Hacker News Reader

Comment by ryandvm | Hacker News Reader

That's kind of always the secret to mega-success.

You have to have 2 out of 3 of the following traits:

   1. Exceptional skill
   2. Luck
   3. Lack of scruples

View on HN

Reminds me of this quote from Margin Call https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ag14Ao_xO4c

"There are three ways to make a living in this business: be first; be smarter; or cheat"

Though I'm sure people who are first tend to view that as skill or being a visionary, not luck

What bothers me is when people treat the third as some sort of virtue. I think operating in the ethical gray areas makes them feel smart instead of unethical.

Morality is not about intelligence, but some folks believe living by morals is submitting oneself to the lack of intelligence (or stupidity even). The real [evil] geniuses prune their decision tree by not considering morality so they maintain optimum efficiency.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com