Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

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daisyrose
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by daisyrose »

:thinking: Bill Gates: Love him or hate him, he sure hits the nail on the head with this! To anyone with kids of any age, here's some advice.

Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.





Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!

Ru le 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they' ll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
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Fibonacci
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by Fibonacci »

Thats some good Advice!:)
The poolhall's a great equalizer. In the poolhall, nobody cares how old you are, how young you are, what color your skin is or how much money you've got in your pocket... It's about how you move. I remember this kid once who could move around a pool table like nobody had ever seen. Hour after hour, rack after rack, his shots just went in. The cue was part of his arm and the balls had eyes. And the thing that made him so good was... He thought he could never miss. I know, 'cause that kid was me.
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spot
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by spot »

God, it's just one of those days today. It was written by Charles J. Sykes.

No, this list didn't originate with Microsoft head Bill Gates. (It's frequently cited on the Internet as having come from his book Business @ The Speed of Thought, but it didn't.) Why it's attributed to Gates is a mystery to us; it doesn't really sound the least bit like something he would write. Possibly, the item the Internet-circulated version of the list generally ends with ("Be nice to nerds") struck a chord with someone who views Gates as the ultimate successful nerd of all time.

One version that appeared on the Internet in June 2002 asserts this is the text of a commencement speech given by Bill Gates to the graduating class of Mt. Whitney High School in Visalia, California. It isn't — he didn't give such a speech, and folks at that school are mystified as to why they've been dragged into this apocryphal story.

Nor is this list the work of Kurt Vonnegut, another person to whom authorship has been attributed. A clue found in those versions ("From a college graduation speech by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.") explains why folks want to lay these random words of wisdom on his doorstep: In 1998, the Internet was swept with a narrative that has come to be known as the Vonnegut sunscreen speech. That work of inventive fiction was actually the product of Chicago Tribune writer Mary Schmich, but Internet-circulated versions claimed it was a college graduation speech given by Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut thus became associated in the minds of some people with pithy advice to young adults.

This list is the work of Charles J. Sykes, author of the book Dumbing Down Our Kids: Why American Children Feel Good About Themselves But Can't Read, Write, Or Add. (The list has appeared in newspapers, although not necessarily in this book.)

http://www.snopes.com/language/document/liferule.htm

Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
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spot
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by spot »

Sorry daisyrose, that was bad of me and I apologise. I'm entirely in the wrong and I shouldn't have complained. It's one of those days.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
koan
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by koan »

Don't make me come over there, spot :mad:

down boy! bad dog!
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spot
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by spot »

koan;488413 wrote: Don't make me come over there, spot :mad:

down boy! bad dog!Don't you start... I'll have your other ankle off if you carry on.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
daisyrose
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by daisyrose »

Hey Spot

Thanks for the input. I use snopes.com often but did not check this out. My original question: "What do you think of this?" still holds tho...even if Gates is not the author..the sentiment is still worth considering I think...glad you posted as you did thanks Daisy
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spot
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by spot »

daisyrose;488566 wrote: My original question: "What do you think of this?" still holds tho...even if Gates is not the author..the sentiment is still worth considering I think...glad you posted as you did thanks DaisyI disliked it so much that I've re-written it as advice for my own children and for any others out there reading.

Rule 1: Life is not fair, but it can be rewarding. Skirt round injustice without letting it fester, concentrate on what satisfies your curiosity.

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem but individuals will. Focus on the people you touch. Touch as many as you can help fulfill themselves, and feel good about doing it.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school, and chasing it will be the worst distraction from living that you can ever do. Gathering riches is a snare, avoid it like the plague.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. Your best option is to never have one. Work for yourself at what interests you, excel at it, you'll make a sufficient living whatever it is.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Make the most of your time while you're doing it. Meet people and relate to them.

Rule 6: If you mess up, come back and talk about it, don't hide away feeling shame or distress, it's what we're here for and you've seen that we're good at bringing a helpful perspective to your problems. That won't ever change.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from thinking that a career was essential to success. Avoid the rat race, that's good advice, take it.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. The trick is to recognize what's a win and what's a loss. Discriminate in your choices, make the right ones as often as you can and you'll not get stuck repeating those later.

Rule 9: Life is divided into semesters. Take your summers off. Very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself, it's the best reason on earth to avoid working for anyone else but you. Your life's your own time and your only time, use it wisely.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs. For goodness' sake never ever get a television however much pressure you're put under to conform.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll get called one too. Nerds are fine.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
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spot
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by spot »

BTS;488599 wrote: Don't hold your breath......:yh_sigh

These are things he rails against, not for.


It's a simple enough thing to deal with - each of us can write our own versions to compare, if you want to go to the trouble. It's creative, and the advice might help someone.
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
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CARLA
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by CARLA »

Good sound advice who ever wrote it..:cool:
ALOHA!!

MOTTO TO LIVE BY:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming.

WOO HOO!!, what a ride!!!"

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spot
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by spot »

CARLA;488602 wrote: Good sound advice who ever wrote it..:cool:Me! Me!
Nullius in verba ... ☎||||||||||| ... To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, the only refuge for the wretched left.
When flower power came along I stood for Human Rights, marched around for peace and freedom, had some nooky every night - we took it serious.
Who has a spare two minutes to play in this month's FG Trivia game! ... My other OS is Slackware.
koan
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by koan »

I agree entirely with your improvements, spot.
koan
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by koan »

I read the OP to my daughter and she wanted to tell you all how she felt about what it said. (the original)

Enya:

Hi. When my mother read me the "rules", I was shocked. How do you think a kid would feel or respond if those rules where told to him or herself? I am very emotional and sensitive about what is being said to me, and if those rules were told to me, I'd probably cry and wonder why my parents hate me so much. Rule number 7 truly make it sound like kids make their parents life a living hell. Yeah, who would like to be told they make someone's life miserable? Definitely not me.

Here is how I believe children should be talked to:

Kids need people to listen to them. If a kid is upset, yelling at them will not succeed in anything except making the kid even more upset. If you really want to solve the problem, you'll be calm with them and understanding. Talk to them like you want to be treated. Kindly.

Those rules are cruel, and the world is cruel enough already without stupid rules making kids feel horrible.
RedGlitter
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by RedGlitter »

Hi DaisyRose, nice meeting you. :)



Whoever wrote the first "rules," gets points from me because it's got truth to it. Spot's version also gets rave reviews from me because it has equal truth.

I was thinking of Enya's comments too and she has a point, although I don't think it's meant to be cruel to kids, but rather to make them ready for a world that is shockingly unfair, and unlike what they may have been led to believe. I think you must be tough to a certain degree to survive in the real world. That, tempered with kindness and compassion as well, seems like a good recipe to me.



But back to your take on it, Enya: you are correct when you say parents shouldn't yell at and be unkind to their kids. But having been a kid once and a teenager, I remember how I was toward my parents. I was so aggravated by their "lack of understanding" of my problems (which seemed like world events to me) that I had no comprehension and little appreciation of what they were going through, taking out mortgages and keeping us all fed and clothed, with a roof over our heads, and trying to raise me as well. I think this might be a natural tendency of kids though because they haven't had time to know anything else- they don't have that experience yet. The way I took the first rules was in that line of thinking.
koan
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by koan »

If we bring our children up believing in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, how can we blame them for not relating to the real world? At what point does this decision become their fault?

Perhaps we should do away with Christmas?
Erinna1112
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by Erinna1112 »

There's a big difference between stories of fantasy and imagination, and disconnection with reality. The sentiments enumerated in the original post weren't cruel - they're reality. IMO, the person who said they'd be hurt and upset by them simply proves the point that the author of those sentiments (whoever it may be) was trying to make. I don't argue with spot's edits of the original ones, but the original ones were just fine, I thought. This generation is growing up with an incredible entitlement mentality, and it's going to be a rude awakening when they don't get what they think they deserve handed to them on a plate. I realize that's a gross generalization, and not everyone in the age group being addressed is like that, but it's a pervasive mindset.

I have a thirteen-year-old nephew that spent the entire day at my mother's on Thanksgiving whining that his cell phone didn't have Bluetooth. His eighteen-year-old sister was protesting that she couldn't work while she was in college, she wouldn't have time. It was all I could do not to point out to the kids (and their parents, who are responsible for the spoiled state of these two little brats) just how wrong-headed this thinking was. I realized before the words got out, however, just how pointless it would be. I did mention to my niece that I am a full-time college student, as well as working *and* being a single parent, so I knew it was possible. It didn't seem to sink in.

Life knocks you down. Character is how you get up afterwards.
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I swear by my life - and my love of it - that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine. ~Ayn Rand



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koan
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by koan »

Erinna,

This "advice" was said to be good for any kid of any age. I'm addressing it as such. There are some really obnoxious kids but there are also some really obnoxious adults. I've known adults who have made a pretty good living while maintaining the attitude that the advice speaks against.

The person who wrote that it was cruel was my 11 yr old daughter. Whether you think she was right or not, she is a child and that advice was directed at her. The overtone of the OP is captured best in this one segment "Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room."

Who says that to their kid except a bitter parent who is whining about the tough side of parenting? This is not a garden party. You can't love your child only when they are pleasing you. Let's throw a little of their own advice back at them. "Don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them." Kids don't suddenly turn out bad. Parents aren't to blame for everything a child does, there are a lot of outside influences, but they are responsible for loving their child and tackling the difficult times without blaming the kids for their anger.

Tough love is a catchword. It does not justify an abusive rant. The most effective thing I've ever heard said to a child that was well down a path of no return was "Dave, you are my son and I love you... but I don't like you right now." This one, well worded sentence was said in a quiet, strong voice from his mother sitting on a couch in the dark watching him stagger his way up the stairs after a night of drinking. Dave changed.

So what's wrong with the parent who feels the need to bitch about how much laundry they've done and how much hydro costs nowadays? I pay my bills and do my laundry and all the rest and, let me assure you, if I'm boring it's my own damn fault, not my kid's. As it is, laughing is currently an important part of our relationship and I don't expect I'll be having to insult her into being responsible at any time in the future.
RedGlitter
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by RedGlitter »

[quote=Erinna1112;490022

Life knocks you down. Character is how you get up afterwards.


I love that! :)



When I responded, Koan, I had figured your daughter was probably young or maybe an early teenager. I meant no offense to her if I came off like that. (I'm sorry Enya, if I upset you) I am not surprised that a younger person would not quite understand how the sentiment might should be taken. If it were me at 11, I would take it offensively too. It's only through having grown up and finding out that all along, my parents weren't as "behind" as I had thought. It was teenaged arrogance I guess. Like kids commonly do, I usually only thought about myself and how life should be fair all the time. When I got older, I saw a lot of the stuff Mom and Dad told me proved true. And I saw why they told me that. Because now I'm 40, and life is NOT fair. People are not kind even if you are kind to them. (sometimes) Crappy jobs suck but it's still money in your pocket while you aspire to something better. I know a 19 year old right now who wouldn't work after graduation because he had not grades to get into college and yet his mom had always said she didn't want her sons working at McDonald's. So he bums off them now. :thinking:



The way I took it, was that you have to work up a type of callus toward life so it doesn't kill you.



As for the part about parents saying stuff to kids, I can agree with both sides. We are raising more namby-pamby kids with little aspiration, more sense of entitlement and less value for others. Not everyone of course, but in general. This is not good because they will either grow up to be the same crappy people as adults or they'll end up as bums, or bitter humans or maybe on Prozac because they cannot cope because their parents didn't give them those skills and they never learned them on their own. However, there's a limit. While kids should be expected to appreciate what is given them and done for them, they should not be made to feel as if they're burdens. I get tired of annoying parents who gripe so much about how their life is over because they have kids and how they're not the person they wanted to be, yadayada. I think "then you shouldn't have had kids! Get over yourself, invest in your children, help create a masterpiece and don't just stop at the making a baby part of it. Talk to your kids as humans and give them what they need to be productive and happy in their lives. They will make the world a better place for themselves and others."



:)



Also want to say that I don't believe in depriving kids of Santa and the Easter Bunny, tooth fairy, etc. Kids need imagination to fully form into functional, creative, intelligent adults. Adults need the same imagination to better the world and keep themselves sane and also to complete the cycle by giving it back to the kids. I don't think it's lying or playing tricks on the kids. There's a time when they have to find out the truth, but man alive, kids need to be kids!!! :)
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Bryn Mawr
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Bill Gates: What do you think of this?

Post by Bryn Mawr »

The original "rules" might, possibly, be cruel but they do not have a cruel purpose.

Schools have 12 years to work on a child, whoever wrote the "rules" had 5 minutes.

This is the reverse of the old saying "an army, great in space, may offer opposition in a brief span of time. One man, brief in space, must spread his opposition over many years.". In order to equal a tap that drips over 12 years, a man with but 5 minutes must use a water canon.

Life is not fair and to teach that it is, is unfair.

You are responsible for the consequences of you own actions. To teach otherwise is unhelpful.

If you want to succeed in life you must, at some level, compete for that success. To teach that competition is wrong, is wrong.

These are things I have seen being taught to my children and grandchildren and the compiler of the original list was right - it does not prepare the children for life in the adult world.

Wilst I wouldn't advocate teaching "lifes a bitch" from the age of 5, I would encourage competative sport and personal responsibility from that age.
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