This is really cool. I know a guy who used MS Flight Simulator to test the control algorithms he developed during his PhD. Looking at MATLAB plots does the trick, but seeing a virtual aircraft being stabilized after entering a forced flat-spin is immensely satisfying.
"But only after reading Paul Graham's articles on Wealth, I realized why making a fortune from poker always seemed "empty" to me: you're not really creating wealth that way."
You needed to read PG's essays to figure that out? Gee, no wonder some people joke that HN and YC look like a cult at times. Do all your thoughts on wealth-creation stem from PG's gospel?
The OP was attention-whoring, so he was put in his place. His sister has done nothing admirable, period. This is not trolling, this is circle-jerk prevention.
I suggest you guys take a trip to Siberia where you'll find women in their 30s who have two jobs, several kids they raised by themselves (their husbands traded them for hotter 19 year olds by the time the girls were in their late 20s), and who still find the time to take care of their old, frail parents all by themselves. Compared to that... law school, baseball team, six kids... small potatoes.
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PS: anyone who works hard for 3 years can do law school. Sailing around the world solo requires at least 10 years of training. It also requires a unique set of psychological traits, such as the ability to tolerate loneliness and boredom for weeks. Few people sail around the world solo every year, while millions graduate from law school every year. Given that, yes, some things are more admirable than others. When everything is "awesome", nothing is. Call it the "cry wolf effect". Just because something deserves praise, that does not mean it deserves one's admiration.
"But are you trying to define a heuristic that proposes that one human is better than the other solely due to the field of work?"
No. I am merely stating that having kids is not an accomplishment, it's one's biological programming. One should admire people who do things that are challenging and difficult, like proving hard theorems or sailing around the world solo. It's not about status nor academic pedigree, it's simpler: if everything is admirable, then nothing is.
"I'd any-day prefer to be a little-league team manager than troll on comment threads."
Just because I am being downvoted, that doesn't make me a troll. But thanks for the remark. Now you can be all happy that you're on the side of the "moral majority". You're a self-righteous sheep. Be proud.
I know a medical doctor who had 14 kids (oh, those catholics). And she still managed to practise medicine when she was not spreading her legs to launch another baby in this world. Sounds much more impressive than managing a baseball team, imho. The OP wants the HN crowd to assure him of what a special and unique snowflake his sister is, when she's merely doing something that is the norm in some parts of the world.
You know, rats can have more offspring than your sister in just a month. I don't see what's admirable about fulfilling one's biological destiny. And who cares about law school or baseball teams? If she had gotten a PhD in Quantum Field Theory while raising 6 kids, then...
"That particular article may not have been written by Scott Locklin, but a quick browse of his other works on the same site validates ahoyhere's point."
Oh, really? The burden of proof lies on your shoulders. More to the point: citation needed.
That article you linked to was not written by Scott Locklin, in case you haven't noticed. Does the fact that an article is hosted at a crypto-racist website invalidate its thesis? Rhetorical. By the way, weeks ago Locklin's post on nanotech was upvoted to the upper stratosphere here on HN.