How much is a child's future success determined by innate intelligence? Economist James Heckman says it's not what people think. He likes to ask educated non-scientists -- especially politicians and policy makers -- how much of the difference between people's incomes can be tied to IQ. Most guess around 25 percent, even 50 percent, he says. But the data suggest a much smaller influence: about 1 or 2 percent.
So if IQ is only a minor factor in success, what is it that separates the low earners from the high ones? Or, as the saying goes: If you're so smart, why aren't you rich?
Science doesn't have a definitive answer, although luck certainly plays a role. But another key factor is personality, according to a paper Heckman co-authored in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last month. He found financial success was correlated with conscientiousness, a personality trait marked by diligence, perseverance and self-discipline.
Why aren't you rich? You obviously slept with the wrong people!
(Score: 4, Funny) by ikanreed on Wednesday December 28 2016, @07:40PM
Then why aren't you pedantically correcting others on a nearly-unpopulated web forum to avoid your important IT/development work?
(Score: 3, Funny) by butthurt on Wednesday December 28 2016, @07:50PM
No! Populated, or unpopulated. There is no nearly unpopulated.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @08:07PM
Try or try not. There is no try nearly.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @08:15PM
try catch finally
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @08:27PM
There is no finally. There is only the ~Destructor. Choose and perish!
(Score: 2) by tibman on Wednesday December 28 2016, @08:58PM
Government took my free()dom away with a data retention policy. All my private data is heaped up somewhere.
SN won't survive on lurkers alone. Write comments.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @07:51PM
When I realized I was helping dumb people profit, I quit and I am much happier now.
I am also richer, because my confidence was much improved when I realized that dumb people can lead when anybody follows. I chose not to follow.
I found a new job where there are less dumb people, and far less in charge. Laying awake at night wishing I wasn't enriching willfully ignorant people... I never felt better after I quit.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Thursday December 29 2016, @10:36PM
You may be smart, but you appear to be uneducated. Not "less", the proper word is fewer.
Carbon, The only element in the known universe to ever gain sentience
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Francis on Wednesday December 28 2016, @07:54PM
That assumes that you are overcorrecting people. Even if you don't correct people on any sort of regular basis people get jealous and like to backstab.
Also, the whole idea assumes that we're living in some sort of meritocracy, we're not. You get much further in life by being a dumbass that knows the right people than being the smart guy whose existence threatens the egos of the people handing out the promotions.
Also, being intelligent doesn't necessarily lend itself to financial success. The things that people get paid the most for are often times things that don't require a whole lot of intelligence and are likely to get boring before too long.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @02:20AM
Is that smart people are inherently greedy.
Most are not and even the people who are both successful and intelligent but not greedy, tend to live a modest life while putting the majority of their excess financial earnings either back to their employees, back to the community, or back into their current company, or future companies they want (and expect) to see prosper.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:26AM
Yes, this. How did the rich get there? Some were lucky, born into wealth. Some worked hard and saved. And some did it by cheating others. Trump was lucky, and he cheated. He ended up rich in spite of his mistakes. George W. Bush is much the same, rich thanks to daddy and in spite of his epic screw ups. Interestingly, I heard Trump would be far richer if he'd simply invested his money in an index fund and done absolutely nothing, instead of going bankrupt, stiffing his creditors, and cheating workers of their pay, rinse, repeat.
What's so smart about obscene wealth? It's pretty conspicuous to be going about in a high end sports or luxury car, wearing extremely expensive clothes, owning a mansion, and so forth. Yeah, a lot of people love flashing wealth, think it's so impressive to be throwing around $100 bills like toilet paper, getting in everyone's face about it. To me, that just makes you a big target for every envious, hurting person out there. All the worse if you're a scoundrel and deserve some misfortune.
Smart is living comfortably and quietly, not flashy. Humility and honesty are smart. Earn enough for your needs, and a bit more for fun, and be content with that.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:11AM
Interestingly, I heard Trump would be far richer if he'd simply invested his money in an index fund and done absolutely nothing
No, you didn't. You read an article, or read about an article that naively calculated that if Trump had taken his 200 million dollar inheritance when he first started (Trump claims he did not receive this until the 90's and started with a 1 million dollar loan) and invested the entire amount in said funds until now, he would come out slightly ahead of his current wealth, completely discounting a lifetime of extreme luxury.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Thursday December 29 2016, @11:25AM
Ye gads, man, how did you get through that rant without saying proletariat even once?
Me, I'm not rich because it's never been one of my goals to be so. Not for any misguided socialist principle but because it would take a hell of a lot of hard work to become so and I'm extremely lazy.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:54PM
Except that the rich don't work that much harder than everybody else. It's more or less the magic of compounding interest combined with economic policies that encourage wealth to concentrate with those that already have it.
With the gap being what it is, how precisely do you explain the fact that the richest people in a company are making hundreds of times more than the people at the bottom who are actually generating the wealth? Surely, they don't do hundreds of times as much work or are hundreds of times more productive. That belief is based upon ignorance and it's what's holding the country back more than anything else.
You can't get ahead in the US unless you have enough money to invest in stocks. And thanks to the rampant corruption and incompetence on Wall Street, most investments are horribly risky or are so expensive that you can't afford to get ahead like that either.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:44PM
> Except that the rich don't work that much harder than everybody else
says someone who knows absolutley no rich people.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Friday December 30 2016, @06:14AM
Says somebody who knows no poor people. The poor work a lot harder than you think.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday December 30 2016, @01:40PM
I've been from dirt poor to upper middle class and had opportunities to be rich over the years. You know not what you speak of. Being poor is far, far easier. You can tell by how many people do it successfully. I mean, seriously, if being rich were easy, everyone would be doing it. Shit, even the stress difference between working at a convenience store vs in a skilled trade is significant; going white-collar or business owner is orders of magnitude worse.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 1) by Francis on Friday December 30 2016, @05:05PM
Everybody isn't rich, because luck happens. Being poor is definitely not easy and if you're claiming it is, then you're full of shit and never were poor.
I've known plenty of people who were actually poor as in working multiple jobs in order to just cover the basic necessities or food and shelter. There's absolutely no way on earth that somebody pulling in hundreds of thousands a year is working hundreds of times harder than actual poor people. There just isn't the time in the day to allow it to happen.
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Saturday December 31 2016, @11:53AM
Luck has almost nothing to do with wealth, lotto winners aside. If I gave you a whopping pile of money, you would be no better off in 20-30 years because you fundamentally do not understand how to acquire wealth beyond your current means. Those working multiple jobs just to make ends meet are even more egregiously ignorant. This, not Shakespeare, calculus, chemistry, or history, is what needs to be taught in public highschools. It should in fact be taught in middle schools so that they can take a vo-tech class or two in highschool and get a leg up on having a marketable skill.
Put simply, we are currently flooded with unskilled labor far beyond demand. This makes unskilled labor all but worthless. Unless you want to be dirt poor, don't be unskilled labor. Make yourself valuable to someone or quit bitching.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by aristarchus on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:38AM
The Philosopher Mencius [孟子] said:
19. The king said, 'I am stupid, and not able to advance to this. I wish you, my Master, to assist my intentions. Teach me clearly; although I am deficient in intelligence and vigour, I will essay and try to carry your instructions into effect.'
20. Mencius replied, 'They are only men of education, who, without a certain livelihood, are able to maintain a fixed heart. As to the people, if they have not a certain livelihood, it follows that they will not have a fixed heart. And if they have not a fixed heart, there is nothing which they will not do, in the way of self-abandonment, of moral deflection, of depravity, and of wild license. When they thus have been involved in crime, to follow them up and punish them;-- this is to entrap the people. How can such a thing as entrapping the people be done under the rule of a benevolent man?
(Score: 2) by sgleysti on Thursday December 29 2016, @08:50AM
Ah, but in fact I am... wise guy ;)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @08:00PM
I'm socially retired! And lazy! Not born into privilege! Not lucky!
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @09:02PM
While a factious answer it is not far off.
I am 'good' with computers. However, networking with people is a very weak skill for me.
There is a saying 'fortune favors the prepared'. Basically you can work your ass off have all the creds and still get zip. However, if you do not do anything nothing will happen at all.
There are 4 options
1) prepared and lucky -> rich
2) prepared and unlucky -> not rich, you are read but no opportunity presents itself
2) unprepared and lucky -> not rich, as you will not even recognize the opportunity and even if you do you can not seize upon it
3) unprepared and unlucky -> not rich
you can maneuver things to be more 'lucky' but that is a skill in itself.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @08:00PM
First you have to inherit oh, say $5 million + or so, and ideally have your parents be influential.
Then you have to be sufficiently ruthless to exploit as many people as possible.
It's not difficult, look who's already managed it.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @08:09PM
Being born into a rich family sounds pretty smart to me. How is this not considered "intelligent"?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by VLM on Wednesday December 28 2016, @08:05PM
Science doesn't have a definitive answer, although luck certainly plays a role
Yeah like being lucky enough to have rich parents, for example.
This has been sitting in the queue for a long time so I've been able to think about it, and there's two aspects:
There's some classic class books about class in america and its stereotypical lower or at best lower-middle to be focused on income. Upper is more about balance sheets, at least economically. Poor people think rich people work real hard on getting $$$ and spending every penny both more effectively than they do, so your job which depends on working hard or IQ or banging the right manager or whatever is very important because every penny of the paycheck is gone in less than two weeks. Actual upper class people assume they have connections such that they'll never be really poor and they worry a lot more about the long term balance sheet where your job doesn't matter a hell of a lot compared to how you structure your estate and make sure the trust doesn't get eaten up in taxes and such. Your balance sheet only very loosely correlated to intelligence or hard work. So its very lower or lower middle class to assume smart people are "rich". Highly paid, "rich", peasants are very smart and hard working, I agree.
The other aspect is there's tradeoffs and depending on who's very fuzzy math you use I live around 90th to 95th percentile income and a reasonably good balance sheet too, HOWEVER I don't think more money is worth the tradeoff in quality of life. I have what I need, I buy what I want, I don't lack for much, I have enough lying around for generosity occasionally, my kids lack for nothing important although I probably do spoil them a bit despite trying not to, what more do I need? So I guess my answer would be "I feel rich, although there are a hell of a lot richer people than me". I'm not as rich as my grandparents were with vacation homes and sailboats and lakefront property and trust funds but I'm well enough off to have a totally fun lifestyle. I wouldn't do all that much different with 2x the money, maybe even 10x the money. I was very poor as a starving student starting out in life so I know quite well what its like to 10x or 20x your annual income. It wasn't really all that hard either, although it was BS enough that I'm totally not motivated enough to 40x or 100x my starving student era income. In fact if I got 10x the income I'd probably just stop working and only take a single monthly contract per month, then go sail the Caribbean, just me, a fishing rod, maybe two chicks at once (office space reference).
(Score: 4, Insightful) by VLM on Wednesday December 28 2016, @09:49PM
Looking at some of the comments I think I can more clearly explain my first paragraph as lower and middle class folk think rich is all about becoming rich, getting a large enough wage-slave income to become rich and in DnD stats its all about your INT and to a lesser extent to survive the extensive hazing, your CON and STR values.
Upper class mostly rich people see rich as being all about keeping that wealth and not squandering it or getting greedy and losing it all like an idiot. Not losing your wealth is all about DnD stats its almost entirely WIS expressed as sensible non-greedy time preference, DEX in a mostly mental sense, and especially CHA/CHR to not get bluffed by the roiling cloud of ripoff artists surrounding every hex you're stand in.
So what the sociologists found was the main DND stat for being rich is the ones that help rich not become poor, not the stats resulting in the best wage-slave pay rates.
In DND speak if you wanna get rich you work the skirmish line or tank or whatever it takes to slay that dragon or Balrog so its STR and INT to the max, but to be rich or more specifically to remain rich, its mostly about being a bard or REMF, basically. I mean, maxed out CHA with lots of WIS and some DEX, that's basically a bard class, isn't it?
Its easy to become a millionaire with maxed out INT and a magic wand, but good luck keeping that million after the adventure unless you maxed out your CHA, or someone who did is going to end up with it all. The girl at the gaming table in the chainmail bikini becomes the trophy wife becomes the alimony collector and next thing you know you're helping the cityguard kill rats in the sewer just to get something to eat.
When I was young and met a lot of rich upperclass people sailing or at the club or whatever with my grandparents there is some variation of course but most were only average-ish intelligence and generally somewhat lazy but very shrewd long term charismatic thinkers.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday December 28 2016, @10:54PM
The girl at the gaming table in the chainmail bikini becomes the trophy wife becomes the alimony collector and next thing you know you're helping the cityguard kill rats in the sewer just to get something to eat.
So, in decreasing order of financial success:
Maybe you could just skip the first two and go straight to the rats. Who knows? If they're giant, maybe they'd be smart enough to be a blast to hang out with.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:04AM
http://philip.greenspun.com/bg/ [greenspun.com]
"William Henry Gates III made his best decision on October 28, 1955, the night he was born. He chose J.W. Maxwell as his great-grandfather. Maxwell founded Seattle's National City Bank in 1906. His son, James Willard Maxwell was also a banker and established a million-dollar trust fund for William (Bill) Henry Gates III. In some of the later lessons, you will be encouraged to take entrepreneurial risks. You may find it comforting to remember that at any time you can fall back on a trust fund worth many millions of 1998 dollars. "
Dumpster diving to read other people's source code helps too:
http://patch.com/california/losaltos/microsoft-co-founder-paul-allen-recounts-his-days-of-7a8784789a [patch.com]
"That phase of Allen's life involved taking the bus–sports coat, tie, leather briefcase and all—down to the offices of local computer gurus. “I would boost Bill into dumpsters and we'd get these coffee-stained texts (of computer code)” from behind the offices, grinned Allen."
(Score: 2) by Magic Oddball on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:09PM
Poor people think rich people work real hard on getting $$$ and spending every penny both more effectively than they do …
From what I've seen/experienced, that's actually closer to what middle–class people believe, along with the notion that poor people either are lazy, stupid, or aren't good at managing their money. Most of the poor people I've known were all too aware that highly affluent people typically inherit their wealth, have better opportunities/connections, and hire people to ensure their funds are well invested — but still clung to the hope that hard work & wise choices could lift them out of poverty.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @08:25PM
It's "If you so smart, why ain't you rich?!!"
(Score: 2) by snufu on Wednesday December 28 2016, @08:26PM
This stereotype has sadly been confirmed time and time again in my experience. Many people got rich simply by pinching pennies to the detriment of anything and everyone else. Much like the correlation between CEOs and psycopathology, most rich people are assholes.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Azuma Hazuki on Wednesday December 28 2016, @08:34PM
See subject. Meritocracy never, ever entered into the equation, and anyone who says it does is either stupid or trying to keep you down for their own benefit. If anything, intelligence is starting to be a net negative these days.
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @09:04PM
Be disciplined - become a Boglehead - https://bogleheads.org/ [bogleheads.org].
Start here: https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Getting_started [bogleheads.org].
Continue to explore and learn. You may be greatly rewarded.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @09:06PM
Practically everyone who's reading this is rich by world standards. And to be rich under this definition, all you had to do is be born in the first world.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @09:36PM
check your privilege white boi
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @10:59PM
that was kind of the point, friend
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:11AM
It is also a very classiest thing to say.
For example in india you can get a bad ass cell plan with unlimited data mins texts from anywhere from 5-50 USD a month. What does that mean? It means it depends. If I live in down town San Francisco I expect my rent to be high. However I also expect to have a job that can cover that. If I live in bumfuck nowhere my housing payments are much lower. It means I just need a job to cover that. When I first found out about data plans is what keyed me in to the way classes look at each other. You are looking down your nose thinking 'first world problems' are just that. But those sorts of issues 3rd world have too. They also have issues we do not deal with like where to get clean water. For me 'check your privilege' seems to be short hand for someone about to say something racist, classiest, bigoted or all of the above but in a way that makes them come off intellectually snobby.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @04:30PM
I'm not sure how pointing out our collective privilege is "classiest".
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 05 2017, @01:59AM
think he was shooting for classist
(Score: 2) by jdavidb on Wednesday December 28 2016, @09:34PM
He found financial success was correlated with conscientiousness, a personality trait marked by diligence, perseverance and self-discipline.
I think that's the answer, there. But it's more fun to blame it on other people.
ⓋⒶ☮✝🕊 Secession is the right of all sentient beings
(Score: 3, Insightful) by inertnet on Wednesday December 28 2016, @10:11PM
To become rich you have to either be lucky, ruthless or both. It doesn't have a lot to do with being smart. Just look at the unhappy rich few, many of whom aren't smart enough to enjoy life.
If you're smart (or even if not), you should strive to tip the balance to a life of happiness. For smart people that would likely include a lifetime of learning.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by microtodd on Wednesday December 28 2016, @10:35PM
Honest question. What is considered rich?
Apparently most people think "Someone who makes more than I do". (source: slate [slate.com])
Is it percentage? i.e. "the top 1%?" Cause I checked here [investopedia.com] and I'm.......surprisingly high. I don't "feel" rich....I have to balance my checkbook and clip coupons and I can't just buy everything I want. But I'm certainly more well-off than most of my family in terms of "num months income in the bank".
My point is...do you think I'm rich? So that automatically makes me an asshole?
I agree that you probably can't be a 1% (>~$450k-1.5M/annual, depending on the source) without connections and stuff. But you can certainly reach the top 5% or so without having to compromise your principles....I know because I know a lot of those people. Household income of ~$200k (husband and wife both make $100k) and these are good people, not sociopaths or narcissists. Heck, that's two 20-year engineering veterans with 4year degrees, a married IT couple in their late 40s.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday December 28 2016, @10:47PM
But you can certainly reach the top 5% or so without having to compromise your principles ...
... Household income of ~$200k (husband and wife both make $100k) and these are good people, *not* sociopaths or narcissists.
I think one problem is that these are conflicting concepts for a decent number of ambitious types.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by Thexalon on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:14AM
My working definition of what it takes to be "upper class" or "rich": Possession of enough wealth that investment income alone is sufficient to cover living expenses plus something extra. This is an important milestone, because it makes working the 9-5 entirely optional in a way that nobody lower on the economic ladder experiences. The simple fact that you could walk away from your job at any time and be totally fine gives you an incredible amount of freedom. That said, most people who are near that point don't feel really rich, because they're busy comparing themselves to those higher on the economic ladder than themselves. For example, one of my college roommates described himself as a typical middle-class guy, but both his parents were executives and had 6-figure incomes. Now, compared to the Donald Trumps of the world, that's pocket change, but it's also about 6 times what the average American household has to work with and a completely unimaginable fortune for the vast majority of people in the world.
The other major class designations, with this blueprint:
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by microtodd on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:31AM
Possession of enough wealth that investment income alone is sufficient to cover living expenses plus something extra
Excellent definition, and with sound reasoning. Thank you!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @02:39AM
I agree, being able to live off investment income is a milestone or dividing line. But there is at least one more level of being rich -- which I heard from a friend who started a small company and grew it to ~40 people. In the course of his work he met some professional athletes and when they could afford a private jet, that was the next level.
My friend was never going to get into that income territory, and he was philosophical about it-- "Why should I keep busting my ass to make a little more each year, when it doesn't get me any more than I have...and will never be enough to have the freedom of travel that comes with a jet."
Personally, I got lucky once. We had been chartering a light-twin prop plane to take 3-4 people to a jobsite that only had very expensive commercial air -- the charter plane saved the customer money. One time the prop plane was double booked and the charter company gave us enough of a break that we could rent their Lear Jet for a one day business trip. It would be easy to get used to private jet travel, we came home at 500 mph ground speed (small tail wind). Note: Air charters of all kinds do not go through normal terminal security, we basically showed up at the charter company and in 10 minutes were on the little plane and taxiing out to the runway.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:25AM
I know which one I would pick. :-)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @03:14AM
I had talent in an in-demand field, went to a public school paid for by my parents and got a degree. That placed me in your definition of middle class. I saved and invested a lot to provide for a safety fund. Unlike my parents' generation not only were there no prospects for advancement, the ambitions of job leaders and coworkers ended up being pretty low too.
Then I got lucky and suddenly became rich. I already had a decent amount of FU money saved, now I could live off investment income for life, so there was no reason to stay in a shitty B-team job with no respect. I made a lucky job switch, can optimize income for tax efficiency and do enjoyable things. The capital base is reasonably safe from short term market fluctuations.
So I am rich, but any above average smartness I may have is orthogonal to it. I am rich because I was lucky. I can do whatever I want for the rest of my life. As long as I don't get dumb, or hooked on drugs, and blow through the money.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday December 29 2016, @02:12PM
That's a good definition from a traditional perspective. I think true wealth is not taxable. Being healthy and surrounded by people you love and able to pursue meaningful and rewarding life goals make you richer in all the ways that matter than having a pile of money that others covet and a wife and kids that hate you.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Thursday December 29 2016, @09:51PM
I don't entirely disagree, but when you're talking about economic situations, the ability to tell your boss that you walk is a big help in being able to pursue meaningful and rewarding life goals.
Sheer cash can also be a big help for pursuing meaningful work. Far too many plans for meaningful efforts start with "First, let's collect a whole lot of other people's money", which of course almost never works. Far more successful is "I'm going to take a bunch of my money, and put it into something important". One work buddy of mine did that, and his organization [africansky.org] has now built a bunch of schools in Mali, among other things.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Wednesday December 28 2016, @10:37PM
Yup, money isn't everything and modesty isn't all that bad of a quality. I'm not rich but I'm lucky enough to be a free man as in I can spend my days doing what I want, when I want. Anyone with a bigger bank account than me who is stressed all the time or frustrated with life is missing the point of being alive in the first place. Admittedly there are those few who only feel alive under maximum stress but they're the exception.
(Score: 2) by krishnoid on Wednesday December 28 2016, @10:43PM
Maybe it just depends on how you define 'rich' [dilbert.com].
(Score: 4, Interesting) by darkfeline on Wednesday December 28 2016, @10:24PM
TFA and the comments posted so far all assume that everyone universally wants to be rich. If you're smart and not rich, it must be because you weren't able to get rich. Surely it can't be because you don't WANT to be rich, right?
Being rich is more effort than it's worth. I don't really want or need five yachts, and I'd have to find and pay people to maintain those yachts for me and trust them and treat them well. It costs time and effort to use that wealth, and time and effort is far more valuable than money (which is why I'm browsing SN, obviously).
Join the SDF Public Access UNIX System today!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday December 28 2016, @11:55PM
If my current work offered me a 25% cut in salary in exchange for 20% cut in hours worked, I'd say, "3 day weekends every weekend here I come."
(Score: 3, Interesting) by rleigh on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:08AM
Agreed. The article here has the presupposition that the metric for "success" is "being rich". But not all of us measure success by material wealth alone. Working as a scientist in a university, I'm surrounded by hundreds of very intelligent people. Many of them are successful scientists, but very few are rich as a result. While few would have any complaints if it resulted in a big financial benefit, that's simply not the driver here. Only a few get rich off spin out companies, textbook sales and other revenue generators.
That's not to say I disagree entirely with the article: factors other than IQ such as existing family capital, business connections, random chance, good timing can all contribute to financial success. As for personality and conscientiousness, this is something I would argue is necessary for success of any kind in most fields. That boils down to caring about doing a good job, and you'll find that a trait of good people across the board from businessmen to cleaning staff.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @05:07AM
You must not have any climatologists at your university then.... I hear they are money grubbing, morally lacking and ethically challenged pricks.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:12PM
The article summary has it right: "doing a good job" and "working pretty hard" are found to be strong corollaries to becoming wealthy. Right next to "having a budget to know where the money goes". As of this morning, my wife and I have a 563K net worth at age 30. I have a PhD, she has a MS, both in engineering. We haven't 'worked' more than 10 hr/week for the last three months (although we are both about to resume full-time avg. 30-hour weeks). We are 'smart' (both tested gifted/genius), but not 'rich', although we should be financially independent w/in 3 years through low expenses. We have quite a bit of 'time freedom', which we both value more than financial freedom. We have little desire to be 'rich', although we will be millionaires (I guess) soon.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:45AM
Hmm, is rich wealth, and is wealth happiness?
The author mistakes that smart people are supposedly more able to become rich, by the author's measure, and happier as a result. There are plenty of smart people that don't play to get a high score. They play to enjoy the game, even against people playing to win. And, people that enjoy the game often are winning even if they can't buy a yacht, and plenty of people with yachts are still seeking that next thing to briefly make them happy.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Wednesday December 28 2016, @11:54PM
but my parents never taught me to handle money. When I had a paper route, I'd collect enough to buy a couple ice cream bars. Most of my subscribers I didn't collect from. But my father was on the hook to pay for my papers, so he'd make me collect just enough to pay for them.
As long as I had my ice cream I was happy.
I later got in a lot of trouble with the IRS and Maine Revenue Services.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 3, Funny) by maxwell demon on Thursday December 29 2016, @11:04AM
Your IQ simply is not high enough to understand income tax. [quoteinvestigator.com]
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @08:24AM
Kill the rich! Down with the 0.1%!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @10:56AM
If you're not already rich the best way to become rich is to start your own business.
But a number of us smart ones have more options and are risk averse. Not all entrepreneurs eventually succeed. You don't hear of them because few people write books "How I failed 7 times and ended up divorced, homeless and bankrupt at 65" or "How I lost most of my savings trying to start businesses and crawled back to a boring job" and even fewer would buy them. Recently I was at a restaurant that was closing down - food was good, service decent, location OK, but rent kept going up.
So we stick to having conventional jobs rather than trying to start our own business. After apparently money buys happiness only up to a certain point 75k/year (actual value probably varies from location to location): http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2019628,00.html [time.com]
I figure a fair number of you smart ones are earning 75k already or salary of equivalent "purchasing power" in your country. Or close enough that it's not really worth the risk and effort. Starting your own business is typically a LOT of work and many wouldn't have spare time or energy to post on Soylentnews. If your normal job requires you to work very long hours then you better be partner equivalent (have "real" shares - not bullshit ones) or you should find a new job or start your own business.
Most of those who aren't so smart don't have as many options - fewer employers will give them a 75k/year job (even the pretty ones normally need some level of smarts to get $$$$$ ).
Social class and "know who" also matters.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @01:49PM
Yep, a friend of mine is doing rather well for himself now with his own business but had three that failed over the previous decade before he managed to strike gold with this one.
(Score: 1) by DmT on Thursday December 29 2016, @12:07PM
"Why aren't you rich? You obviously slept with the wrong people!"
You aren't rich, because you are reading and replying to comments. Wasting precious "getting rich time"!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday December 29 2016, @06:59PM
If you're so rich, why aren't you smart?
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Thursday December 29 2016, @10:32PM
The more you have, the more you want, and having everything is impossible. I have an income sufficient to meet all of my needs and most of my wants, and if that can't make me happy, nothing can. Why would I wish for riches? I have friends, family, and freedom.
Come to think of it, despite not being a millionaire I guess I am rich. However, most Americans claim to be Christians but really worship the ancient Greek god Plutus.
Carbon, The only element in the known universe to ever gain sentience