Re: The joy of actual numbers, was Democracy

In comp.os.linux.misc rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:

On Wed, 6 Nov 2024 18:31:20 -0700, Peter Flass wrote:
 

Lived in a town like that. The kids just wanted to get a job in the mill
like their dads. Not a lot of ambition or high expectations.

 
My grandfather was what amounted to the plant engineer in a paper mill. In
those days you didn't need a BS with 'engineer' written on it. My uncle
followed in his footsteps and filled the position when his father retired.
My brother was ready to follow into the family dynasty until his wife
explained what his future was going to be starting with a degree in
aeronautical engineering. He retired as a VP of Thiokol so I guess it
worked.

In a lot of these small towns, esp. where the town was all but a
"single employer town" there were often two types of children growing
up.

A small percentage that had the "urge" to "get out of Dodge", often to
the nearest "big city", and so when they graduated from school they
disappeared to the "big city" only to return for trips to visit family.

And a remaining, very large percentage, of kids that, for whatever
reason, were simply willing to grow up, often drop out of school as
soon as they were eligible to do so, and simply go to work for the
"single employer" just like their parents and aunts and uncles and
cousins did.

It is simply a reflection of the fact that, in almost all populations,
a small percentage of people have an innate curiosity that drives them
to learn, explore, make something of themselves, and often have an
outsize impact on the world as a whole, while a large percentage simply
seem to have no curiosity nor desire to do anything beyond the barest
minimum necessary to make the next paycheck appear by magic.