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I grew up in a developing country in a small town, I had to drop out of high school since it was becoming unaffordable, with access to a small library where mos
by kokey 14y ago
I grew up in a developing country in a small town, I had to drop out of high school since it was becoming unaffordable, with access to a small library where most of the books weren't even in English. I learned electronics from those books, but most of it covered PNP transistors which were rare instead of NPN transistors which I could easily strip from old broken radios. I learned about computers from those books, and taught myself programming, where the books were mostly about the Commodore 64 and I was learning BASIC while the world out there was using PCs with C and Pascal. I taught myself enough to assemble my first PC from broken parts, and developed enough skills to allow me to move to a city, then to move to the UK, and other countries.
Was I lucky, or better educated? I also have that question of why do people who live in developed first world countries with free high school education and large libraries (containing books in the best language for information, and computers) don't see themselves as extremely lucky already. Why, with the massive head start they have that I didn't have, don't they go and make something of themselves and their lives?
- eli_gottlieb 14y agoBecause they don't have destitution motivating them to grab on by the skin of your teeth to any income whatsoever. But, I want to note, that's a good thing. One of my college classmates is a severely messed-up person from being raised by abusively money-hungry and careerist upwardly-mobile parents from India. Having the fire of destitution in your belly is how you breed Goldman Sachs investment bankers, not good citizens of a developed society.
- kokey 14y agoI agree that it can be a really bad thing. Just as your upbringing can influence you to become curious, willing to learn and self-motivated, it can also teach you the wrong kind of motivation. I have seen people come from a background where wealth was considered more important than anything, where opportunism and exploitation are acceptable means to a materialist goal, and saw these people turn out as criminals and con men.
- chii 14y ago> Having the fire of destitution in your belly is how you breed Goldman Sachs investment bankers, not good citizens of a developed society. no way. Its greed and not destitution that breeds these investment bankers to exploit whatever they can to make money.
- eli_gottlieb 14y agoBut that's the issue. People who grow up poor learn to be greedy.