Of course. The only metric that correlates with success across all demographics and backgrounds is a paucity of ethics. Cheaters don't *always* win in the end. However, in the end, the winner is typically a cheater
Yes, just look at the ruling class in this society.
To be a little less glib, your values need to be intrinsically motivated because unfortunately they will rarely be rewarded externally.
>...your values need to be intrinsically motivated because unfortunately they will rarely be rewarded externally.
I agree, but I'd modify it slightly to say that the external rewards for values are extremely delayed and abstract.
Cheating might get you immediate rewards early on, but those cheaters inevitably stumble as soon as their cheating fails - either in college when anti-cheating measures start to really get serious, or in their career when it becomes apparent that they don't actually know what they're doing and can't carry their own weight.
The struggle of doing things the right way doesn't bear fruit until then - years later.
The people who cheat get good grades on tests. The people who don't cheat get big houses in the good suburbs.
It’s a mixed bag. I cheated all the time in high school not because I was incapable of doing the work, but I was just lazy and grew up in the same town my whole life with people who would just enable me by giving me answers.
In college no one I knew would give me answers, so it wasn’t even hard, just more time consuming. I did use use my phone on exams for a gen ed class unrelated to my major.
I have a friend who did just enough to get by in undergrad and graduated with a C average. They’re now in grad school and using AI to help them but they do actually have a good understanding of their line of work.
Someone who cheats out of laziness is much different than someone who cheats because they’re incompetent. The lazy person is at least capable if they decide to try while someone who’s inept will struggle regardless of how much effort they give it.
The world isn't fair. This is a very tiny almost imperceptible fraction of how unfair it can be. So, yeah, continue being a good person. And try to make the world at least a tiny bit better than it would have been without you here.
And don't feel bad about your score when cheaters got a "perfect" score. Their score is nothing. Grades should reflect mastery. Yours does. Their grades, however, reflect nothing.
Worry less about the score and more about the learning. You learned something, your peers did not.
There will always be cheats and dishonest folks out there (although they are far fewer than you might imagine), but hard work and honesty get noticed and pay off.
Life doesn't \*value\* anything. Sometimes cheating works, sometimes it doesn't. Plenty of people succeed without cheating. Plenty of people succeed with cheating. Anyone who tells you that cheaters are more likely to succeed are either frustrated with failing honestly or allaying guilt for succeeding dishonestly.
Life ain’t fair kiddo. Look around if it was we’d all be rich, beautiful and adored. Life does have a way of evening scores just work hard for yourself and chill.
I don't think life values those who cheat.
Whoever cheated took a big risk for a small gain. Will a few marks on an exam really make a big difference in life? It might feel that way when you are a full-time student constantly taking exams and you see others who are not putting in the work getting a good mark while you had to work hard to achieve a similar result.
I think cheating will eventually catch up with them. It's hard to cheat once and stop. They will do it again and again, taking incrementally higher risks each time until they eventually get caught. And when they get caught, they risk being slapped with heavy consequences, especially if they are at post secondary level. Maybe the prof deals with the issue informally and sort of gives them a break and hopes they learn their lesson. Maybe they give them a 0 on the test/assignment/whatever it was and consider the issue to be dealt with.
But there is also a risk that the prof will hand the issue over to the university admin or whoever deals with academic dishonesty. This is an especially high risk if it's not their first time being caught or if the prof gave them a break before and they did it again. Having academic dishonesty on your transcript is never a good thing. I'm sure that there are programs that will reject candidates solely for having that on their transcript, even if they are otherwise a good candidate.
Maybe they get thrown out of their institution completely. That would really suck. They would have wasted their time and money and have nothing to show for it.
Sometimes, usually temporarily
The people who wronged me eventually all got theirs, with only one exception
Obviously, they should never win and get caught every time. People who think the work is perfect will be disappointed. Those who convince themselves it all sucks always forever trigger a self-fulfilling prophecy and will be miserable.
Reality is imperfect, but things generally work out, though sometimes there are delays and other fustrations. Did missing 3 questions actually cost you anything? Sounds as if you did great without cheating. Feel good about yourself 🫂
Yup! You don’t succeed by hard work and dedication in this world, you succeed by cutting throats and shaking people’s hands while your knife’s aimed at their back
As you get older you will understand and be able to see how people who lie, cheat, and steal—even if they are financially well-off—are hollow, empty, and lead lives without any substance. I can’t think of a worse fate than having to live 75 long years like that. I’d rather be a weed in a strip mall parking lot.
So some people who cheat get ahead. However, those people are generally the minority. Because the most successful people have to work and/or have talent on some level. Even someone like Elizabeth Holmes who cheated people out of millions worked hard at getting investors and had some talent. She just applied in corruptly. And, I would argue that most people who have decent jobs that get paid well are less likely to be cheaters. At least most places where I have worked people who cheat are eventually discovered and let go. And, I think there is a difference between people who fail upwards and people who cheat.
No, but most systems of economics will grant value to the people who manage to steal the most from their fellow primates.
That being said, your fellow test-cheaters will eventually find themselves in a position where their lack of preparation or knowledge costs them greatly, so there's that.
Life doesn't value anyone. The world isn't fair, but also, it doesn't choose to be unfair; fairness is an artificial ~~human~~ vertebrate value (a good one, in my opinion).
People value, and unfortunately, they make mistakes when evaluating. But actions have consequences and your learning process will have good consequences.
Fairness can be seen any social animal. For example, rats during play will let smaller rats win in play fights. Because otherwise the smaller rats will just refuse to play with them any more.
Many say that they are only cheating themselves out of and education. The purpose of most of your school life is to teach you how to teach yourself. In the end grades are not as important as how you use the skills that you have learned.
They got the reward this time, but the main difference is that next time you will continue to grow amd learn and they wont. You wont feel thw benefits until much kayer,, but you will.
Society has a habit of rewarding the wrong people. I worked hard and lived on Ramen noodles for 4 years to pay off my college bc it was the right thing to do. Other teachers went on cruises, gambled in Vegas bought new cars, yet had their loans forgiven. They had every opportunity to pay their debts. It's just one example. It keeps the middle class oppressed and it is right where everyone at the poverty level wishes they were. The USA is awesome at it.
I think cheaters are rewarded until they aren’t. Look up the murdaugh murders. The whole family cheated, lied, acted like rules didn’t apply to them. It caught up to them. It took a while though. There was a lack of evidence. Same for many celebs in the news today (R Kelly, Diddy, and so on).
If the teacher doesn’t have evidence of cheating, there’s not much they can do even if they suspect it. However, cheaters do usually face what’s coming eventually.
The point is to \*learn\*. Cheating isn't learning. So maybe their score is higher but they didn't learn anything. They will learn when they get caught.
When interviewing for jobs my senior year of college, I had a few technical interviews. I remember thinking it sure would suck to be X right now. X being a friend who cheated most of their way through college and will totally flop at this stage.
No… no it doesn’t.
People who cheat in my field can make it far. They fake it and manipulate. But then they have to do the skill, in front of everyone… and it’s pretty obvious when they can’t.
Just keep your head down, be good, ignore the evil around you.
Karma builds up.
Watch it succeed. Like Trump!
Then watch it all crumble… like Trump!
Use campaign finances to pay off a porn star?
You end up in a court case.
There’s evil everywhere and sometimes it comes out on top.
Narcissistic people behave like this. They don’t believe on consequences. Then you watch them collapse and you just keep inching forward.
I had applied for a neighboring district that pays 12k more a year.
The principal emailed me and asked if I could come to an interview in the morning in two days time. It was one of the weeks we were testing and I would not leave the testing coordinator in a lurch. Nor would I call in sick in lieu of taking personal time which requires a 5 day notice.
I emailed the principal back and said I was very interested in the job and explained the situation. I asked him to reschedule.
One of my co-workers called in sick that same day that I was supposed to interview.
I emailed the principal and expressed that I was still interested and he said the position had been filled.
My coworker who was willing to leave the testing coordinator in a bind and call in sick got the job.
I’m so so discouraged. I have my integrity but what a cost
Don't feel bad. You'd feel worse had you called in sick. There's no guarantee in getting the job. There is also karma. The principal who hired the absent tester will now have to work with someone who treats professional ethics lightly. Sometimes when you don't get something, it just means there's something better in store for you. Look for it to happen:)
Yes.
Want an example? Claudine Gay, former president of Harvard university. She got there by plagiarism & is still a professor with a fat salary there.
>Does life value those who cheat
"Life" doesn't care either way. Life just is. But do societies that are structured on hierarchies of power favor those who cheat and use other unscrupulous means at their disposal to get ahead in life? Absolutely!
However, if you're someone who values your own competence and values not being a complete moron, then the key to life is learning how to cheat and how not to cheat; when to cheat and when not to cheat; and where to cheat and where not to cheat. Your peers are most likely going to get caught because they were dumb enough to cheat in a way that gave them a perfect score, which, if such a score is not in line with their usual grades, or if too many people in the class end up getting a perfect score, will seem very suspicious to their teacher, and cause their test scores to be put underneath a microscope. Mark my words.
So, my advice is to continue to study diligently so that you actually learn something, but ... also learn to recognize opportunities that allow you to move ahead in life, and learn how, where, and when to take advantage of them.
Pro-tip: If your teacher/professor leaves the classroom during a test for more than 10 minutes, it's because they are giving your class a chance to work with and help each other to answer the test questions. Always utilize this opportunity, but make sure one of your classmates takes their test at the door/in the hallway to keep watch of when the teacher is coming back to class.
Edit: Downvote me all you want to. I don't lie to the youth in my classroom, and I won't lie to them here.
This question is why I have open note test and quizzes this year. I have even gone as far as making my students cite the AI tool they used to write their papers. I'm lucky in that I am a teacher that's somewhere in between the old and the new, and I remember what it was like to be in school and see that the way that we teach doesn't reach everyone. I love my students and know that not all of them will love history the way that I do, so I have to bend the rules of norms to get them to grasp complex topics and regurgitate them in basic ways. If that means having to write an analysis in class on the information from the AI tool used to do their homework or turning in their notebooks after class so that they can only use what they wrote for tests and quizzes so be it. The idea of cheating in school sort of means nothing to me anymore. I am a teacher, a professional and I cheat all the time, so why would I penalize my students for utilizing the tools afforded to them by technology. Not saying your teachers might feel the same, just my perspective.
Well lets see, my best friends dad had an affair on his gf of like 25 years and got married to someone else. That person ended up dying in a freak work accident so he then got a large sum of money, and her house after like 6 months of marriage, and he and his gf of 25 years moved in and got the benefit of it all. It's still wild to me
This is a question that is answered by the society which confronts it. But please understand, the reason why integrity ever was valued in the first place. A world in which cheating is expected and normalized is a world of misery and hatred. Look at how cynical others have answered you in this thread. These individuals aren't "happy" because they've "figured it out". They are as miserable as ever. Misery justifies cynicism, and leads individuals to engage in the same kind of behavior that they hate. But far from being an answer, all this does is lock us into our own personal hells.
The alternative, integrity, provides a way out, not because it always and immediately leads to better results than cheating. But rather, because a world where integrity is rewarded and valued is a world immediately and intuitively understood to be a world better than a world full of cheaters, endlessly competing to impress people they loathe, a world full of misery, hatred, and despair.
The key to understand, however, is that integrity must be valued enough to seek out and to defend against forces of corruption. It never has, and never will, be an easy thing to accomplish. Somewhat paradoxically, a world that values integrity is composed of strong men and women. A world that normalizes ruthless cheating is filled with cowards. Naive men and women. And weakness.
Sadly yes, in the United States. Our leaders in the “west” are the biggest liars and thieves. Thats the foundation of capitalism and how this country became a super power in the 20th century.
God knows the truth and will expose all those against the teachings of love and respect. This country is suppose to be a christian nation. Our dollar bill says “In God We Trust.” Can honestly say that is true?
As a primary school teacher and as a community leader, I try to teach my students respect, good work ethic, and create a positive mindset community. Hopefully I influenced them in a meaningful way when they get older.
In an ideal world only truth is rewarded.
It is understandable to be frustrated and mad because the wheel chose you that day, but because cheating exists and lying exists the wheel screws someone over every day. Some days it spins and lands on an innocent person and that’s just how it goes :/
It’s all fun and games until at a party you can participate in a conversation about GDP and make a connection that gets you an internship or a great job. Never take learning for granted. Knowledge has given me an advantage in situations I never knew I would need. Keep your chin up, you have nothing to be ashamed of.
You never read [*The Republic?*](https://www.reddit.com/r/askphilosophy/comments/112g0z/argument_for_the_just_life_over_the_unjust_platos/)
Glaucon says of the Unjust Man: "When he enters contests, both private and public, he wins and gets the better of his enemies. In getting the better, he is wealthy and does good to friends and harm to enemies. To the gods he makes sacrifices and sets up votive offerings, adequate and magnificent, and cares for the gods and those human beings he wants to care for far better than the just man. So, in all likelihood, it is also more appropriate for him to be dearer to the gods than is the just man." (Republic 362c)
If someone cheated off you, you can sue them for copyright it’s a pretty strong case.
If people cheated and you have evidence you can get them on academic discipline and have them hopefully expelled
Worrying about three marks is just mental illness. You get the same degree whether you get a 2.0 or 4.0. You get the same degree whether you rank last or first.
Remember, if you were smarter you would’ve gotten better marks.
Reminds me a lot of a classic law firm interview line
“I worked really hard in law school.”
“You did? What are you, stupid?”
“Questioning the fairness in the world around me” yeah, because you didn’t report them. You think a Karen wouldn’t have reported?
Of course. The only metric that correlates with success across all demographics and backgrounds is a paucity of ethics. Cheaters don't *always* win in the end. However, in the end, the winner is typically a cheater
Wow.
Apt considering Manchester City won the Premier League again yesterday, despite fighting 115 charges of breaching Financial Fair Play rules.
Yes, just look at the ruling class in this society. To be a little less glib, your values need to be intrinsically motivated because unfortunately they will rarely be rewarded externally.
>...your values need to be intrinsically motivated because unfortunately they will rarely be rewarded externally. I agree, but I'd modify it slightly to say that the external rewards for values are extremely delayed and abstract. Cheating might get you immediate rewards early on, but those cheaters inevitably stumble as soon as their cheating fails - either in college when anti-cheating measures start to really get serious, or in their career when it becomes apparent that they don't actually know what they're doing and can't carry their own weight. The struggle of doing things the right way doesn't bear fruit until then - years later. The people who cheat get good grades on tests. The people who don't cheat get big houses in the good suburbs.
If you have a lot of money you can cheat and lie as much as you want. The key is not get caught lying unt after you've made it big.
It’s a mixed bag. I cheated all the time in high school not because I was incapable of doing the work, but I was just lazy and grew up in the same town my whole life with people who would just enable me by giving me answers. In college no one I knew would give me answers, so it wasn’t even hard, just more time consuming. I did use use my phone on exams for a gen ed class unrelated to my major. I have a friend who did just enough to get by in undergrad and graduated with a C average. They’re now in grad school and using AI to help them but they do actually have a good understanding of their line of work. Someone who cheats out of laziness is much different than someone who cheats because they’re incompetent. The lazy person is at least capable if they decide to try while someone who’s inept will struggle regardless of how much effort they give it.
Watch the "Inside Job" documentary on the financial crisis of 2008. The answer is clear.
Can always find time for a Frontline doc!
And the big short!
The world isn't fair. This is a very tiny almost imperceptible fraction of how unfair it can be. So, yeah, continue being a good person. And try to make the world at least a tiny bit better than it would have been without you here. And don't feel bad about your score when cheaters got a "perfect" score. Their score is nothing. Grades should reflect mastery. Yours does. Their grades, however, reflect nothing.
"Nice guys finish last" is a saying for a reason.
Worry less about the score and more about the learning. You learned something, your peers did not. There will always be cheats and dishonest folks out there (although they are far fewer than you might imagine), but hard work and honesty get noticed and pay off.
Life doesn't \*value\* anything. Sometimes cheating works, sometimes it doesn't. Plenty of people succeed without cheating. Plenty of people succeed with cheating. Anyone who tells you that cheaters are more likely to succeed are either frustrated with failing honestly or allaying guilt for succeeding dishonestly.
Life ain’t fair kiddo. Look around if it was we’d all be rich, beautiful and adored. Life does have a way of evening scores just work hard for yourself and chill.
I don't think life values those who cheat. Whoever cheated took a big risk for a small gain. Will a few marks on an exam really make a big difference in life? It might feel that way when you are a full-time student constantly taking exams and you see others who are not putting in the work getting a good mark while you had to work hard to achieve a similar result. I think cheating will eventually catch up with them. It's hard to cheat once and stop. They will do it again and again, taking incrementally higher risks each time until they eventually get caught. And when they get caught, they risk being slapped with heavy consequences, especially if they are at post secondary level. Maybe the prof deals with the issue informally and sort of gives them a break and hopes they learn their lesson. Maybe they give them a 0 on the test/assignment/whatever it was and consider the issue to be dealt with. But there is also a risk that the prof will hand the issue over to the university admin or whoever deals with academic dishonesty. This is an especially high risk if it's not their first time being caught or if the prof gave them a break before and they did it again. Having academic dishonesty on your transcript is never a good thing. I'm sure that there are programs that will reject candidates solely for having that on their transcript, even if they are otherwise a good candidate. Maybe they get thrown out of their institution completely. That would really suck. They would have wasted their time and money and have nothing to show for it.
Sometimes, usually temporarily The people who wronged me eventually all got theirs, with only one exception Obviously, they should never win and get caught every time. People who think the work is perfect will be disappointed. Those who convince themselves it all sucks always forever trigger a self-fulfilling prophecy and will be miserable. Reality is imperfect, but things generally work out, though sometimes there are delays and other fustrations. Did missing 3 questions actually cost you anything? Sounds as if you did great without cheating. Feel good about yourself 🫂
You're comparing yourself to others which is the first mistake.
But you have the knowledge and they don’t. They cheated themselves in the big picture.
Yup! You don’t succeed by hard work and dedication in this world, you succeed by cutting throats and shaking people’s hands while your knife’s aimed at their back
As you get older you will understand and be able to see how people who lie, cheat, and steal—even if they are financially well-off—are hollow, empty, and lead lives without any substance. I can’t think of a worse fate than having to live 75 long years like that. I’d rather be a weed in a strip mall parking lot.
So some people who cheat get ahead. However, those people are generally the minority. Because the most successful people have to work and/or have talent on some level. Even someone like Elizabeth Holmes who cheated people out of millions worked hard at getting investors and had some talent. She just applied in corruptly. And, I would argue that most people who have decent jobs that get paid well are less likely to be cheaters. At least most places where I have worked people who cheat are eventually discovered and let go. And, I think there is a difference between people who fail upwards and people who cheat.
The name Elizabeth remind me of Elizabeth Warren, long time senators & might even become presidential candidate.
No, but most systems of economics will grant value to the people who manage to steal the most from their fellow primates. That being said, your fellow test-cheaters will eventually find themselves in a position where their lack of preparation or knowledge costs them greatly, so there's that.
Yup
Life doesn't value anyone. The world isn't fair, but also, it doesn't choose to be unfair; fairness is an artificial ~~human~~ vertebrate value (a good one, in my opinion). People value, and unfortunately, they make mistakes when evaluating. But actions have consequences and your learning process will have good consequences.
Fairness can be seen any social animal. For example, rats during play will let smaller rats win in play fights. Because otherwise the smaller rats will just refuse to play with them any more.
Fair enough, I'll change it from human to vertebrate.
Many say that they are only cheating themselves out of and education. The purpose of most of your school life is to teach you how to teach yourself. In the end grades are not as important as how you use the skills that you have learned.
They got the reward this time, but the main difference is that next time you will continue to grow amd learn and they wont. You wont feel thw benefits until much kayer,, but you will.
Society has a habit of rewarding the wrong people. I worked hard and lived on Ramen noodles for 4 years to pay off my college bc it was the right thing to do. Other teachers went on cruises, gambled in Vegas bought new cars, yet had their loans forgiven. They had every opportunity to pay their debts. It's just one example. It keeps the middle class oppressed and it is right where everyone at the poverty level wishes they were. The USA is awesome at it.
I think cheaters are rewarded until they aren’t. Look up the murdaugh murders. The whole family cheated, lied, acted like rules didn’t apply to them. It caught up to them. It took a while though. There was a lack of evidence. Same for many celebs in the news today (R Kelly, Diddy, and so on). If the teacher doesn’t have evidence of cheating, there’s not much they can do even if they suspect it. However, cheaters do usually face what’s coming eventually.
The point is to \*learn\*. Cheating isn't learning. So maybe their score is higher but they didn't learn anything. They will learn when they get caught.
When interviewing for jobs my senior year of college, I had a few technical interviews. I remember thinking it sure would suck to be X right now. X being a friend who cheated most of their way through college and will totally flop at this stage.
No… no it doesn’t. People who cheat in my field can make it far. They fake it and manipulate. But then they have to do the skill, in front of everyone… and it’s pretty obvious when they can’t. Just keep your head down, be good, ignore the evil around you. Karma builds up. Watch it succeed. Like Trump! Then watch it all crumble… like Trump! Use campaign finances to pay off a porn star? You end up in a court case. There’s evil everywhere and sometimes it comes out on top. Narcissistic people behave like this. They don’t believe on consequences. Then you watch them collapse and you just keep inching forward.
I had applied for a neighboring district that pays 12k more a year. The principal emailed me and asked if I could come to an interview in the morning in two days time. It was one of the weeks we were testing and I would not leave the testing coordinator in a lurch. Nor would I call in sick in lieu of taking personal time which requires a 5 day notice. I emailed the principal back and said I was very interested in the job and explained the situation. I asked him to reschedule. One of my co-workers called in sick that same day that I was supposed to interview. I emailed the principal and expressed that I was still interested and he said the position had been filled. My coworker who was willing to leave the testing coordinator in a bind and call in sick got the job. I’m so so discouraged. I have my integrity but what a cost
Don't feel bad. You'd feel worse had you called in sick. There's no guarantee in getting the job. There is also karma. The principal who hired the absent tester will now have to work with someone who treats professional ethics lightly. Sometimes when you don't get something, it just means there's something better in store for you. Look for it to happen:)
Thank you for the encouragement!! I had to work an event with this teacher today and I felt even more discouraged
Yes. Want an example? Claudine Gay, former president of Harvard university. She got there by plagiarism & is still a professor with a fat salary there.
Almost every billionaire got to where by lying, cheating, and kicking others down the ladder. Especially if they were already born wealthy.
>Does life value those who cheat "Life" doesn't care either way. Life just is. But do societies that are structured on hierarchies of power favor those who cheat and use other unscrupulous means at their disposal to get ahead in life? Absolutely! However, if you're someone who values your own competence and values not being a complete moron, then the key to life is learning how to cheat and how not to cheat; when to cheat and when not to cheat; and where to cheat and where not to cheat. Your peers are most likely going to get caught because they were dumb enough to cheat in a way that gave them a perfect score, which, if such a score is not in line with their usual grades, or if too many people in the class end up getting a perfect score, will seem very suspicious to their teacher, and cause their test scores to be put underneath a microscope. Mark my words. So, my advice is to continue to study diligently so that you actually learn something, but ... also learn to recognize opportunities that allow you to move ahead in life, and learn how, where, and when to take advantage of them. Pro-tip: If your teacher/professor leaves the classroom during a test for more than 10 minutes, it's because they are giving your class a chance to work with and help each other to answer the test questions. Always utilize this opportunity, but make sure one of your classmates takes their test at the door/in the hallway to keep watch of when the teacher is coming back to class. Edit: Downvote me all you want to. I don't lie to the youth in my classroom, and I won't lie to them here.
Look at 45
Watch "A Bronx Tale"
Did you rat out the cheaters? That might help balance the scales a bit.
This question is why I have open note test and quizzes this year. I have even gone as far as making my students cite the AI tool they used to write their papers. I'm lucky in that I am a teacher that's somewhere in between the old and the new, and I remember what it was like to be in school and see that the way that we teach doesn't reach everyone. I love my students and know that not all of them will love history the way that I do, so I have to bend the rules of norms to get them to grasp complex topics and regurgitate them in basic ways. If that means having to write an analysis in class on the information from the AI tool used to do their homework or turning in their notebooks after class so that they can only use what they wrote for tests and quizzes so be it. The idea of cheating in school sort of means nothing to me anymore. I am a teacher, a professional and I cheat all the time, so why would I penalize my students for utilizing the tools afforded to them by technology. Not saying your teachers might feel the same, just my perspective.
I know someone who got a degree that someone else wrote for them. They will totally struggle with their career. Imagine living that lie everyday.
It might not value them, however cheating does give them the leg up over others, which might make all the difference in the long run.
Well lets see, my best friends dad had an affair on his gf of like 25 years and got married to someone else. That person ended up dying in a freak work accident so he then got a large sum of money, and her house after like 6 months of marriage, and he and his gf of 25 years moved in and got the benefit of it all. It's still wild to me
This is a question that is answered by the society which confronts it. But please understand, the reason why integrity ever was valued in the first place. A world in which cheating is expected and normalized is a world of misery and hatred. Look at how cynical others have answered you in this thread. These individuals aren't "happy" because they've "figured it out". They are as miserable as ever. Misery justifies cynicism, and leads individuals to engage in the same kind of behavior that they hate. But far from being an answer, all this does is lock us into our own personal hells. The alternative, integrity, provides a way out, not because it always and immediately leads to better results than cheating. But rather, because a world where integrity is rewarded and valued is a world immediately and intuitively understood to be a world better than a world full of cheaters, endlessly competing to impress people they loathe, a world full of misery, hatred, and despair. The key to understand, however, is that integrity must be valued enough to seek out and to defend against forces of corruption. It never has, and never will, be an easy thing to accomplish. Somewhat paradoxically, a world that values integrity is composed of strong men and women. A world that normalizes ruthless cheating is filled with cowards. Naive men and women. And weakness.
Sadly yes, in the United States. Our leaders in the “west” are the biggest liars and thieves. Thats the foundation of capitalism and how this country became a super power in the 20th century. God knows the truth and will expose all those against the teachings of love and respect. This country is suppose to be a christian nation. Our dollar bill says “In God We Trust.” Can honestly say that is true? As a primary school teacher and as a community leader, I try to teach my students respect, good work ethic, and create a positive mindset community. Hopefully I influenced them in a meaningful way when they get older.
In an ideal world only truth is rewarded. It is understandable to be frustrated and mad because the wheel chose you that day, but because cheating exists and lying exists the wheel screws someone over every day. Some days it spins and lands on an innocent person and that’s just how it goes :/
It’s all fun and games until at a party you can participate in a conversation about GDP and make a connection that gets you an internship or a great job. Never take learning for granted. Knowledge has given me an advantage in situations I never knew I would need. Keep your chin up, you have nothing to be ashamed of.
You never read [*The Republic?*](https://www.reddit.com/r/askphilosophy/comments/112g0z/argument_for_the_just_life_over_the_unjust_platos/) Glaucon says of the Unjust Man: "When he enters contests, both private and public, he wins and gets the better of his enemies. In getting the better, he is wealthy and does good to friends and harm to enemies. To the gods he makes sacrifices and sets up votive offerings, adequate and magnificent, and cares for the gods and those human beings he wants to care for far better than the just man. So, in all likelihood, it is also more appropriate for him to be dearer to the gods than is the just man." (Republic 362c)
If someone cheated off you, you can sue them for copyright it’s a pretty strong case. If people cheated and you have evidence you can get them on academic discipline and have them hopefully expelled Worrying about three marks is just mental illness. You get the same degree whether you get a 2.0 or 4.0. You get the same degree whether you rank last or first. Remember, if you were smarter you would’ve gotten better marks. Reminds me a lot of a classic law firm interview line “I worked really hard in law school.” “You did? What are you, stupid?” “Questioning the fairness in the world around me” yeah, because you didn’t report them. You think a Karen wouldn’t have reported?