patrick.net

It's rare that I meet someone with a college education who seems to have been educated. Really basic concepts seem to have gone right by them. It's sad because I think an education can really lead to thoughts that help you deal with anything you encounter in life as opposed to being super stressed-out about the next thing you'll buy on your way to your first heart attack if you don't fight it off with all your treadmilling.

For the record, I favor the supposed gift from the Greeks of knowledge for knowledge sake. I find it helpful in forming a perspective that keeps day-to-day events at bay.

FunTime says

For the record, I favor the supposed gift from the Greeks of knowledge for knowledge sake. I find it helpful in forming a perspective that keeps day-to-day events at bay.

What unites everyone in the states? American dream, of course! American dream is not about knowledge; it is all about money. Money, more money, ways to make much more money, etc.

To all those people working in Technology, Finance, Medicine, Law, and other well paid fields, American dream = make sure that their kids reach a financial status a notch above what they currently have.

The school one went to, the kind of friends they have, the kind of circles they belong to, etc are all means to achieve that American dream.

thomaswong.1986 says

swebb says

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Wong.

Maybe you meant 150 years ago?

only after the late big 90s IPO Tech stock bubble began to form,

did people start to notice..

the modern day version of the California Gold Rush.

Had it not happened, and we had normal valuations, half the people

wouldnt be here today.. its that simple.

For some reason, Mr. Wong is extremely embittered about the current state of the Valley. I agree it's overly hyped, but that doesn't explain his level of hatred.

JFP says

but that doesn't explain his level of hatred.

LOL! not hatred... some of you need to get over it, the big hey days are over.

I am calling people to sober up...

raindoctor says

To all those people working in Technology, Finance, Medicine, Law, and other well paid fields, American dream = make sure that their kids reach a financial status a notch above what they currently have.

my two cents, our great need today is alternative energy sources,
you will find great success looking after natural gas in middle america.
Not sure we need additional SW programmers, doctors or lawyers.

thomaswong.1986 says

my two cents, our great need today is alternative energy sources,

you will find great success looking after natural gas in middle america.

Not sure we need additional SW programmers, doctors or lawyers.

Even though what you say is true for those who can live for another 200 years, we, mere mortals, care about what is gonna happen in this decade and the next decade. That's how people are. When polity, policy is filled up with such people, who wanna make a quick buck for next decades, how about those who don't have power? What can the latter do? Just follow the elite sheep.

One last time ...

The purpose of elite 'brand' name school is not education but access to recruiting by management consulting or financial services firms.

Thus, if you want to become a doctor or ancillary heath care provider (like PA, nurse, PT, etc), you can take these courses: biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, general physics, intro to calculus at any school, get your A's and then, apply for medical school or some other program in health care. For this crowd, go through homeschooling, download those lectures from the net, and keep studying.

What one gets from let's say Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, London School of Economics is this... McKinsey, Booz-Allen, MSDW, Goldman Sachs, Lazard, etc, send reps to the campuses and routinely wine and dine students, with the idea of getting the 'best' of the breed to apply and then, these persons start out as junior research analyst, get in about 3-4 years, leave for an MBA (that is if they don't already have an MS/PhD or JD), and then they return to those firms as a senior analyst with hopefully either a partnership track or access to a client with a C-level executive track.

One of my lucky friends got one of the aforementioned firms to pay for his weekend executive MBA at Columbia and thus, he never needed to leave, to get his move up the food chain.

The above MC/IB recruiters, for the most part, do not recruit from public universities with a handful of exceptions like UC/Berkeley, Michigan, or Virginia. Yes, graduates from these schools are typically frowned down upon at Goldman. For them, brand name (being on the inside) matters more than raw intelligence, hard work, or capability and thus, even ppl from Georgia Tech, Univ of Illinois Engineering, Rensselaer Polytechnic, etc aren't really all that welcome.

SJ says

Why do API test scores and schools matter so much to real estate prices? Is it possible to buy a nice home at an affordable price in a safe area in California?

I am going to take the bait here. "Good schools" and "high test scores" are code words for white and/or Asian-American affluent neighborhoods. I think that are not-so subtly trying to mean that they are not being over-run by non-Asian minorities.

adarmiento says

"Good schools" and "high test scores" are code words for

conformity. Which has a lot of value and we all do it some, but I've rarely envied dedicated conformists to the point of wanting to trade lives.

FunTime says

conformity. Which has a lot of value and we all do it some, but I've rarely envied dedicated conformists to the point of wanting to trade lives.

Yeah right............

adarmiento says

Yeah right............

You're referring to the strength of conformity on humans? I did carefully write "rarely" to show I'm not immune to the pull of conformity.

Well, conformity = less risk. If conformity leads to losses (as in recent housing bubble), all those conformants can sob together and blame someone else, like the government, banks, etc.

adarmiento says

SJ says

Why do API test scores and schools matter so much to real estate prices? Is it possible to buy a nice home at an affordable price in a safe area in California?

I am going to take the bait here. "Good schools" and "high test scores" are code words for white and/or Asian-American affluent neighborhoods. I think that are not-so subtly trying to mean that they are not being over-run by non-Asian minorities.

I think it has to do with crime/safety/gangs issues. Race is purely incidental and secondary.

raindoctor says

Well, conformity = less risk.

When investing, that's not the case though, right? Except I get you're saying less risk because even in a loss, you get an out.

You also end up in a conformed financial status, though. Meaning, you never get ahead. I suppose for most people that's the height of their ambition and being like most other people feel's comfortable. I've always found that terribly uncomfortable and often think of ways to get more autonomy. I realize that's my problem, though! ; )

Well right now just sitting on cash as my gut feeling tells me it is not worth it to pay 800k for a crapbox in the area.