[arthur_sav]

> Did their class and heritage line up at all?

I really dislike this argument. Surely, the world is not that simple and there are many variables into ones success (and failures).

However, what is there to be gained by attributing their success to all the forces that they can't control.

Instead, take it as it is. A story, from the perspective of one person, that you may or you may not learn from.

We become better by sharing with the collective.

[SantalBlush]

>what is there to be gained by attributing their success to all the forces that they can't control.

Supposing for a moment that there is truth to what the parent comment says, we would gain a better knowledge of how the world actually works instead of perpetuating old myths.

[dasil003]

I believe there is definitely truth to it. I’ve seen first hand how Stanford/MIT or FAANG on your resume can give you a leg up in the hiring committee over many people without the pedigree who turn out to be far better engineers.

That said I agree with GP, there is not much to be gained from focusing on systemic biases. Just because a narrative is truthy does not make it definitive; the map is not the territory and all that. As an individual focus on what you can control and you have the possibility of achieving outcomes unique to you.

[arthur_sav]

As a thought experiment, how far down the rabbit hole would you go?

What were the factors involved in ones outcomes? - Was it his "class"? - Skin color? - Family connections - Country? - Education? - Genes? - Moon's gravitational pull? - A butterfly flapping's it's wings?

Not saying it's not relevant, i'm saying it's not practical. If there's any lesson to be learned from the story, it's definitely not from the X factors that cannot be controlled.

The only outcome of such discussions would be to complain.

Speaking of perpetuating myths, people attributing the success of other people to anything else other than competence would be up there.

[SantalBlush]

It's demonstrably not true that we have no control over societal prejudices, nor is it true that attributing success to anything other than competence is a myth. Moreover, comparing the effects of bias to the flapping of a buttery's wings is laughably dishonest.

If you wish to ignore these things, that is entirely your prerogative, but your thesis isn't convincing.

[moritonal]

Bit hammered but I'll try explain. Being creative and pushing that energy is great, and will put you into a better bracket than your peers. However, that bracket is still going to be made of thousands of people, so it's worth understanding that we are not measured strictly by our technical ability. We're judged by how we smell, how we look, our fashion, our projection and others personal interpretation of our trustfullness.

I didn't mean to say, don't try unless you're a certain race. I tried to say, understand the factors that work in your favour and the ones that don't.