4 ms·

If merit correlates with the ability to make money and merit is heritable, you'd expect those with merit to come from families with money. Top schools and our i

by natrius 13y ago

If merit correlates with the ability to make money and merit is heritable, you'd expect those with merit to come from families with money. Top schools and our industry are probably far from pure meritocracies, but that data doesn't prove (or even strongly suggest) it.

amirmc 13y ago
> "If merit correlates with the ability to make money and merit is heritable..." In the UK this was called being of 'good breeding'. It's no more true now than it was back then. Bear in mind that money is also heritable.
- natrius 13y ago
  Your claim that it isn't true is nice and all, but actual evidence that it isn't true would be better.
  - Brakenshire 13y ago
    Just to clarify, you're asking him to prove that the rich aren't genetically superior to the poor?
    - natrius 13y ago
      To quote myself: "If merit correlates with the ability to make money and merit is heritable, you'd expect those with merit to come from families with money." Is my logic incorrect? Does merit not correlate with the ability to make money? Is merit not heritable? None of those questions have been answered, but we did get to see some good ad hominem reasoning.
      - shubb 13y ago
        You'd have to define merit. For instance, on the one hand 'general intelligence' has been shown to be heritable (via adopted twin studies), but on the other, 'general intelligence' scores have increased massively in Africa as schooling becomes more widespread. So, is general intelligence heritable? Do our tests for intelligence really measure how much like a middle class European you are? These are interesting academic questions, but I wonder if you'd agree with this - having access to 5MM in no questions asked family funding is more useful than 50 extra IQ points, because you can always hire clever people.
      - menocchio 13y ago
        Is there any difference between the ability to make money and "merit" in this discussion? There definitely is a difference in the world, but in this discussion, you seem to be conflating them.
      - PhasmaFelis 13y ago
        > Is my logic incorrect? Does merit not correlate with the ability to make money? Is merit not heritable? You're using the word "merit" in an impossibly vague and poorly-defined way. You might as well say that having a sweet tattoo is a merit when picking up dudes/ladies, and merit is heritable, therefore sweet tattoos are heritable. And, again, you're the one making extraordinary claims, so you're the one who needs to provide extraordinary evidence. I would genuinely love to see it.
  - PhasmaFelis 13y ago
    No, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. If you're asserting that entire family lines are genetically (not just by environment) predisposed to success at business, you're the one who needs to back that up with facts.
grey-area 13y ago
The ability to make money is also strongly related to how much money (and the advantages that go with it) you start life with.

by natrius 13y ago

amirmc 13y ago

> "If merit correlates with the ability to make money and merit is heritable..." In the UK this was called being of 'good breeding'. It's no more true now than it was back then. Bear in mind that money is also heritable.

natrius 13y ago
Your claim that it isn't true is nice and all, but actual evidence that it isn't true would be better.
- Brakenshire 13y ago
  Just to clarify, you're asking him to prove that the rich aren't genetically superior to the poor?
  - natrius 13y ago
    To quote myself: "If merit correlates with the ability to make money and merit is heritable, you'd expect those with merit to come from families with money." Is my logic incorrect? Does merit not correlate with the ability to make money? Is merit not heritable? None of those questions have been answered, but we did get to see some good ad hominem reasoning.
    - shubb 13y ago
      You'd have to define merit. For instance, on the one hand 'general intelligence' has been shown to be heritable (via adopted twin studies), but on the other, 'general intelligence' scores have increased massively in Africa as schooling becomes more widespread. So, is general intelligence heritable? Do our tests for intelligence really measure how much like a middle class European you are? These are interesting academic questions, but I wonder if you'd agree with this - having access to 5MM in no questions asked family funding is more useful than 50 extra IQ points, because you can always hire clever people.
    - menocchio 13y ago
      Is there any difference between the ability to make money and "merit" in this discussion? There definitely is a difference in the world, but in this discussion, you seem to be conflating them.
    - PhasmaFelis 13y ago
      > Is my logic incorrect? Does merit not correlate with the ability to make money? Is merit not heritable? You're using the word "merit" in an impossibly vague and poorly-defined way. You might as well say that having a sweet tattoo is a merit when picking up dudes/ladies, and merit is heritable, therefore sweet tattoos are heritable. And, again, you're the one making extraordinary claims, so you're the one who needs to provide extraordinary evidence. I would genuinely love to see it.
- PhasmaFelis 13y ago
  No, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. If you're asserting that entire family lines are genetically (not just by environment) predisposed to success at business, you're the one who needs to back that up with facts.

grey-area 13y ago

The ability to make money is also strongly related to how much money (and the advantages that go with it) you start life with.