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Things I used to think were true
Rank: Member Joined: 1/15/2010 Posts: 625
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Things which hoodwinked me in the past
In no short order;
1. Poverty causes insecurity and thuggery - until you visit poor countries where no one will steal from you
2. Education leads to national wealth - until you realize that there are lots of educated poor people and lots of uneducated wealthy people. This raises the question, should we be always talking about educating people as the solution to poverty alleviation in our countries?
3. The United States is great because it's a God fearing nation - the poorest states in the US such as Mississippi are also the most religious and racist. Also most people in the United States are not religious.
4. Your rank in high school will predict how you will do in life - the problem with linear thinking in a multi-variable universe
5. It's important to have an all-rounded education - we're in the age of the specialist not the generalist
6. Diversify your investments - not if you are trying to grow wealth!
7. Knowledge is more important than practice
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Rank: User Joined: 8/15/2013 Posts: 13,237 Location: Vacuum
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mv_ufanisi wrote:Things which hoodwinked me in the past
In no short order;
1. Poverty causes insecurity and thuggery - until you visit poor countries where no one will steal from you
2. Education leads to national wealth - until you realize that there are lots of educated poor people and lots of uneducated wealthy people. This raises the question, should we be always talking about educating people as the solution to poverty alleviation in our countries?
3. The United States is great because it's a God fearing nation - the poorest states in the US such as Mississippi are also the most religious and racist. Also most people in the United States are not religious.
4. Your rank in high school will predict how you will do in life - the problem with linear thinking in a multi-variable universe
5. It's important to have an all-rounded education - we're in the age of the specialist not the generalist
6. Diversify your investments - not if you are trying to grow wealth!
7. Knowledge is more important than practice
...
What is education? If Obiero did it, Who Am I?
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/15/2010 Posts: 625
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Swenani wrote:mv_ufanisi wrote:Things which hoodwinked me in the past
In no short order;
1. Poverty causes insecurity and thuggery - until you visit poor countries where no one will steal from you
2. Education leads to national wealth - until you realize that there are lots of educated poor people and lots of uneducated wealthy people. This raises the question, should we be always talking about educating people as the solution to poverty alleviation in our countries?
3. The United States is great because it's a God fearing nation - the poorest states in the US such as Mississippi are also the most religious and racist. Also most people in the United States are not religious.
4. Your rank in high school will predict how you will do in life - the problem with linear thinking in a multi-variable universe
5. It's important to have an all-rounded education - we're in the age of the specialist not the generalist
6. Diversify your investments - not if you are trying to grow wealth!
7. Knowledge is more important than practice
...
What is education? In this context, education refers to what the government means when it talks about education. :)
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 7/3/2007 Posts: 1,634
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mv_ufanisi wrote:Things which hoodwinked me in the past
In no short order;
1. Poverty causes insecurity and thuggery - until you visit poor countries where no one will steal from you
2. Education leads to national wealth - until you realize that there are lots of educated poor people and lots of uneducated wealthy people. This raises the question, should we be always talking about educating people as the solution to poverty alleviation in our countries?
3. The United States is great because it's a God fearing nation - the poorest states in the US such as Mississippi are also the most religious and racist. Also most people in the United States are not religious.
4. Your rank in high school will predict how you will do in life - the problem with linear thinking in a multi-variable universe
5. It's important to have an all-rounded education - we're in the age of the specialist not the generalist
6. Diversify your investments - not if you are trying to grow wealth!
7. Knowledge is more important than practice
...
Interesting Nicolas Taleb is a very smart fellow. Sometimes I don't understand half of what he writes about. His latest book 'Antifragile' talks about these paradoxes in some detail. He calls it epiphenomenon, namely the mistaken belief that something happening leads to something else, usually because everyone else believes so. In fact he uses the example of education to debunk epiphenomenalism: 'top level Universities are successful because they offer top level education.' Not so, as even Gladwell has persuasively shown. As for success in life, the best predictor is not your high school rank but, strangely; the length of your ring finger, as compared to your index finger. Huh!? Go finger. "The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth." (Niels Bohr)
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Rank: Member Joined: 11/19/2009 Posts: 3,142
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Mv ufanisi, I am assuming you opine you are 'enlightened'. I am, however, of an otherwise opinion. You are still in 'darkness'. For example: 1. did you know that the richest and most affluent countries in Europe had very strong religious roots and heritage? 2. You opine USA is great because it's God fearing. Just because it's founders were deeply religious does not follow that now all Americans are also deeply religious consequently resulting to it's greatness. 3. Education leads to personal development. You get education so you can optimise your latent potential. That your country benefits from your eduction is a bonus. Capitalism. Reason for availability of educated poor people and lots of uneducated wealthy people is capitalism. 4. Your rank in school has a role to play in how you start your independence from your benefactors. When you got your bachelors you were given 'power to read and do all that appertains' to your line. It's the start not the end. 5. Before you do, you must know. or have you forgotten the relationship between cause and effect? See point #7. 6. You analyse Mississippi hoping we will take what you say at face value. Income Distribution Within U.S. Religious Groups Please do not fuddle statistics. More than a quarter of the population in Mississippi is African American.  Shida ya nyeuthi hata huko Amerikani usibandike kwa wengine. 7. If you insist for government to define education for you and accept and abide by that definition what does that make you in the system? See point #4.
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/15/2010 Posts: 625
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Muriel wrote:Mv ufanisi, I am assuming you opine you are 'enlightened'. I am, however, of an otherwise opinion. You are still in 'darkness'. For example: 1. did you know that the richest and most affluent countries in Europe had very strong religious roots and heritage? 2. You opine USA is great because it's God fearing. Just because it's founders were deeply religious does not follow that now all Americans are also deeply religious consequently resulting to it's greatness. 3. Education leads to personal development. You get education so you can optimise your latent potential. That your country benefits from your eduction is a bonus. Capitalism. Reason for availability of educated poor people and lots of uneducated wealthy people is capitalism. 4. Your rank in school has a role to play in how you start your independence from your benefactors. When you got your bachelors you were given 'power to read and do all that appertains' to your line. It's the start not the end. 5. Before you do, you must know. or have you forgotten the relationship between cause and effect? See point #7. 6. You analyse Mississippi hoping we will take what you say at face value. Income Distribution Within U.S. Religious Groups Please do not fuddle statistics. More than a quarter of the population in Mississippi is African American. Shida ya nyeuthi hata huko Amerikani usibandike kwa wengine. 7. If you insist for government to define education for you and accept and abide by that definition what does that make you in the system? See point #4. Just because one has strong religious roots or even wears red shirts every day doesn't mean that is the cause of their wealth level. For example, students at Alliance High School wear green sweaters, does that mean that we should tell students in all other high schools to wear the same clothes and hope for better exam results? You have to establish causality. Correlation =/ (not equal) Causality. I'm yet to see the causality between wealth and religion. From you data Hindus have the highest proportion of people earning more than 100k USD. Should we use that data to then think that it's Hinduism that's causing this?
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/15/2010 Posts: 625
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Wakanyugi wrote:mv_ufanisi wrote:Things which hoodwinked me in the past
In no short order;
1. Poverty causes insecurity and thuggery - until you visit poor countries where no one will steal from you
2. Education leads to national wealth - until you realize that there are lots of educated poor people and lots of uneducated wealthy people. This raises the question, should we be always talking about educating people as the solution to poverty alleviation in our countries?
3. The United States is great because it's a God fearing nation - the poorest states in the US such as Mississippi are also the most religious and racist. Also most people in the United States are not religious.
4. Your rank in high school will predict how you will do in life - the problem with linear thinking in a multi-variable universe
5. It's important to have an all-rounded education - we're in the age of the specialist not the generalist
6. Diversify your investments - not if you are trying to grow wealth!
7. Knowledge is more important than practice
...
Interesting Nicolas Taleb is a very smart fellow. Sometimes I don't understand half of what he writes about. His latest book 'Antifragile' talks about these paradoxes in some detail. He calls it epiphenomenon, namely the mistaken belief that something happening leads to something else, usually because everyone else believes so. In fact he uses the example of education to debunk epiphenomenalism: 'top level Universities are successful because they offer top level education.' Not so, as even Gladwell has persuasively shown. As for success in life, the best predictor is not your high school rank but, strangely; the length of your ring finger, as compared to your index finger. Huh!? Go finger. I've enjoyed reading Taleb's books. Very eye opening.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 7/3/2007 Posts: 1,634
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mv_ufanisi wrote:Muriel wrote:Mv ufanisi, I am assuming you opine you are 'enlightened'. I am, however, of an otherwise opinion. You are still in 'darkness'. For example: 1. did you know that the richest and most affluent countries in Europe had very strong religious roots and heritage? 2. You opine USA is great because it's God fearing. Just because it's founders were deeply religious does not follow that now all Americans are also deeply religious consequently resulting to it's greatness. 3. Education leads to personal development. You get education so you can optimise your latent potential. That your country benefits from your eduction is a bonus. Capitalism. Reason for availability of educated poor people and lots of uneducated wealthy people is capitalism. 4. Your rank in school has a role to play in how you start your independence from your benefactors. When you got your bachelors you were given 'power to read and do all that appertains' to your line. It's the start not the end. 5. Before you do, you must know. or have you forgotten the relationship between cause and effect? See point #7. 6. You analyse Mississippi hoping we will take what you say at face value. Income Distribution Within U.S. Religious Groups Please do not fuddle statistics. More than a quarter of the population in Mississippi is African American. Shida ya nyeuthi hata huko Amerikani usibandike kwa wengine. 7. If you insist for government to define education for you and accept and abide by that definition what does that make you in the system? See point #4. Just because one has strong religious roots or even wears red shirts every day doesn't mean that is the cause of their wealth level. For example, students at Alliance High School wear green sweaters, does that mean that we should tell students in all other high schools to wear the same clothes and hope for better exam results? You have to establish causality. Correlation =/ (not equal) Causality. I'm yet to see the causality between wealth and religion. I think the assumption of religion causing wealth creation is wrong. Nevertheless the socializing power of of religion does contribute to the kind of ambition that adherents use to generate wealth. Examples abound; from the Mormons, Jews, Quakers etc. But what these prove is not religious causality but that, given similar socialization, most humans will succeed in increasing wealth. In fact I believe the greatest such socializing power is not religion per se. It is persecution. The fact that Africans, despite experiencing persecution at every turn have not been able to 'rise' in a similar way is a mystery to me. "The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth." (Niels Bohr)
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/15/2010 Posts: 625
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Wakanyugi wrote:mv_ufanisi wrote:Muriel wrote:Mv ufanisi, I am assuming you opine you are 'enlightened'. I am, however, of an otherwise opinion. You are still in 'darkness'. For example: 1. did you know that the richest and most affluent countries in Europe had very strong religious roots and heritage? 2. You opine USA is great because it's God fearing. Just because it's founders were deeply religious does not follow that now all Americans are also deeply religious consequently resulting to it's greatness. 3. Education leads to personal development. You get education so you can optimise your latent potential. That your country benefits from your eduction is a bonus. Capitalism. Reason for availability of educated poor people and lots of uneducated wealthy people is capitalism. 4. Your rank in school has a role to play in how you start your independence from your benefactors. When you got your bachelors you were given 'power to read and do all that appertains' to your line. It's the start not the end. 5. Before you do, you must know. or have you forgotten the relationship between cause and effect? See point #7. 6. You analyse Mississippi hoping we will take what you say at face value. Income Distribution Within U.S. Religious Groups Please do not fuddle statistics. More than a quarter of the population in Mississippi is African American. Shida ya nyeuthi hata huko Amerikani usibandike kwa wengine. 7. If you insist for government to define education for you and accept and abide by that definition what does that make you in the system? See point #4. Just because one has strong religious roots or even wears red shirts every day doesn't mean that is the cause of their wealth level. For example, students at Alliance High School wear green sweaters, does that mean that we should tell students in all other high schools to wear the same clothes and hope for better exam results? You have to establish causality. Correlation =/ (not equal) Causality. I'm yet to see the causality between wealth and religion. I think the assumption of religion causing wealth creation is wrong. Nevertheless the socializing power of of religion does contribute to the kind of ambition that adherents use to generate wealth. Examples abound; from the Mormons, Jews, Quakers etc. But what these prove is not religious causality but that, given similar socialization, most humans will succeed in increasing wealth. In fact I believe the greatest such socializing power is not religion per se. It is persecution. The fact that Africans, despite experiencing persecution at every turn have not been able to 'rise' in a similar way is a mystery to me. The Holy Grail question is how do people create wealth in reality? 1. Trading. From ancient times, traders who could provide desirable goods were usually able to make a profit and generate wealth over time. Sometimes this involved traveling into far away lands. We see this in Kenya by people traveling to Dubai, China and the rest and selling goods at a profit. 2. Starting a new business. There's lots of people who have been able to create wealth by starting a fast food shop, salon or even a manufacturing company which ends up being successful. These guys start from scratch with a concept. 3. Joining an existing business as a distributor/dealer/partner - a lot of guys who do this for companies like Safaricom, Coca-Cola and big brand names such as Nokia and Mercedes are able to ride on the popularity of the products being sold. They don't need to come up with the idea but just do a good job of serving customers and being a good distribution channel. 4. Speculation in the markets - this could be in real estate, stock market, forex etc. Buy and hold an asset that appreciates in value over time. 5. Popular Talent - musicians, athletes, TV hosts etc who get popular enough will usually make a tidy sum over time. 6. High earning jobs - especially in the corporate sector. (This is what education targets) Most wealthy people can be placed within these brackets. Africans are struggling with change management - moving from a medieval lifestyle to suddenly living in the information age. A large number of Africans are still stuck in the medieval age especially farmers. But it is expecting a lot for people to move into a modern lifestyle within the stretch of 100 years what others have spent at least 500 years moving away from. Think about this: Most African cultures are experiencing city/town living for the very first time in history. Compare this with Europeans, Arabs and such who have had cities for far longer times.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 10/4/2006 Posts: 13,821 Location: Nairobi
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Specific success obscures General Failure.... the case of Safaricom/MPESA in the Kenyan Tech space. All Mushrooms are edible! Some Mushroom are only edible ONCE!
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Rank: User Joined: 8/15/2013 Posts: 13,237 Location: Vacuum
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Wakanyugi wrote:mv_ufanisi wrote:Things which hoodwinked me in the past
In no short order;
1. Poverty causes insecurity and thuggery - until you visit poor countries where no one will steal from you
2. Education leads to national wealth - until you realize that there are lots of educated poor people and lots of uneducated wealthy people. This raises the question, should we be always talking about educating people as the solution to poverty alleviation in our countries?
3. The United States is great because it's a God fearing nation - the poorest states in the US such as Mississippi are also the most religious and racist. Also most people in the United States are not religious.
4. Your rank in high school will predict how you will do in life - the problem with linear thinking in a multi-variable universe
5. It's important to have an all-rounded education - we're in the age of the specialist not the generalist
6. Diversify your investments - not if you are trying to grow wealth!
7. Knowledge is more important than practice
...
Interesting Nicolas Taleb is a very smart fellow. Sometimes I don't understand half of what he writes about. His latest book 'Antifragile' talks about these paradoxes in some detail. He calls it epiphenomenon, namely the mistaken belief that something happening leads to something else, usually because everyone else believes so. In fact he uses the example of education to debunk epiphenomenalism: 'top level Universities are successful because they offer top level education.' Not so, as even Gladwell has persuasively shown. As for success in life, the best predictor is not your high school rank but, strangely; the length of your ring finger, as compared to your index finger. Huh!? Go finger. Fgghhyddrhghmvxse did you understand that? Does it make me smart? If Obiero did it, Who Am I?
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Rank: Elder Joined: 2/26/2012 Posts: 15,980
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mv_ufanisi wrote:Swenani wrote:mv_ufanisi wrote:Things which hoodwinked me in the past
In no short order;
1. Poverty causes insecurity and thuggery - until you visit poor countries where no one will steal from you
2. Education leads to national wealth - until you realize that there are lots of educated poor people and lots of uneducated wealthy people. This raises the question, should we be always talking about educating people as the solution to poverty alleviation in our countries?
3. The United States is great because it's a God fearing nation - the poorest states in the US such as Mississippi are also the most religious and racist. Also most people in the United States are not religious.
4. Your rank in high school will predict how you will do in life - the problem with linear thinking in a multi-variable universe
5. It's important to have an all-rounded education - we're in the age of the specialist not the generalist
6. Diversify your investments - not if you are trying to grow wealth!
7. Knowledge is more important than practice
...
What is education? In this context, education refers to what the government means when it talks about education. :) I think you are referring to schooling, not education. Schooling is whereby you pass through the system get a grade and the in the end of it all...you dont know what to do next. @Muriel has given you a good analysis. Religion esp that which emphasizes on personal improvement/growth can make a great significant to a society. In the Hindu belief system work is worship. Now am assuming you have some knowledge of the Hindu caste system, those in the lower castes should serve those in the higher and have no hope (the outcasts, untouchables) thats why the wealthy are filthy rich and the poor are on the extreme Religion that tends to make its followers to believe that they are superior than the rest - the chosen ones of God- that God has blessed only them if they follow the law - Jews view poverty negatively and in their religious texts it has been portrayed as an unjustifiable burden. Unlike Christians who see poverty as a virtue, Rabbis see no virtue in poverty they call it unjustifiable suffering. Jewish law calls upon Jews to do everything in their power to avoid becoming a burden on others. On your point 6...I wonder what Warren Buffet would say "There are only two emotions in the market, hope & fear. The problem is you hope when you should fear & fear when you should hope: - Jesse Livermore
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 2/3/2010 Posts: 1,797 Location: Kenya
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Jews are disproportionately richer than any other religion and they are very religious as a simple Google search of wealth vs religion shows capitalism also owes it's spread to the Protestant work ethic I may be wrong..but then I could be right
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Rank: Elder Joined: 12/27/2012 Posts: 2,256 Location: Bandalungwa
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mv_ufanisi wrote:Things which hoodwinked me in the past
In no short order;
1. Poverty causes insecurity and thuggery - until you visit poor countries where no one will steal from you
2. Education leads to national wealth - until you realize that there are lots of educated poor people and lots of uneducated wealthy people. This raises the question, should we be always talking about educating people as the solution to poverty alleviation in our countries?
...
Agree with the points except 1 and 2 Nothing exists in a vacuum, there are other factors that have to be present. Poverty is the primary factor in a high crime rate but not by itself. In order for poverty to breed crime, there has to be a culture of stealing. Countries like Tanzania and Burundi do not have a culture of crime which is why crime is much lower there despite them being poorer than Kenya. Kenya on the other hand has a culture of crime that was formented by our own leaders. That is why in Kenya the crime rate spirals as opportunities become fewer and people become poorer. Wherever there is a high crime rate, there is always poverty. There is no place on this planet where a high crime rate exists without significant poverty. With regard to education, it does indeed create wealth but only if the leaders of the country create an environment where said education can be utilized. For example, Kenya has a significant number of highly qualified staff. With these Kenya can be a services outsourcing destination for big companies in Europe. But only if government tackles corruption and builds the infrastructure needed to attract outsourcing. In other words, having a highly educated workforce attracts foreign investment but only if the government gets it act in order. Thats why I have always said Kenyans are their own worst enemies. You choose voting based on tribal sycophancy instead of voting to hold government accountable.
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Rank: Member Joined: 2/16/2012 Posts: 808
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When I was a kid, I used to think that all adults were mature, I did not believe or know that there were immature adults. Thought that adulthood by default equals maturity (behavior). They tried to bury us, they didn't know we were seeds.
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/15/2010 Posts: 625
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digitek1 wrote:Jews are disproportionately richer than any other religion and they are very religious as a simple Google search of wealth vs religion shows
capitalism also owes it's spread to the Protestant work ethic
What's the GDP per capita of Israel an almost entirely Jewish country? Not among the top 10 highest in the world. Christians like to tout Jewish exceptionalism as some kind of "god-given" trait while Muslims probably see the oil wealth of the middle east as some evidence of "super-natural" providence. Fuzzy statistics to confuse those who don't cross check stats.
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Rank: Veteran Joined: 12/4/2009 Posts: 1,982 Location: matano manne
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Used to think the brightest people including the president didn't need a ruler to draw a straight line.
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/15/2010 Posts: 625
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The earliest one is the lie we learn in primary school;
the most quiet, obedient, hardworking and respectful student has the best future outlook.
Alas! The guys who make a dent in the world tend to be the rebels, the guys who don't follow the script, the ones who are considered radical and too off the script. Not the meek types who look to rise up the ladder by being nice guys and doing what they are told and making everyone happy.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 2/26/2012 Posts: 15,980
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mv_ufanisi wrote:digitek1 wrote:Jews are disproportionately richer than any other religion and they are very religious as a simple Google search of wealth vs religion shows
capitalism also owes it's spread to the Protestant work ethic
What's the GDP per capita of Israel an almost entirely Jewish country? Not among the top 10 highest in the world. Christians like to tout Jewish exceptionalism as some kind of "god-given" trait while Muslims probably see the oil wealth of the middle east as some evidence of "super-natural" providence. Fuzzy statistics to confuse those who don't cross check stats. Per wikipedia 2013 - GDP -290.6B; PPP - $36,051.15; Size of Israel - 8,019m2 (about 2 Nyanza provinces) Population 8M Jews abroad esp those in Europe and America are real rich..To name a few, the Rothschild; Larry Elison - Oracle, Michael Bloomberg; The google boys - Larry Page and Sergey Brin, George Soros Mark Cuban etc If you want to understand this read Gldwell's "Outliers" Culture plays a very big part in shaping a people "There are only two emotions in the market, hope & fear. The problem is you hope when you should fear & fear when you should hope: - Jesse Livermore
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Rank: Elder Joined: 10/4/2006 Posts: 13,821 Location: Nairobi
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Culture plays a huge role in making an ethnic group standout from others. Most rich Jews are irreligious they are quite atheistic in nature. Being Jewish is like being a luo or a kyuk.last time I checked...most of all those listed as Jews above are non practising and Israel is 42% irreligious All Mushrooms are edible! Some Mushroom are only edible ONCE!
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