I also say that the problem people are bothered by is human suffering. Even if you don't like how meritocracy is conducted today, like maybe you feel that 50% of positions in society are not sufficiently merited, and even if you could snap your fingers and magically sort people by potential like an oracle, you are still left with a meritorious race where few people win and losers suffer bad.

As a society we should contemplate more deliberately the fate of losers.

I met my wife, who helped “smooth out” my moods, and went from someone who couldn’t hold down a job at Walmart to a software engineer making many multiples of what I did just five years ago.

Even with the stability it mostly allowed me to take adderall without horrible behavioral side effects like compulsive gambling.

You’re right though, for me I was basically forgotten and nobody cared at that point. It wasn’t until I hit rock bottom sleeping on my moms couch that things got better. I feel like I was pulled up out of a hell I didn’t know I could escape from.

Then you have the old problem that in many companies HR will still want a degree cert.

I think technical and professional education should be always available to people - it helps us all if people can reach their potential after all.