castes. Of course I do not know this individual and their mindset concerning "motivations", but I find it very unlikely that these "mistakes" are due to entrenched group morays shared among poor/dalit castes.
- WillPostForFood 2y ago
  More important than ever. Rich and your kids didn't get into the Ivy you were graduated from? Shameful.
- dagw 2y ago
  Is college that important when you’re already rich af? A lot of people care about prestige and reputation at least as much as they care about money, especially people who have money. For many people being rich isn't enough, they also have to be seen as smart and successful.

onetimeusename 2y ago

It's for university admissions. It's not that surprising. There's a lot of fraud in admissions. I've met students who have given TED talks on subjects they have no idea about, written science books with fake reviews on Amazon, etc. all for admissions.

ChrisMarshallNY 2y ago
Wasn't there a recent scandal, about celebrities gaming the system to get their kids admitted to top-tier colleges? I seem to remember folks getting jailed/fired/fined for that.
oefrha 2y ago
There are a lot of firms specializing in designing bullshit extracurricular activities for rich snobs. As long as you’re willing to pay it’s not hard to have UN photo ops, TED talks like you said, philanthropy in Africa, etc. under your belt, all low risk activities that are usually good enough for Ivy League. It’s interesting this guy chose to fake one of the few things people might actually bother to scrutinize. He’s probably looking further than college, though.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

bigbacaloa 2y ago

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