First, the whole blog is about trying to be the best you can be. To a small extent, it is targeting people who want to be high achievers.
Second, how do you think it would sound if an MIT PhD started giving examples using underprivileged folks? I think many would equally dismiss him for being way out of touch.
Third, I see nothing in the advice given that limits it to privileged folks.
My point is that I don't think he's given any advice that isn't painfully common sense. "Choose the path you think will be best for you." I read more intellectually stimulating bullsh*t on the back of a kumbucha bottle at lunch.
But mix in the letters M, I and T and people suddenly think he's tall engineer Confucious.
People need to think about who they idolize and what it says about them.
My point is that I don't think he's given any advice that isn't painfully common sense. "Choose the path you think will be best for you." I read more intellectually stimulating bullsh*t on the back of a kumbucha bottle at lunch.
But mix in the letters M, I and T and people suddenly think he's tall engineer Confucious.
We as the tech community need to think really carefully about who we choose to idolize and what that says about us.
I'm not going to defend his phrasing, because it isn't clearly written. However, this is not what he is saying. He did not know if the job was a better or worse option than grad school. His point is to pick the option that provides for more flexibility. With a job, your options to change to something different 3-4 years down the road are limited. With a PhD, you have many more options open to you (or at least, the flexibility to create those options).
He took a gamble and is writing about how it worked out for him. If you have doubt, I can assure you I know people for whom taking that route ended up worse. Especially folks who went to a school like MIT for their undergrad.
>I read more intellectually stimulating bullsh*t on the back of a kumbucha bottle at lunch. But mix in the letters M, I and T and people suddenly think he's tall engineer Confucious. We as the tech community need to think really carefully about who we choose to idolize and what that says about us.
I see no indication that this is getting posted to HN due to his MIT affiliation, and you are essentially attributing intentions to people, which is almost never a good route to go. I do not see anyone here idolizing him. In fact, to be honest and blunt, most people I know who idolize him are non-achievers (sorry for the judgment!). Finally, and this may get me into trouble, the implication that the tech community should be uniform and consistent in who they idolize and who they don't is the most troublesome to me. I sincerely hope the tech community never becomes a community so easy to characterize.
Second, how do you think it would sound if an MIT PhD started giving examples using underprivileged folks? I think many would equally dismiss him for being way out of touch.
Third, I see nothing in the advice given that limits it to privileged folks.