Is it fair for someone to have a better quality of life and make $$ b/c of the intelligence they're born with?

This is a philosophical question I keep asking myself. Say, for example, one person is born with a mathematical brain and will get a high paying job as a geologist or mechanical engineer. Another person is born with a creative brain. This is person is an excellent writer and artist, but b/c of the way many modern societies work, this person's job outlook will be limited to lower paying jobs since few ppl can make it as famous authors, artists, and musicians. The two people are equal in gender, personality, upbringing, religion, motivation, health, energy etc. the only factor is their intelligence. One is at the far "left" of the intelligence spectrum, and the other is at the far "right" (ie, right brain vs. left brain). Do you think it's fair? Have you ever wondered about this? Let me know your thoughts.

Is it fair for someone to have a better quality of life and make $$ b/c of the intelligence they're born with?
life isnt fair kid get used to it i work with computer programmers ex marines and herion addicts at the same time we all work in steel mill most of these guys didnt even graduate high school but make 50 k a year cuz we do dangerous work %26lt; 3 people died so far this year %26gt; the musician and writers ned to be poor it feeds the mental and gives them something to write about and the mechanical engineer cant really creat anything he wishes he couldve been the rock star his life will never fall or stumble his kids will end up as junkies because he spoiled them and didnt make them work and guess whos kids will be the next engineer the poor musicians because they were poor and had to work to acheive everything life is kiida equal but it wont apply to you it wil apply to the next generation the brain power thing is all about how you grew up not about the actual abilities thier brain arent even formed to think till they are 1 or 2 your not born a certain way everything is lerned and no kid is raised the same hell me and my siblings are light years apart im some blue collar worker wuith 3 kids at 25 them they havent even kissed a girl at 18 my sister goes to europe twice a year there is no good mold for anything life is what it is have fun and work hard and see where u end up thats really what its about
Reply:Well, consider it from the other end. You are paying two people. One is a creative sort and one is a scientific sort. If the scientific person can do work that makes you lots of money then you would want to keep that person. Paying him/her more makes sense. The same would also apply to the creative person but lets say that of the two the scientific person makes the most money for you. It makes sense that the scientific person should make more money. If the situation were reversed then it should also be true.





Another situation to look at: the NFL. You have various types of people working in the NFL. You have scientific people who are doing work such as medicine or even research. You have creative people such as the people in advertising. You also have the people who are gifted with the physical ability to play the game of football. And they are gifted well. These players are the ones actually making the money for the teams. A team that had horrible players but great intellectual and creative people would probably not make much money. A team that had great players but horrible intelliectual and creative people would probably still make money. Those players are the money makers for the operation and should be paid more.
Reply:Yes it is fair because there are fewer mathematical people then artistic people. Art looks, sounds, and feels nice but it does not improve our technology in any way. Society gets the better end of the deal with a mechanical engineer than they do with a singer.
Reply:Actually, I don't think that's necessarily true. I've gotten a lot of promotions, without a college education and no experience simply because I use common sense and have a great work ethic. (Usually - today I happen to be answering questions on YA). I think that people who show enthusiasm can learn the tasks they need to in order to become very successful. I was actually given a VP position at a major corporation with just a high school diploma. All of this is because I've learned how to channel my creative nature towards jobs that are not traditionally considered creative. Of course, I'm not really less intelligent than others, just educated differently.
Reply:It's not just fair; it's necessary for the progress of the species. People of extraordinary talents -- whether mental, physical, psychological -- need to be permitted to exploit those talents to raise the living standards of the rest of us.





You don't need to read Ayn Rand to get this. You can just watch "The Incredibles."
Reply:I think this is where the saying "Life's not fair" applies pretty well. Besides, no one's going to be exactly the same except for intelligence...the smartest person in the world could choose to do absolutely nothing with his/her life.

poppy