Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Problem of the third generation, as brains pass through the mother. Smart ugly grandparents make it rich. Their smart & wealthy son marries pretty but average IQ girl. Third generation spends Dad's inheritance with Mom's IQ.
Most of you lamenting are third generation, with fourth generation kids. Sorry. Have your sons go for the smart girl.
Your assumptions are wildly out of date. Men used to marry their secretaries, now they marry fellow lawyers and doctors who then go on to become SAHMs. It's called assertive mating. Smart men don't chose dumb women for their (first) wives anymore.
Bingo. It’s called assortive mating and exactly what has kept DH and I in the UMC. We each had professional class parents on both sides. We both attended top schools and are a dual income big law and finance household. While we have been blessed with many advantages and made sure to maximize these opportunities, a significant portion of our success comes down to luck. In particular, not graduating into a depression or choosing specialities that haven’t blown up (yet). We each were able to spend many years building professional resumes (prior to kids) without getting derailed by the economy. Not everyone is so fortunate. In addition, there are a finite number of these types of positions and the pie is shrinking by the year. Even for those that ostensibly check every box of (relative) success, we face an uncertain future in our respective fields.
+1 I also appreciated your post because you have nailed so many key factors in building/preserving wealth. Very astute. And I appreciate that you did work hard at the same time, and made good choices (like having kids after you had advanced in your careers.
That said, I do agree with the original PP about there being people who marry for looks rather than intelligence, and I do believe it’s men that do this more because they can.
Maybe not all smart men do this, but quite a few still do. And maybe their intelligence is inherited by their children (as attested to by another PP), but this isn’t a given. So PP’s theory may not universally apply but it still does happen and I’d believe that this would play a role in the poor decision-making skills of their offspring.
Love your post because it recognizes the luck that went into your hard work paying off.