Well, I think it's partially a bug, and even in some perfectly egalitarian future we'll still have to deal with it. But at the present time, it's also firmly ro

Well, I think it's partially a bug, and even in some perfectly egalitarian future we'll still have to deal with it. But at the present time, it's also firmly rooted in fact. People from different groups have different opportunities, no matter how talented they might be. If you're from the wrong kind of neighborhood, it's hard to escape the conclusion that either (a) your people are not meant for better things, or (b) the whole society is in some kind of conspiracy against you. I mean, look at these kids -- they beat MIT in a robotics competition, but one of them now hangs drywall for a living. http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.04/robot.html http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.04/robot.html Yeah, I get that there's a huge legal problem here, (they're undocumented), but just compare their story, to say, the drug-addled C student that got to be president. The USA has a long way to go before it's a perfect meritocracy. That said, I do have a lots of problems with the whole inspiring-role-model concept. It can be unrealistic to say that because some ultra-nerd got a scholarship, that this somehow should inspire someone of merely average talents who won't get special treatment. And to go back to the original post, it was really patronizing to stretch the concept of "entrepreneur" to cover notorious bloggers. That kind of bogosity is common in the self-esteem industry.