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Curiously, if my anecdotal assessment that rich people are disproportionately boring relative to middle class (I have low personal experience of poor class) is true, it would be a bit of direct (if unflattering) evidence that it’s not all luck 😆
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It could also be that you meet middle class people because they have similar interests to you, and rich people because they show up in high status contexts? Perhaps you should go to places where rich people more similar to you hang out?
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It’s much more basic: lack of curiosity about things that don’t directly affect the goal. Again only applies to the large subset who got/stayed rich because they wanted to.
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Depends on the causal direction. Maybe their affinity for more expensive hobbies and related signaling makes them boring, but that came after whatever made them rich.
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I’m very taken by the idea of “organic intellectuals” (Gramsci), as boundary-crossing folk who have a disproportionate effect on outcomes.
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The next question then becomes: are the rich truly the best equipped to push society forward? Perhaps the reason progress seems to be slowing relative to what's possible is because we've selected for boring leaders. ;)