4 ms·

The author of the article calls entrepreneurs who haven't graduated from college "children". No, seriously. plonk, as we used to say on Usenet.

by tjic 13y ago

rhizome 13y ago
And, just to fill in the backtronym gap: PLONK = Person With Little Or No Knowledge Coming this weekend: "college dropouts should always hire college dropouts" answerpost.
bdcravens 13y ago
Perhaps "children" is a bit derisive, but I'd argue that someone who hasn't really accomplished anything outside of the protective cocoon of their parents' home(s) and income is less than an adult.
- nknighthb 13y ago
  My mother lives in my house and survives partially off of my income. I was making more by the time I was 21 than either of my parents ever had. I'm less than an adult because I don't have a degree? What the hell is wrong with you?
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - asdfologist 13y ago
    Did you even read what he said? There's no overlap between your scenario and "someone who hasn't really accomplished anything outside of the protective cocoon of their parents' home(s) and income".
    - nknighthb 13y ago
      Did you even read the thread? He's either equating "hasn't really accomplished anything" with not having a degree, or he's utterly off-topic. And if someone actually does have wealthy parents who would always help if needed, does that mean they'll always be "less than adults"? Every possible way of reading the comment is so patronizing and elitist I can't believe you would seek to defend it.
      - asdfologist 13y ago
        Read the comment again. bdcravens never implied he agrees with the article. He's using "less than adults" to describe the set of people who haven't accomplished anything. This set and the set of people without college degrees may have substantial overlap, but you don't belong to the overlap by definition.
        nknighthb 13y ago
        I've read it many times. The most generous possible interpretation I can ascribe is that he's completely off-topic in his response to the parent comment and considers anyone with wealthy parents to be less than adult. The more likely interpretation in-context is that he thinks anyone who hasn't gone through college is less than an adult. You're not going to convince me otherwise by repeating the same argument with different words.
        bdcravens 13y ago
        I'm a bit biased towards those with wealthy parents perhaps. My point, which I may have failed to make, is that business success requires personal success, and if you haven't experienced that on your own (where true failure is a very real possibility), then I doubt you're ready. That growth can come in a variety of ways: college success, raising a child as a single parent, or even dropping out of high school to work and make ends meet. That growth can occur in the presence of wealth, but I think it can be tough, and proceeding through the rigors of college may be the easiest path (but not only path, and no guarantee of growth even then)
      - bdcravens 13y ago
        Responding directly to this comment; please read what I wrote to your initial comment. If you've succeeded outside of the cocoon I referred to, then you have "really accomplished anything". Gates had wealthy parents, but I'd argue that he forged his own path on his own.
  - bdcravens 13y ago
    A degree doesn't make you an adult, nor does the lack of one make you less of an adult. I had a bigger point I was trying to make, and I apologize if I missed the mark and struck a nerve. I'm addressing the article's idea that you can take a kid in college out of college and somehow that's a magical formula. Becoming a adult means leaving home, becoming your own person (not in the high school "I'm finding myself..." sense), and experiencing success and failure purely of your own accord. The author I feel referred to the Thiel folks as children because they hadn't crossed these thresholds. Adulthood in my sense of the word seems to me to be a necessary prerequisite for business success. Collge can help a person grow in these areas of their life. It's no guarantee, and it's possible to grow outside of college. What doesn't work is taking a kid who lived in mommy and/or daddy's house, went to college on mommy/daddy's dime, and drove the car they were given, and then have someone come along and become a new mommy/daddy holding their hand while they start a business. I don't think anyone can be successful without having experience success, and perhaps even more importantly, failure. My outlook is filtered by my own experience. I've lived on my own since age 17, and didn't get my first car until age 23 (because the only way I could get one was to buy it myself.. my entire childhood, my parents didn't have a car). I was a college dropout (wanted to stay, couldn't afford it, and made mistakes with regard to student loans that I was to blame for). No computer in my home until I bought one myself. Taught myself programming, built up a career over time. No hand holding, everything I have I paid for, and I have no safety net. That said, I've made plenty of mistakes, and I deserve everything I have, nor don't have, right now. Perhaps that leaves me bitter; I don't think so. I see a situation like the Thiel Fellowship and see the total lack of success as a blatantly obvious conclusion. (Though it's probably wrong to judge, as I know nothing about these "entrepreneurs" and their life experience)
- dreamdu5t 13y ago
  > hasn't really accomplished anything outside of the protective cocoon of their parents' home(s) In my mind, college is usually an extension of the parental protective cocoon.
  - bdcravens 13y ago
    It certainly can be. Some may not experience any real growth until they're well into their work life after graduation.

The author of the article calls entrepreneurs who haven't graduated from college "children". No, seriously. plonk, as we used to say on Usenet.

by tjic 13y ago

The author of the article calls entrepreneurs who haven't graduated from college "children". No, seriously. plonk, as we used to say on Usenet.

rhizome 13y ago

And, just to fill in the backtronym gap: PLONK = Person With Little Or No Knowledge Coming this weekend: "college dropouts should always hire college dropouts" answerpost.

bdcravens 13y ago

Perhaps "children" is a bit derisive, but I'd argue that someone who hasn't really accomplished anything outside of the protective cocoon of their parents' home(s) and income is less than an adult.

nknighthb 13y ago
My mother lives in my house and survives partially off of my income. I was making more by the time I was 21 than either of my parents ever had. I'm less than an adult because I don't have a degree? What the hell is wrong with you?
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- asdfologist 13y ago
  Did you even read what he said? There's no overlap between your scenario and "someone who hasn't really accomplished anything outside of the protective cocoon of their parents' home(s) and income".
  - nknighthb 13y ago
    Did you even read the thread? He's either equating "hasn't really accomplished anything" with not having a degree, or he's utterly off-topic. And if someone actually does have wealthy parents who would always help if needed, does that mean they'll always be "less than adults"? Every possible way of reading the comment is so patronizing and elitist I can't believe you would seek to defend it.
    - asdfologist 13y ago
      Read the comment again. bdcravens never implied he agrees with the article. He's using "less than adults" to describe the set of people who haven't accomplished anything. This set and the set of people without college degrees may have substantial overlap, but you don't belong to the overlap by definition.
      - nknighthb 13y ago
        I've read it many times. The most generous possible interpretation I can ascribe is that he's completely off-topic in his response to the parent comment and considers anyone with wealthy parents to be less than adult. The more likely interpretation in-context is that he thinks anyone who hasn't gone through college is less than an adult. You're not going to convince me otherwise by repeating the same argument with different words.
        bdcravens 13y ago
        I'm a bit biased towards those with wealthy parents perhaps. My point, which I may have failed to make, is that business success requires personal success, and if you haven't experienced that on your own (where true failure is a very real possibility), then I doubt you're ready. That growth can come in a variety of ways: college success, raising a child as a single parent, or even dropping out of high school to work and make ends meet. That growth can occur in the presence of wealth, but I think it can be tough, and proceeding through the rigors of college may be the easiest path (but not only path, and no guarantee of growth even then)
    - bdcravens 13y ago
      Responding directly to this comment; please read what I wrote to your initial comment. If you've succeeded outside of the cocoon I referred to, then you have "really accomplished anything". Gates had wealthy parents, but I'd argue that he forged his own path on his own.
- bdcravens 13y ago
  A degree doesn't make you an adult, nor does the lack of one make you less of an adult. I had a bigger point I was trying to make, and I apologize if I missed the mark and struck a nerve. I'm addressing the article's idea that you can take a kid in college out of college and somehow that's a magical formula. Becoming a adult means leaving home, becoming your own person (not in the high school "I'm finding myself..." sense), and experiencing success and failure purely of your own accord. The author I feel referred to the Thiel folks as children because they hadn't crossed these thresholds. Adulthood in my sense of the word seems to me to be a necessary prerequisite for business success. Collge can help a person grow in these areas of their life. It's no guarantee, and it's possible to grow outside of college. What doesn't work is taking a kid who lived in mommy and/or daddy's house, went to college on mommy/daddy's dime, and drove the car they were given, and then have someone come along and become a new mommy/daddy holding their hand while they start a business. I don't think anyone can be successful without having experience success, and perhaps even more importantly, failure. My outlook is filtered by my own experience. I've lived on my own since age 17, and didn't get my first car until age 23 (because the only way I could get one was to buy it myself.. my entire childhood, my parents didn't have a car). I was a college dropout (wanted to stay, couldn't afford it, and made mistakes with regard to student loans that I was to blame for). No computer in my home until I bought one myself. Taught myself programming, built up a career over time. No hand holding, everything I have I paid for, and I have no safety net. That said, I've made plenty of mistakes, and I deserve everything I have, nor don't have, right now. Perhaps that leaves me bitter; I don't think so. I see a situation like the Thiel Fellowship and see the total lack of success as a blatantly obvious conclusion. (Though it's probably wrong to judge, as I know nothing about these "entrepreneurs" and their life experience)
dreamdu5t 13y ago
> hasn't really accomplished anything outside of the protective cocoon of their parents' home(s) In my mind, college is usually an extension of the parental protective cocoon.
- bdcravens 13y ago
  It certainly can be. Some may not experience any real growth until they're well into their work life after graduation.