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More prestige: money or education?
Posted on: May 1, 2010 - 1:35pm
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More prestige: money or education?
Some uneducated folk have millions in their bank accounts.
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Here's my theory:
Making money is a skill that doesn't nessasarially require a high IQ... intellectuals are often idealistic, and as such are often thinking of the world around them....whereas the intellectually imapired are often more self absorbed, and as a result are more concerned with aquiring "things", and personal gratification...
I know more than a few people with a lot of money... most couldn't tell you who the Speaker of the House is, and don't have any concern for what lies outside of their periphery...
www.RichWoodsBlog.com
Yes, there is a very simple logical explanantion. The explanation is that the amount of education a person has is not the only factor which determines the amount of wealth a person has.
I don't understand why the Christians I meet find it so confusing that I care about the fact that they are wasting huge amounts of time and resources playing with their imaginary friend. Even non-confrontational religion hurts atheists because we live in a society which is constantly wasting resources and rejecting rational thinking.
uneducated + lazy would usually = poverty lvl and possibly on welfare. Low potential overall
educated + ambitious would usually = good job good pay very high potential
educated + lazy would usually = mediocre all around
uneducated + ambitious would = higher than average with nearly as much potential as and educated person, depending on lvl of ambition.
I myself am uneducated and lazy, but I manage somehow to fit in the average I suppose.
This is just my little crackpot idea though.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
it also depends on what you mean by lazy. i've known plenty of very talented and recognized artists and scholars who couldn't keep house for shit and would never do manual labor except out of dire necessity.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
I am among those who are educated and lazy. I have a high IQ and am very intellectual. However, I am 28 years old and still have never had a "real" job or career. If I have a job at all (I currently do not), it is usually minimum wage or something similar. Education level clearly does not always determine success, and neither does intelligence. Also, intelligence level is not necessarily related to education level. I've known some really stupid professors and even a few smart people who never went to college. I really wish I wasn't so lazy! I really hate putting in effort for anything that I don't enjoy or that seems nearly insurmountable. Plus, I don't have very good people skills. It also doesn't help that most of my family is poor and uneducated (I was the first one to ever go to college). I used to dream big when I was little, but not anymore.
Personally, I think the pursuit of knowledge and happiness are more important than money. I don't want to end up with a job I hate just because it pays a lot of money (which is what my younger brother did). I just want to make enough money to pay all of my bills and live comfortably. I also do not want to work long hours or do any kind of physical labor. Hopefully soon (later this year), I will finally get a real job (teaching English in Korea), and then I'll be much happier.
The standard definition:
Pronunciation: \ˈlā-zē\Function: adjectiveInflected Form(s): la·zi·er; la·zi·estEtymology: perhaps from Middle Low German lasich feeble; akin to Middle High German erleswen to become weakDate: 15491 a : disinclined to activity or exertion : not energetic or vigorous b : encouraging inactivity or indolence <a lazy summer
day>
Basicly lay around and do as little as required.
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
money is literally not a priority for me. all the things i could do with it i'm just as satisfied doing without. if i ever got very rich, i would squirrell most of it away in investments in order to assure my necessities for the rest of my life, pay off our already low mortgage, make a few small adjustments to our house, furnish it to my wife's satisfaction (within reason), and buy a sensible car. then i would spend whatever excess interest my investments bring beyond my very modest needs each month on used books, cds, and dvds. splurge on a guitar or banjo every year or two. maybe eventually i would set up a modest home recording studio in our attic. probably buy some speakers, monitors, mics, and a mixer so i could run my own band my own way.
the most precious thing money would buy me is leisure. i would be so happy to have all the time in the world to read, smoke pipes, and play music. i think i would still keep teaching my students because i really like them, but i would definitely throw my weight around so i could teach what i want, how i want, when i want.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
oh that's completely me. i mean, i built my own house brick by brick with my father-in-law, i raise a garden, i clean and cook as much as my wife, but when it's quittin' time, it's quittin' time, and i damn sure don't look for other stuff to do. i do all that stuff because i have to in order to live. if i could get it all off my shoulders, i would in a heartbeat.
"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
--Hunter S. Thompson
I work a manual labor kind of job, however I am the foreman. I used to be a hard worker, and I seem to be able to figure things out just a bit better than the other workers. Now that I am supervising I do as little as I have too ><, but I find this concience wont always allow that. Damn this CARE!
Faith is the word but next to that snugged up closely "lie's" the want.
"By simple common sense I don't believe in god, in none."-Charlie Chaplin
So how about those people who are definitely NOT lazy, but still don't make a lot of money?
Not enough education or not gifted academically (not everyone can get a higher degree, their mind just doesn't work that way). My youngest son is not lazy, but he can not complete even a technical study for electrician or plumber or car repair or whatever. He is learning disabled.
Plenty of education but is called to a low paying field - I knew a defense attorney who almost never took any case for someone who could actually pay him. He deliberately lived in a rural community and defended the poorest of the poor. He said he never wanted to be a corporate lawyer or District Attorney for the county. He was almost as poor as his clients.
-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.
"We are entitled to our own opinions. We're not entitled to our own facts"- Al Franken
"If death isn't sweet oblivion, I will be severely disappointed" - Ruth M.
Well, my idea that prestige is not the same thing as happiness.
However, before I get on to that, I will say that there are several factors that may predict some overall level of success. Education and ambition are two of them but there are certainly other factors that may come into play.
You can come from money and get into a good school because that was where your father went. If you lack other factors, you may still be able to use the degree to get yourself into a job that pays well but doesn't really call for the skills that someone who did the work to earn a degree at a lesser school will have. Think about the type of executive who spends his days putting into a whiskey glass. Most large companies have a few of them around.
You can come from the bottom of society but if you have ambition, the government may buy you a degree at the same school as the guy in the above example. As long as you apply yourself to making the most out of the opportunity, you can be the guy who actually knows how the company works. When the shit hits the fan, people will know that they can count on you to figure out how to get past the current moment.
You can come from the middle of society and miss the financial test for totally free education. So you do two years at a local community college. If you apply yourself, then a way will be found to make your state university affordable. If you do well on that level, a way will be found to make sure that you can get your masters from any of the more well known places such as Cornell and the like. You will have the life that you wish to have.
All of that having been said, let me get back to my main point.
There are a great many people in this world who don't really give a crap about prestige. Perhaps they don't go after the big money but they do what makes them happy. Shit, I come from money but mine is all squirreled away so that I will never have to make a choice to work in some way that I don't really want to just to pay my bills. I am also a member of Mensa (as may well be your plumber, house painter and gardener BTW).
What do I do for a living? I am a psychiatric social worker. I specialize in working with people who have ended up with a life which is in shambles and I help them to figure out what it is that they want out of life and then I help them to find the resources to make their goals happen. Either that or I help them to understand why their goals are not realistic and then I help them to arrive at goals that can happen.
I am also a musician who plays a few different instruments. Currently, I am working on putting together a very expensive modular synthesizer. I also am in the process of starting a 75 gallon fish tank, which will feature mostly small fish such as tetras, danios, mollies and a few chiclids. It is going to take me around two years to get it built up.
Do I give a fuck about prestige? Hell no. Am I happy? Mostly yes. Just not when I have to deal with the pinheads at work who are gripped with the idea that having a masters degree makes them more special than people who have not paid a crap load of money for a bit of paper.
One other thing occurs before I pinch this post.
A decade ago, I got sick and tired of dealing with computer tech support that rarely returns my calls and even when they do, they either refuse to fix my problem or they expect me to throw a crap load of money into a computer that is already a couple of years old.
So I decided to learn how to take responsibility for my own hardware. Should something go wrong, I will know what needs to happen and I can see that it does. Honestly, my computers rarely fail and even when something does go wrong, I have the parts that are left over from previous builds that can be swapped over in about ten minutes, so my computers remain fully functional while I buy whatever part I may need.
Life is good.
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Well, that is a beautiful example of prestige that arrives from education [available only to some extraordinary human beings].
If you ever see the man, please convey to him my sincere appreciation for what he does.
A wonderful example of unselfishness.
Hi, Answers in Gene...
Loved to read your post.
Your model for happiness/prestige looks good to me.
Keep it up.