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Comment by goatlover | Hacker News Reader

I disagree that it's a fact that the kid from a shitty home is going to do worse on a test no matter what, since plenty of people have led successful lives and gotten good educations coming from a shitty homes. Environment isn't deterministic like that. The individual has a say in the matter of how well they will do on the test.

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Well to use an analogy it's possible for a competitor starting 200m from the finish line to beat one starting 50m from the finish line. Is it a fair race? Most people would think no.

It's not about determinism at all, and pointing to people born in shitty situations who managed through luck and hard-work to overcome those difficulties does not mean everything is all-right, that is just silly.

People born in shitty situations is not all-right but it doesn't defy merit. Merit means that your input (effort, energy, dedication, discipline) has a large if not decisive effect on your outcome. Regardless of other people achieving even more.

In fact, especially for disadvantaged people merit is the dream maker.

>Merit means that your input (effort, energy, dedication, discipline) has a large if not decisive effect on your outcome.

But it doesn't, and this can be easily measured. Are you saying this is how you wished things were? Then I agree with you, that's what we should strive for. Are you saying this is how things are? That's just false (hilariously so).

What? Are you saying that working hard makes no difference?

"large, if not decisive", your words.

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