

We Are Built to Be Kind [video] - SwellJoe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsWs6bf7tvI

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downandout
The title of the video is somewhat misleading. What he actually says in it is
that poor people are kind and rich people are not, and he attempts to back it
up with science. A direct quote:

 _" There is literally a compassion deficit that is produced by lots of
wealth"_.

Class warfare material starts at 2:20, in a section titled "Empathy deficits".

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SwellJoe
That's actually what struck me about it, and why I thought it worth talking
about here. Given pg's recent essay on successful people having high
correlation with being nice people (entitled _Mean People Fail_ ), I though
it'd be interesting to talk about what the science says (I'm not suggesting pg
is wrong; I've met a number of the people I suspect he was talking about, and
I also found them to be extremely nice people, generally speaking). But, maybe
it's just a difference of definition of what makes people kind, generous, etc.

It _has_ been my experience that some of the most generous people I've met in
my several years of traveling almost full-time have been some of the poorest
people. Many homeless folks I've met would happily share anything they had,
despite having very little. It's an interesting phenomenon.

pg's essay: [http://paulgraham.com/mean.html](http://paulgraham.com/mean.html)

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oldmanjay
anecdote vs. anecdote: I've never been robbed at gunpoint by a rich person.
however...

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lamuerteflaca
They don't need to. They have better ways to rob you and with less risk.
Excibit A: Bankers

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oldmanjay
ohh is the existence of the banking system the reason that poor people are
always kind and noble? I'm not seeing any connection at all between those two
concepts, but whatever makes you feel better while you fight the power is good
by me.

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nchelluri
The animations were very cute (umbrella guy, brain hearts).

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ratsmack
I wonder if narcissism is a diminished functioning of the frontal lobe.

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buhrmi
Nice

