

Malcolm Gladwell, Meet This Genius Called The Indian Parent - npguy
http://statspotting.com/2013/01/malcolm-gladwell-meet-this-genius-called-the-indian-parent/

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rikacomet
hmm, I would have loved to hear, more proof of the naming pattern, but from
what I read, it refers that naming your child with A, gives them a significant
advantage, well that might be true uptil a point, for ex: my own name starts
with A,so for 12 years of school, I was the Roll no1, It did had its own
advantage, in the form that I used to sit in the front, thus being more
attentive out of the fear of getting caught by the teacher, and was exposed to
more of their attention. But as I said, that advantage stays uptil a point, it
doesn't mean that those who were named by any other letter, were not able to
be successful in life, as its not just the name, but also, genes, emotional
structure,influences, exposure, self discovery, etc.

One fat guy racing another slim guy to the burger joint, might be at
disadvantage by more than few grams, but that doesn't mean he can't find a
shortcut, or what if the burger joint is too far away, and the slim guy loses
out on stamina :)

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npguy
True. Some of these variables do not matter in the long run. But it gives some
short-term positives, that might get amplified. Life has big amplification
effects - [http://statspotting.com/2012/12/life-has-huge-
amplification-...](http://statspotting.com/2012/12/life-has-huge-
amplification-effects/)

~~~
rikacomet
but it is also true, that whoever has lots of such visible advantages, becomes
the favorite, and this energy/advantage is counter balanced by one big point,
which is that people prefer to have a soft side/support for the underdog.

So it might give you advantage, in certain way, but then again, people aren't
gonna just start naming their kids with A only :D

The guy B in your sited article above, have a way to turn around, what if
while Candidate A was getting accostomed to the job at XYZ company, during
that time, he founded his own company, and even if in one year it is still in
natal stage, it would count in many cases as a better experience. Since He
took the challenge head on.

Its as simple as they say: Success comes to people who find ways, and Failure
to those who find excuses.

