Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums GT Research Serving the Gifted book... Thoughts?

According to my physics textbook, potential is the amount of work required to move a unit of positive charge from infinity to a point inside an electrical field. We could define this idea in terms of people and their sedulousness, by saying potential is the amount of sedulousness required by Little Johnny so that he moves to a given point in a society's success field, with more work required as one gets closer to the center.

Now, if success is defined as not being exclusive to the center (seems reasonable), it becomes clear that varying combinations of lots of things will get you where you want to go. As just one example, people have varying degrees of charge in different areas. So each person will have to do a different amount of work to get to the same point in the field. Of course, different points may be defined as "success" or "not so successful" in different people, as in "His successes include several platinum albums and finishing high school. He says passing algebra 2 was the hardest thing he's ever done." Yet although passing algebra was pretty easy for me, I will never have even a gold album.

I think I've sone a reasonable semantical job of demonstrating that personal potential is a ferociously complicated idea that is not to be trifled with.

I think that success is the absence of marginalization or insignificance.

Like Survivor.

This may be because I'm a total fangirl of Jon's worldview on this subject. Or it could just be that I'm significant to myself and one of my three cats, and therefore I can never be not successful.

By definition, I mean. That is pretty appealing.

My take on "success" is that it means whatever you want it to mean.

For example, earlier today I had an itch. On my back. It was quite a conundrum. Luckily, I happened to be the right man at the right place for the job. I was equal to the challenge. First, I tried various contortions, stretching my ligaments to their fullest. That wasn't initially successful, but I've learned resilience over the years. At times like this, I remember the Marine Corps maxim: "improvise, adapt, overcome." I spied a book marker with just the right stiffness, slid it down my shirt, turned it on it's corner, and conquered that itch.

Now, many people will accomplish many other things over the course of the day, but I'm the only one who made the world a better place by conquering that itch.

I mean, yesterday we learned that my DD9 won some state competition thingy... that's pretty cool for her, I guess.

There are tons of other people who call themselves "successful" for acquiring large piles of green paper, but what on earth is that good for?

I like the external validation that I get from my cat's approval.

I'm jealous... your cat gives you approval? hmmph

Well, I'm one for three.

Which would be fantastic as a batting average, but it's a bit demoralizing as a job performance rating.

Who knows how big Social Security benefits will be when we retire, and how high Medicare premiums, co-pays, and deductibles will be?

High net worth generally indicates that you have produced more than you have consumed and that you have been a net contributor to society. Once you have acquired wealth, investing it in the stock market makes you the part owner of businesses that produce consumer and capital goods and employ people. Municipal bond investment funds the construction and maintenance of public goods such as school and roads. Bill Gates has used his wealth to do many good works through the Gates Foundation, such as working to eradicate smallpox and funding the Khan Academy.

I think young people who focus on making money may do more good over their lifetimes than the idealists.

Ah, this again.

Matter of perspective, of course.

This is great, thank you!

Yes the hope of attaining fuels the rags-to-riches aspect of "The American Dream". On the other hand, high net worth can indicate other things as well, for example that much has been invested in an individual. Further down the continuum of the broad range of possibilities... as the world economy tightens, there are increasing stories of human trafficking, illegal drug trade & smuggling, and other predatory means of acquiring wealth at another's expense. Therefore many see that wealth as a proxy for positive contribution to society may be somewhat flawed, just as accomplishment/achievement is not a direct correlation to IQ/intelligence.

Apologies to the OP as this thread seems to have been hijacked to a discussion of success/sedulousness. Anyone want to create a separate discussion thread for success/sedulousness?

This isn't the place to debate religion, though.