3 ms·

> They did something impressive so a useful model is to say "they know something about this world" or "there is something unique about them". It may be temptin

> They did something impressive so a useful model is to say "they know something about this world" or "there is something unique about them". It may be tempting to say "they must know something others don't" or "there's something unique about them." But that's exactly the kind of thinking GP is pushing back against. Whether or not you say "genius" or not is semantics. But it's true that in some cultures, being rich is seen as a sign of wisdom or superiority. I see it sometimes on HN and I've definitely seen in public discourse. But I can't relate very much to it. This may be a cultural gap but where I come from, wealth doesn't carry that kind of moral weight. It's like, sure Alex might be super rich. But are they honest, humble, and kind? Those qualities matter far more than how much money and assets they have. Yes, there are billionaires where I'm from too, but no one treats them as inherently special. What people truly admire are virtues like groundedness and community service. When someone uses their skills with sincerity and a spirit of giving, that's when people say, "there's something unique about them." And this is going to be true as much for a rich bloke as it'd be for a poor bloke. Wealth has nothing to do with it.

bko 11mo ago
No one is talking about moral weight. You keep bringing morality into it. A lot of people want a lot of money (for their family, personal or vanity purposes) Some people accumulate a lot of wealth in their lifetime. We can look to those people to gather insights as to how to accumulate wealth. We do that in literally every other field. People read about how Michael Felps or Lebron James trains, or how Magnus studies chess. No one thinks James or Felps or Magnus are somehow morally superior, they're just good at their craft and work hard. If you want to get good at swimming, basketball or chess, it's worth considering insights they have into the craft. No one should treat any of these people special, but there is something unique about them and you can learn from people. That is all. Some people have been indoctrinated into looking at others and feeling envy (cultural gap?) but don't be delusional into thinking its all random and there's nothing to learn.
- blenderob 11mo ago
  I could agree with most of your comment except for this: > Some people have been indoctrinated into looking at others and feeling envy (cultural gap?) but don't be delusional into thinking its all random and there's nothing to learn. Envy is a natural human emotion. What do you feel envy about? Rhetorical question. Not expecting an answer unless you want to volunteer this information. I'm no psychologist nor a philosopher but I'd hazard a guess that whatever you feel envy about says something about what you or your culture thinks are desirable virtues. It looks like you are somehow projecting your type of envy onto me and my culture. I don't think I've ever felt envy about someone being rich. Someone is super rich? Very good for them. I am not super rich but I earn well to live a comfortable life. Good for me too. But I feel envy too when I meet someone who is an absolute gentleperson who is not only doing very well for their family but also for the community around them. I admire them. At the same time I feel envy. Now, I'm not saying one envy is better than other. Not at all. I'm just saying cultural differences can be big and it's sometimes very hard to imagine or visualize each other's culture because our own culture seems so natural to us that the other culture seems unnatural. So to your rhetorical: > cultural gap? Yes, absolutely! > but don't be delusional into thinking its all random and there's nothing to learn. Absolutely! A person who wants to become super-rich has a lot to learn from someone who is super-rich. I don't want to be super-rich. I want to be excellent in other virtues which I think were mostly indoctrinated by my culture. So I look up to people with those virtues and learn from them. That's kinda why we don't really look at a super-rich person and immediately think "there is something unique about them" (which is where this thread began above) even if it's true. But we do see a person with great community spirit and think "there is something unique about them".

bko 11mo ago

No one is talking about moral weight. You keep bringing morality into it. A lot of people want a lot of money (for their family, personal or vanity purposes) Some people accumulate a lot of wealth in their lifetime. We can look to those people to gather insights as to how to accumulate wealth. We do that in literally every other field. People read about how Michael Felps or Lebron James trains, or how Magnus studies chess. No one thinks James or Felps or Magnus are somehow morally superior, they're just good at their craft and work hard. If you want to get good at swimming, basketball or chess, it's worth considering insights they have into the craft. No one should treat any of these people special, but there is something unique about them and you can learn from people. That is all. Some people have been indoctrinated into looking at others and feeling envy (cultural gap?) but don't be delusional into thinking its all random and there's nothing to learn.

blenderob 11mo ago
I could agree with most of your comment except for this: > Some people have been indoctrinated into looking at others and feeling envy (cultural gap?) but don't be delusional into thinking its all random and there's nothing to learn. Envy is a natural human emotion. What do you feel envy about? Rhetorical question. Not expecting an answer unless you want to volunteer this information. I'm no psychologist nor a philosopher but I'd hazard a guess that whatever you feel envy about says something about what you or your culture thinks are desirable virtues. It looks like you are somehow projecting your type of envy onto me and my culture. I don't think I've ever felt envy about someone being rich. Someone is super rich? Very good for them. I am not super rich but I earn well to live a comfortable life. Good for me too. But I feel envy too when I meet someone who is an absolute gentleperson who is not only doing very well for their family but also for the community around them. I admire them. At the same time I feel envy. Now, I'm not saying one envy is better than other. Not at all. I'm just saying cultural differences can be big and it's sometimes very hard to imagine or visualize each other's culture because our own culture seems so natural to us that the other culture seems unnatural. So to your rhetorical: > cultural gap? Yes, absolutely! > but don't be delusional into thinking its all random and there's nothing to learn. Absolutely! A person who wants to become super-rich has a lot to learn from someone who is super-rich. I don't want to be super-rich. I want to be excellent in other virtues which I think were mostly indoctrinated by my culture. So I look up to people with those virtues and learn from them. That's kinda why we don't really look at a super-rich person and immediately think "there is something unique about them" (which is where this thread began above) even if it's true. But we do see a person with great community spirit and think "there is something unique about them".