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2026-02-10

Does Silicon Valley have higher base rate for bad childhoods?

Disclaimer

• Quick Note
• Incomplete
• I haven't done enough research on both sides, the below list is biased.

What?

• I honestly don't even remember where, but some psychologist somewhere made an online comment that this is true. And now I seem to be paying more attention to noticing other comments that also say this.

List

• Paul Graham says his own bad childhood was a major reason he considered not having kids.
  • I assume this post is aimed at persuasion, not just sharing his own personal experience. If he chose to mention it here, maybe he thinks this is among the top reasons a lot of his readers don't want kids.

My other source of data about kids was my own childhood, and that was similarly misleading. I was pretty bad, and was always in trouble for something or other. So it seemed to me that parenthood was essentially law enforcement. I didn't realize there were good times too.

• Naval Ravikant
  • This sentence seems to have a negative vibe. Does he think this is ineffective strategy or this is immoral?
  • Or is he just literally describing what he sees in front of him, which is a higher base rate for people whose family is broken but want to fix the world.

Your family is broken, but you're going to fix the world

• Elon Musk claims his father was abusive to him
• Sam Altman is currently being sued by his sister for sexual abuse

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