The Leonard Peikoff Show Clip - Free Will or Determinism

great vid qtron man, love these uploads

This man interviewing is very foolish.
He didn't even make a point.

Of course he did. You just didn't pay attention.

There was a guy who dropped out of high school twice, never finished it, and became a multimilionaire. He started the 1800 junk thing
It's impossible to measure the extent to which a society has any reponsibility to nurture potential creators, therefore it is unreasonable to make such a demand, and it is reasonable to say that each individual ultimately decides for themselves what path they take. There are many roads to success, and nobody can make you walk either one. You are free to choose

You can't use that single example to prove that each individual will assume the same characteristics. You forget that not everyone has the personality of a CEO. We live in a society that kills the natural curiosity of children while they're still in grade school, and you say damn to reforming our institutions to better harness our nation's potential? Why? Out of spite that not everyone is a brilliant real estate genius or stock broker?

I recomend you watch Mrcropper's videos on compulsory schooling and such. The issue of killing creativity in children is quite complex, and yes once again the hand of government is in it, though it is not the only cause.
I agree that education is important, and that people are very much affected by the nurture that they get from adults. The only thing I disagree with is the notion that people cannot ultimately decide things for themselves.
It's not called influentianism, but determinism

I'm talking about influentialism. Who thinks they have no volitional control in life? But influences in life can be very strong and it's unrealistic to expect everyone to pull themselves out of a a hole just because of they possess free will. Do we forget the urban poor surrounded by drug dealers and gangs and wait for them to simply pull themselves out by their own bootstraps? Do we hold them up to the same standard we do a wealthy white kid?

I oppose determinism, not influentianism. I believe nurture plays an important role in our lives, but not a total role.
I agree that trying to reach people with ideas is important, and I wouldn't just expect people to motivate themselves. This is the approach many parents take today, but I disagree. Objectivist educators like Lisa VanDamme and Mr.Cropper agree that kids need to be motivated, and guided as much as possible. Once again I highly recommend Cropper's videos on education.