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<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 19/01/2013 21:19, Stefano Vaj wrote:<br>
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cite="mid:CAPoR7a5U0W5LYBWoJGwZ=ZQttdnL4kWBuaorT+wfzGA5M92_bA@mail.gmail.com"
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<pre wrap="">Any other ideas of how to instil grand ambition in people? Force them to read a bit of Rand, Nietzsche or von Braun?
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Not sure about Rand, but Nietzsche and von Braun have been my idols
since age 14... :-)
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<br>
It would be interesting to see when great ambition is founded in
life. I have a suspicion that it is pretty common for kids to
develop it at an early age, but it would be good to analyse the
necessary preconditions and triggers. People have been looking at
the life histories of exceptional people checking for preconditions
of talent blossoming, but I don't know if the same thing has been
done for ambition. (I did not find much in PubMed, at least; see
below)<br>
<br>
I have never been much for idols, but clearly reading sf at an early
age filled me with the idea that one *could* be amazingly ambitious
- the heroes of Jules Verne, the epic projects of classic hard sf,
finally the cosmological re-engineering of Dyson and Tipler. The key
thing was the realization that the universe is enormous, yet there
exist actions that allow you to leverage things to ever greater
scales. So I just set out to make myself into some kind of
scientist-hero able to do that, pursuing self-enhancement, learning
and networking. I just wish more people did that kind of attempted
life -shaping. <br>
<br>
<br>
Some relevant papers:<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22545622">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22545622</a><br>
On the value of aiming high: the causes and consequences of
ambition.<br>
<blockquote>"Results indicated that <span class="highlight"
style="background-color:">ambition</span> was predicted by
individual differences-conscientiousness, extraversion,
neuroticism, and general mental ability-and a socioeconomic
background variable: parents' occupational prestige. <span
class="highlight" style="background-color:">Ambition</span>, in
turn, was positively related to educational attainment, occupation
prestige, and income. <span class="highlight"
style="background-color:">Ambition</span> had significant total
effects with all of the endogenous variables except mortality."<br>
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<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1963-03848-001">http://psycnet.apa.org/psycinfo/1963-03848-001</a><br>
Some family determinants of ambition. <br>
Again, family education and family stability seemed relevant.
However, I suspect the ambition they looked for were merely aiming
at a prestigious occupation, not changing the world. <br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22180878">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22180878</a><br>
Ambition gone awry: the long-term socioeconomic consequences of
misaligned and uncertain ambitions in adolescence.<br>
This one shows that having aspirations that are in line with reality
is helpful, at least when it comes to occupational status. <br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21921915">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21921915</a><br>
The evolution of overconfidence.<br>
This is an argument why we are all a bit overconfident on average.
But overconfidence is not the same as ambition.<br>
<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19070437">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19070437</a><br>
Why are modern scientists so dull? How science selects for
perseverance and sociability at the expense of intelligence and
creativity.<br>
Argues that modern science selects strongly for intelligence and
conscientiousness, when it should be selecting for intelligence and
psychoticism (the personality trait) if it wants to break new
ground.<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
Anders Sandberg,
Future of Humanity Institute
Oxford Martin School
Faculty of Philosophy
Oxford University </pre>
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