It’s different for everyone. Some people want to be rich and famous and won’t settle for anything less, while others are happy to have a modest paycheck at a vocation they enjoy. I’d say that in some ways, the people they describe in the article are people who are, on the outside successful, but when they aren’t involved in their chosen occupation, their lives may not be all that great, depending.
She is using income, test scores etc. to define success. Also she is hawking some racist book she has coming out, and again this is the sanitized version of what I was shown. This person is a law professor who doesn’t really contribute anything at all to society.
But people usually measure success by achievements usually related to income or power. So I look around at all the top businessmen I know, the boards of large corporations, directors at any level of government, politicians, partners at large law firms, etc., and what do I see? Mostly Caucasians. Caucasian males and quite a few females too. Jewish people as well, although usually they like positions that aren’t as visible.
That is why her claims don’t even make any sense. Actually it’s not possible for her claims to even be proven, how do you prove a “feeling”? You can’t use self reporting data, nobody will admit to class advantages for anything, and most people won’t even admit what their real salaries are. $90k is the highest she lists for entire households, I blow that away by myself and I’m a nobody. I know in the real scheme of things I don’t make any real money and I have no real career or chance at anything. I’m fully cognizant of my own place in life, something most people like to be in complete denial of. Oddly enough, only other people that make allegedly “good” money seemingly understand this fact too. To everyone else somehow a six figure income means “success” without anything else. And if they don’t make it, they just pretend they do or they claim they will.
Nothing drives success except the position you are born into in life. That is the absolute highest indicator of continuing success, if your parents were rich you’ll be rich too.
It’s not IQ, those experiments have been done before, and the high IQ groups didn’t necessarily have better outcomes than lower IQ groups. Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” is a good read if you really want to understand this subject. He breaks it down and did it years ago, looking at every factor he can. He lists the experiments for things like IQ, talent, class structure, social skills etc.
This hack’s book is not new or innovative and her ideas are stupid. She is Chinese so she of course puts Chinese up there and tries to find a way to insist Chinese people are somehow a superior intellect. That’s one of the problems, nobody can ever look at any aspect of themselves and admit they aren’t special, it’s everyone else they can judge.
This discussion is actually probably too complicated for SRK. And honestly you people are all just better off not knowing what the world is really like anyway. It’s why we shelter kids for so long. It’s why the media constantly blasts their propaganda, straight from the government too. It’s better to have some dumb believe that hard work or something actually matters, and throw out an anecdote or two while ignoring all the times it doesn’t get you anywhere. The US is completely rigged against anybody without money.
It’s funny how when you’re a kid you’re fed tons of bullshit but when you’re finally making over six digits you realize how little you have and how rigged the game is. Usually at that point people start telling themselves lies like “if I focus on my kids they will do better” but in reality the game is designed to keep unwanted players out. While the population’s ignorance is immense, I doubt that this country can continue on this path forever.
Anyways, hoping to be making over $200k in the next 5 years. I’ll let you know if it was worth it when I get there.
Lately I’ve been going in on my kids about what they should expect in the coming years (that anthropology knowledge). Do you guys have some good job titles they can google up to see how much they make? I can help them with all the social maneuvering stuff and teach them how not to fuck up in college (this means how to hustle their way somewhere decent). But unfortunately top tier corporate jobs (whether they are finance or not) aren’t something I’m well versed in.
Also, lol that article if it doesn’t mention family income. Its hilarious how well connected, and well consolidated, wealth and power is in the US. Anthropologists have known this for a while now. But like people think that you can just randomly get on the board of a major company.
I just like doing things to see if I can do them, personally. What sucks is that once I prove I can, it’s like someone flipped a switch and I become bored of what I’m doing immediately. It’s happened in many professions I’ve held over the years.
Give it a shot. I’d be interested to hear what your take on it is. The game being rigged is something I’ve known for awhile and I don’t make much money, but I can imagine there are a lot of people out there who think a jump in class is wholly possible.
You’re right there, part of my issue with Amy Chua’s work is the fact her bigotry geared toward American Blacks and Latinos or any group of people she likes to generalize as “unsuccessful” and “lazy”. She’s simply playing into a system of American bigotry and telling others to “do better” in a system rigged against them while (unfortunately) tries to benefit from her “Model Minority” position. It’s sad.
You’re also right about your indirect comment on social mobility. Studies show that who you’re born to has the largest indicator of where you end up, if you’re born rich, you’ll probably die rich. Sad state of affairs in the USA.