[ahoyhere]

There are a million types of people, and your argument is reductio ab absurdum.

If you want to boil down the whole world to "hard work makes Johnny rich," by all means, go ahead.

But, as I said, many many people have gotten rich without hard work at all.

To deny reality is to deny yourself those "learning experiences" you are talking about.

I never said that hard work can't pay off. I never said that you can't create your own luck. I never said that if you are not lucky so far, give up and resign yourself. You seem to be assuming that because I said "lots of rich people actually didn't work hard," that I am somehow saying those other things -- but I am not.

I'm just a true lover of reality and reason.

Hard work doesn't necessarily pay off, and Caterina's essay made many very good points.