[volaski]

You are yourself and you can do whatever you want. The stats are just stats. Just because no one has seen a black swan before, does not mean black swan doesn't exist. It is foolish to think that it is impossible to achieve something and give up even without trying just because of the stats.

[crdoconnor]

It's shit like this that made Steinbeck call America a nation of temporary embarrassed millionaires.

[volaski]

What does "America" have anything to do with this? You could complain all day long about how bad of a situation you are in, or you could do something about it, and that's a fact.

[crdoconnor]

Boundless optimism and "the power of positive thinking" are uniquely American.

It's generally assumed that positive thinking is how you get ahead (another American belief), but that doesn't seem to be the case: http://www.newyorker.com/currency-tag/the-powerlessness-of-p...

[volaski]

How is something as common as "positive thinking" unique to American? I don't understand how you picked up that idea. It's like saying "being courteous to elders" is uniquely Chinese.

[joslin01]

I like you volaski.