[kulkarnic]

Yes, the story is inaccurate: the study was about how power, not luck, changes perceptions. But the message is still right. It's easy to be a jerk if you are powerful. (And it's easy to be negative when you're just commenting on the Internet.)

If you actually care about the facts, read the original researcher's essay: https://hbr.org/2016/10/dont-let-power-corrupt-you And if you want to still believe your success is the exclusive result of your hard work, read about Raj Chetty's work on just how much luck matters. http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2016/04/12/stanford-study-shed...

Edit: I got it wrong, the original study was four people as Lewis reports, not five as some commenters here believe. Lewis is also right about table manners, btw.

[pdpi]

> Yes, the story is inaccurate: the study was about how power, not luck, changes perceptions.

I think you misunderstood the situation. The Michael Lewis speech is precisely pointing that power changes perceptions, because we like to believe that we deserve the power you have. He's challenging the students to eschew that altered perception by pointing out that they're in that position of power but, like in the experiment, their power doesn't come from intrinsic worthiness but from sheer dumb luck.