Author Topic: Good things come to those who wait?  (Read 3667 times)

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Offline iago

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Good things come to those who wait?
« on: May 11, 2009, 11:04:07 am »
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/05/18/090518fa_fact_lehrer?currentPage=all#

They talk about a link between a person's ability to delay gratification as a child (here's one marshmallow.. don't eat it for 15 minutes and you'll get two marshmallows instead) and their success later in life. It's an interesting correlation, and it makes perfect sense to me.

Offline rabbit

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2009, 12:58:11 pm »
tl;dr all of it.  From what I read, it's pretty interesting.  I think they would have been better if they could have done more experiments as they got older, rather than use surveys.  I'll finish reading it tonight.

Offline iago

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #2 on: May 11, 2009, 01:38:35 pm »
tl;dr all of it.  From what I read, it's pretty interesting.  I think they would have been better if they could have done more experiments as they got older, rather than use surveys.
They do.

It's good for awhile, gets kinda boring for a bit (talking about the guy's past), then gets interesting again when they investigate the grown-up versions of the kids.

Offline Newby

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #3 on: May 11, 2009, 02:27:21 pm »
They talk about a link between a person's ability to delay gratification as a child (here's one marshmallow.. don't eat it for 15 minutes and you'll get two marshmallows instead) and their success later in life. It's an interesting correlation, and it makes perfect sense to me.

It makes perfect sense. All the kids in high school that abuse all sorts of drugs go nowhere with their lives, and the kids that don't go on to good colleges and succeed.
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[17:32:45] * xar sets mode: -oooooooooo algorithm ban chris cipher newby stdio TehUser tnarongi|away vursed warz
[17:32:54] * xar sets mode: +o newby
[17:32:58] <xar> new rule
[17:33:02] <xar> me and newby rule all

I'd bet that you're currently bloated like a water ballon on a hot summer's day.

That analogy doesn't even make sense.  Why would a water balloon be especially bloated on a hot summer's day? For your sake, I hope there wasn't too much logic testing on your LSAT. 

Offline warz

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #4 on: May 11, 2009, 03:23:44 pm »
It makes perfect sense. All the kids in high school that abuse all sorts of drugs go nowhere with their lives, and the kids that don't go on to good colleges and succeed.

No. That's not how it plays out, at all. A friend of mine did a lot of drugs in high school, went to University of Texas and graduated with honors and now works for the largest consulting firm in Dallas where he manages a huge Dell account and does their Oracle work for them. He doesn't do tons of drugs anymore, but he smokes pot every weekend. People that did drugs in high school can do just fine. Just because you don't do drugs in high school doesn't mean you will get into a good college. Also, just because you goto a great college doesn't mean you'll succeed. Sorry newby but this might have to win retarded post of the year, for me. lol.

Same thing with the topic... good things come to those who are proactive and try to make things happens right then and there. I haven't read the article so that may not be what it means, but I was really just posting to lol @ newby. ^_^
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Offline Newby

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #5 on: May 11, 2009, 03:54:24 pm »
A friend of mine did a lot of drugs in high school, went to University of Texas and graduated with honors and now works for the largest consulting firm in Dallas where he manages a huge Dell account and does their Oracle work for them.

http://www.google.com/search?q=define%3a%20an%20exception

Just because you don't do drugs in high school doesn't mean you will get into a good college. Also, just because you goto a great college doesn't mean you'll succeed.

Er, yeah, no kidding?!

Sorry newby but this might have to win retarded post of the year, for me. lol.

How the fuck did I beat out CrAz3D?
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Quote
[17:32:45] * xar sets mode: -oooooooooo algorithm ban chris cipher newby stdio TehUser tnarongi|away vursed warz
[17:32:54] * xar sets mode: +o newby
[17:32:58] <xar> new rule
[17:33:02] <xar> me and newby rule all

I'd bet that you're currently bloated like a water ballon on a hot summer's day.

That analogy doesn't even make sense.  Why would a water balloon be especially bloated on a hot summer's day? For your sake, I hope there wasn't too much logic testing on your LSAT. 

Offline warz

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #6 on: May 11, 2009, 04:07:56 pm »
You beat crazed... soak it up. Bask in your own glory.
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Offline truste1

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #7 on: May 12, 2009, 12:12:55 am »
I think it just boils down to having self control. Suffering in the short term when holding off for long term benefits is just a form of self control. For example, studying now so that you do well on a test or something equally relevant.
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Offline iago

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #8 on: May 12, 2009, 09:39:07 am »
Something interesting that they get into later is that people who have that type of self control are the same people who are able to control their conscious mind.

For example, people are shown four words, then shown a bunch of words quickly and told to press the button if the first or second are seen (but NOT the third and fourth). After doing that for awhile, they switch -- they have to press the button only if the third and fourth word are seen. People will self control do considerably better at this test, because they can control what's in their conscious mind better.

Another similar test was being shown a bunch of faces and having to press the button when they see a smiley face, then after awhile, told to press it when they see a frowny face. Again, it's about controlling what's in the working part of the brain.

Something that's interesting about this -- you can see from a very young age the people who have self control. The people who have self control will generally maintain it throughout their lifespan, and those who don't rarely pick it up. The people who maintain self control are the ones who are the most successful. Therefore, you can predict success from a young age, and you can therefore predict failure from a young age. So basically, we live in a world where success/failure can be predicted by the time you're 4 years old, based on factors that are completely out of your control. Sucks to be one of them!

The other question is, can self control be taught, especially to children?

Offline dark_drake

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #9 on: May 12, 2009, 11:18:26 am »
Hrmm.... I'd take the marshmallow, convince the proctor that the marshmallow spontaneously disappeared (quantum mechanics anyone?), and get two more. The only problem? I need to learn a few magic tricks to make that thing disappear.
errr... something like that...

Offline Towelie

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #10 on: May 12, 2009, 11:54:12 am »
I think it just boils down to having self control. Suffering in the short term when holding off for long term benefits is just a form of self control. For example, studying now so that you do well on a test or something equally relevant.
My self control must be through the roof

Offline d&q

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #11 on: May 12, 2009, 12:50:16 pm »
They talk about a link between a person's ability to delay gratification as a child (here's one marshmallow.. don't eat it for 15 minutes and you'll get two marshmallows instead) and their success later in life. It's an interesting correlation, and it makes perfect sense to me.

It makes perfect sense. All the kids in high school that abuse all sorts of drugs go nowhere with their lives, and the kids that don't go on to good colleges and succeed.

I would say 35%, maybe more, of the the top 10% of my school use.
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Offline truste1

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #12 on: May 12, 2009, 07:19:13 pm »
I think it just boils down to having self control. Suffering in the short term when holding off for long term benefits is just a form of self control. For example, studying now so that you do well on a test or something equally relevant.
My self control must be through the roof

A better example I thought of (since it's something you do for yourself not because you're required by an institution) is working out or sticking to a diet plan. The results you get aren't instant (like studying for a test in a few days) it takes months to see results, and it requires a great deal of self control to stick with it.
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Offline Towelie

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Re: Good things come to those who wait?
« Reply #13 on: May 12, 2009, 08:23:52 pm »
I think it just boils down to having self control. Suffering in the short term when holding off for long term benefits is just a form of self control. For example, studying now so that you do well on a test or something equally relevant.
My self control must be through the roof

A better example I thought of (since it's something you do for yourself not because you're required by an institution) is working out or sticking to a diet plan. The results you get aren't instant (like studying for a test in a few days) it takes months to see results, and it requires a great deal of self control to stick with it.
Mine takes 4 years to see results, and you aren't required to do it :P