A belief in meritocracy is not only false: it’s bad for you

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And *that* dear children is the virtue of supplying a link to the source...
And *that* is why I am so goodly and head and shoulders above my peers...
But then again, do I have any peers, apart from Sheldon Lee Cooper?

It never ceases to amaze me how often preparation and effort have granted me good "luck".

It doesn't "guarantee" success---but it certainly gives one a better shot at it.

I am going to tell you folks, quite honestly, that I'm a man who doesn't "try" too hard. I'm sort of lazy, in fact.

But I really believe "giving up" is something which should be avoided at all costs.

It never ceases to amaze me how often preparation and effort have granted me good "luck".

The harder I work, the luckier I get. Samuel Goldwyn
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/samu ... wyn_122307

It never ceases to amaze me how often preparation and effort have granted me good "luck".

You all want to rely on random chance for your success, right?

So, how's that working out for you? Have you won any lotteries lately?

You all want to rely on random chance for your success, right?

So, how's that working out for you? Have you won any lotteries lately?

... Not one person here has suggested they are going to give up, sit back and hope they can get lucky and have good fortune fall in their lap.

… Just as not one person here has suggested that people throw away their crutches and wheelchairs and single-handedly build a global corporate empire.

While random chance* may be a factor in some success stories, those random chances* mean nothing if the person experiencing them is not prepared to exploit them.

(*"Random Chance" -- a.k.a., "Opportunity")

I agree 100% with everything said here, but want to make the distinction between "effort" and "merit." I cannot run as fast as Usain Bolt. No matter how hard I train I will never run as fast as Usain Bolt, I just don't have the physical traits to compete there. If in some weird action movie we need to run across a 100m bridge in 10 seconds to press a button to activate the McGuffin that saves the world and the choices to do this are either me or Usain Bolt, every sane person on this planet will pick Usain Bolt to make that sprint not me. In the field of running fast Usain Bolt is much more meritorious than I.

Effort is what people can control. People who are trying their best, should not let others with better luck say they are not trying hard enough. However, merit is about production not effort. The question becomes does our society reward production, and the answer is: not perfectly, but yes. People who can produce academically in STEM fields get jobs as Doctors and Engineers and paid very well.

People who can produce extremely well in the entertainment industry either as athletes, musicians, or acting get enormous rewards whereas people who produce less well in those fields struggle greatly. Not everyone is properly valued for their skill, but in general the best football players get paid the most money.

They say the game that is most true to life is poker. There's a heavy element of luck involved in each hand, but skilled players still come out on top by playing the hands they're dealt effectively. Now it's possible in poker (although unlikely) to be so unlucky that no amount of skill rescues you.

You all want to rely on random chance for your success, right?

So, how's that working out for you? Have you won any lotteries lately?