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Comment by botswana99 | Hacker News Reader

The dude has obviously never met a multimillionaire owner of an auto body shop, a house demolition business, or a plumber. Did they do well in high school calc class? No. Are they richer than the author? Yes

Blowing up the cognitive hierarchy is a gift that AI gives us. Let's move into an age where hard work and character matter more than your SAT score at 17.

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Why do you think a high SAT score doesn't need "hard work and character"?

The SAT is a measure of test-taking ability, socioeconomic status, a narrow band of academic skills, and processing information under time pressure.

I don't think it measures much else.

Why do you think the SAT is a measure of hard work or character?

You think test-taking and information processing ability comes without hard work?

I think cognitive ability is a real thing with a genuine genetic component; twin studies make that pretty hard to deny. But the SAT measures a narrow slice of ability under conditions that favor prep access, and speaking from experience, scoring well on standardized tests without having to work for it hurt me long term. I coasted on test-taking ability and didn't develop real discipline until adulthood.

Without standardized tests, my transcript probably doesn't get me into a top school, I likely don't end up in tech, and honestly maybe I would've been forced to develop a work ethic earlier, which might have been better for me.

> Why do you think a high SAT score doesn't need "hard work and character"?

Well, it absolutely doesn't need both, because I got one without, at least, the first of those (beyond the extent that "getting up early on a Saturday" and "sitting calmly while bored out of my mind after finishing each portion of the test waiting for time to expire" is "hard work".) I like to think I had the second, but it didn't seem particularly relevant to the test in any way.

The SAT, like general intelligence, is half hard work and half inherited ability, from what I've read. Characteristics that you have no control over, like height, intelligence, race, or sex, should not determine your wealth. It should really be about hard work and character; that's fair. At least in the U.S., there are too many industries like law, venture capital, or VC-invested startup founders, where the pedigree of your school is what matters to your success.

AI automating (almost) all white collar work will concentrate all those salaries into the hands of a very small group of people.

BTW the number of plumbers who become multimillionaires is vanishingly small, while the number of SWE who have in the last 15 years is enormous by comparison.

Neither statement is true, unfortunately. The reports that you read in the media don't reflect the state of the world. In the US, most plumbers and SWE make between 100-200K. The way to wealth is to start one's own business. Hence, hard work and character.

> In the US, most plumbers and SWE make between 100-200K.

$62,970 per year is not $100K-$200K

https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/plumbers...

median plumber salary: $63k https://www.bls.gov/ooh/construction-and-extraction/plumbers... median Software Developer salary: $131k https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/...

Where are your statistics?

People will charge less when there are more people fighting for the same plumbing roles no?

I hope so, plumbers are damn expensive

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