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Study Concludes that Luck, not Talent or Smarts, Results in Wealth

posted by janrinok on Saturday March 03 2018, @11:56PM   Printer-friendly
from the just-my-luck dept.

Robotron writes:

MIT Tech Review reports on a new study which used computer model to analyze wealth distribution in society. It concludes that the majority of riches do not result from talent, intelligence or hard work - but luck. Those who succeed most in modern society are born well and experience several 'lucky events' which they exploit, but are of mediocre talent. The study's abstract states that the model has potential for encouraging investment in the genuinely gifted, and summarizes:

"...if it is true that some degree of talent is necessary to be successful in life, almost never the most talented people reach the highest peaks of success, being overtaken by mediocre but sensibly luckier individuals. As to our knowledge, this counterintuitive result - although implicitly suggested between the lines in a vast literature - is quantified here for the first time."

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 04 2018, @01:21AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 04 2018, @01:21AM (#647396)

    Modern civilization is rich enough that we can afford to treat success like a game.

    Nonsense. Most definitions of success involve power over others; which is essentially a nicer name for being able to inflict suffering at will. To imagine such ability not to be abused, is to imagine a sentient species that is totally not human.

  • (Score: 2) by julian on Sunday March 04 2018, @01:24AM (1 child)

    by julian (6003) Subscriber Badge on Sunday March 04 2018, @01:24AM (#647399)

    Great contribution, Nietzsche. Thankfully, very few people believe your bullshit or ever did.

    • (Score: 2) by deimtee on Sunday March 04 2018, @02:35AM

      by deimtee (3272) on Sunday March 04 2018, @02:35AM (#647430) Journal

      That's actually one of the main points of 1984 that almost everyone misses. Near the end when O'Brien is talking to Winston he asks 'How do you know when you have power over someone?' and Winston has an epiphany and correctly answers 'by making him suffer'. Unless he is suffering, how do you know it is your power, not his choice.

      --
      If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.

  • (Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Sunday March 04 2018, @02:38AM (2 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Sunday March 04 2018, @02:38AM (#647432) Homepage Journal

    Mine is to be able to go fishing whenever I want. Oh, and a nap after lunch. Often at the same time (bells on the ends of my catfish rods). I fit the Gen-X lack of ambition stereotype to a T.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 04 2018, @11:30PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday March 04 2018, @11:30PM (#647778)

      O Mighty Buzzard, thou art living the dream. Verily, I say unto thee.
      It's almost Biblical in its simplicity.