The majority of Yale grads that I know, including myself, went on to Ivy League graduate schools. Regarding those who didn’t, however, it has not been my personal experience that those individuals consider themselves better than others. And that is a distinction that not only doesn’t jive with my personal experience, it comes across, quite frankly, as an assessment that those with only undergrad degrees are somehow markedly deficient on a personal level, or are lesser, while others are ‘better’.Quote:
I like it that Ames did not stop at Yale but went on to Harvard and other colleges to develop himself more. This stops hi from being inward looking thinking wrongly that he is better than others. By doing the rounds of ivy league schools with their different cultures, you rise above it all and stick to simple truth.
And to mention a couple of other quick things and then hopefully move on, all Ivy League schools provide a tremendously diverse educational experience and, regarding degrees in general, I know people who possess degrees ranging from: multiple degrees, those that stopped formal education after a college degree and those who stopped after a high school degree - or are going back to school later in life to get their college degrees. And none of that, in my experience, has one whit to do with their capacities to seek universal truths or other intrinsic human values of authentic worth.
I think the general consensus we came to regarding Ames embracing the Bach franchise is that there’s a lot of pressure that accumulates from being on a traditional achievement track over time. There’s always another academic and professional goal to accomplish and it can become not just exhausting but oppressive at times. And, if you come from a background of high achievers, there are these existential crisis moments where you wonder whether you chose these goals or they were chosen for you and you begin to wonder the extent to which free will really exists in your life. It’s a cycle that can inspire yearnings for flight, rebellion and rebellious flight that come in waves. :lolQuote:
So chrisg, what sort of personal crisis or break from reality IS he going through?
I’m also a portfolio manager, as Ames is, and even though the markets have generally regained most of the losses since the bottom dropped out of the economy, it is a constant struggle to keep that baseline in a still difficult environment. So, professional frustration might be playing a part for him as well. A lot of money managers, right now, might be willing to take their chances with Fleissian reality over the reality of economic indicators that are stubbornly refusing to turn a corner. The market had another mini-crash today and, honestly, even applying to be a Bach’ette on a show featuring Bentley as the Bach seems like a veritable oasis at the moment. :whistle
