Tachikomas!
Yeah, I want to know why they're there too.
The Myth of the Underachieving Genius
31–38 of 38 posts
Re: The Myth of the Underachieving Genius
#32It seems to me that the author is arguing against a straw man. As far as I can tell, very few people are arguing that people with lower grades are better than those with good grades. I think the prevailing sentiment is that it's a poor filter to simply disregard those that didn't do well in school -- the idea is not to abandon high-GPA students for lower-GPA students, but to consider both .
Kind of an elitist asshole I think. Good Grades, Bad Grades, who cares?!?!, just take care of yourself, if your grades are good, great!, if your grades are bad, try harder, if you're already trying hard, then try something else which better matches your abilities, We ALL have talents.
The following pissed me off:
"Sure, poor grades can be an indicator of a creative mind but they can also indicate laziness, inability to concentrate, lack of knowledge and skill, inability to complete tasks, poor interpersonal skills etc. Good grades can sometimes mean slavish obedience (rarely), but are more likely to indicate, superior knowledge, better study skills, adaptability, great teamwork skills, quicker mind etc."
Re: The Myth of the Underachieving Genius
#33What the author says is sometimes true, but for a very small proportion of the underachievers. A very large proportion of the underachievers, however, will think that they are part of that small proportion.
It is the same with IQ: IQ and cleverness are not always very well correlated, but those with a high IQ will think that there is more correlation than there is while those with a low or average IQ will think that there is less.
Meh. Show me one person who isn't in denial about their abilities in one thing or another, and I'll show you someone who's better at hiding it than you are at detecting it.
Re: The Myth of the Underachieving Genius
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
I would agree that on their own grades are poor filter. You could have less than stellar grades, but may have something else to show your ability (side projects or what not). On the other hand, a high GPA might only demonstrate your mastery of bulimic studying; Memorize and regurgitate.
Or that you learned to game the system.
I find that throw-away comment is a revelation to me.
The American education system teaches its bright students to game the system. Then they go to work for Enron or Goldman-Sachs, and game the system.
I've lived my life viewing the world through a peculiarly British narrative. Upper class twits preside over a broken system with perverse incentives. Why doesn't it fail? Partly because of the plucky grammar school boy who grows up to occupy a key technocrat role and who heroically resists the lure of perverse incentives and does the right thing. Partly because of the inherent decency and solidarity of the working class, who will not shaft each other even if the system pays them to.
So the American experience, in which mainstream people are always looking for an angle and a way to game the system, seems quite alien to me. Duh! It is the way they have been brought up.
Re: The Myth of the Underachieving Genius
#35Do you advise suicide or normalisation for average grade students ?
Re: The Myth of the Underachieving Genius
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Or that you learned to game the system.
I find that throw-away comment is a revelation to me. The American education system teaches its bright students to game the system. Then they go to work for Enron or Goldman-Sachs, and game the system. I've lived my life viewing the world through a peculiarly British narrative. Upper class twits preside over a broken system with perverse incentives. Why doesn't it fail? Partly because of the plucky grammar school boy…
> Partly because of the inherent decency and solidarity of the working class, who will not shaft each other even if the system pays them to.
I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not. Why are you romanticising the working class? Personally speaking, the breadth of my family oddly encompasses the upper and lower classes, and after being close to all of them over the years I can tell you there is nothing inherently wrong or right about a specific class. Some of the most admirable people I have met you would label as "upper class twits," and likewise there are others from more humble backgrounds that you would point to as evidence of an exclusive core of decency within the lower classes.
In summary, good and bad people exist in the same proportions in every arbitrary class we would wish to create.
Re: The Myth of the Underachieving Genius
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Or that you learned to game the system.
I find that throw-away comment is a revelation to me. The American education system teaches its bright students to game the system. Then they go to work for Enron or Goldman-Sachs, and game the system. I've lived my life viewing the world through a peculiarly British narrative. Upper class twits preside over a broken system with perverse incentives. Why doesn't it fail? Partly because of the plucky grammar school boy…
Partly because of the inherent decency and solidarity of the working class, who will not shaft each other even if the system pays them to.
Well, the average working class person doesn't have the means to gain from the system in that way. So when they decide to cheat, they do so in more basic ways, like becoming burglars, thieves, dodgy tradesmen, and other kinds of low-level career criminals.
I don't buy your romantic view of "the decency and solidarity of the working class". People in all walks of life are decent - with, always, a small percentage who are not so decent. That's as true of the "working class" as of other classes, if you want to make that split.
With the possible exception of lawyers and politicians of course.
Re: The Myth of the Underachieving Genius
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
They may be some people who are like this. But I know enough people with good grades, who are much more tolerant; and some even see their chase of high grades as a waste of time.
Honestly, I've seen more the former, not what you've described.
I guess we both have our sampling biases.