Re: bs
"The predatory mind (yours) cannot understand many concepts such as:
Love of knowledge
Altruism
Joy of discovery
Challenge of accomplishing something
Creativity
This thread isn't about how good a kid feels on a scavenger hunt, it's about social science. Your list of motivations, while admirable, doesn't necessarily sustain a society, or even the basic survival needs of a society.
"Smart people want to learn and accomplish something not get grades."
But that still requires resources. Research isn't free. It requires time, and often money.
"If you divide a billion dollars amongst a thousand smart people it would do a lot more good than sitting in some billionaires vault as a pile of gold."
The point of the example wasn't whether or not a lump of gold was more valuable than a thousand smart people, but whether or not the billionaire would even have the motivation to acquire that lump of gold in the first place if his government didn't allow him to keep it in his vault.
Your theories of altruism and lofty ideals sound nice, but you have completely failed to address the points of the original example. Try again.