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Kontiki
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Canada
Aug 2001
time: 00:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Oncle Boris
Not really. The point being, if you are to know who is better than you, you have to know who is not as good too- and sorting it out is not a sin. |
Based on that, you could use a dose of it too. You may be smarter than most, but if you think in terms of being "better" than someone, you're an asshat.
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Drogue
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Omnipresent conscience
Oct 2002
time: 05:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Kontiki
I'll never forget something one of my profs said during the first few days of my MBA program (paraphrasing):
Everyone here is used to being among the best. No one here did worse than the 90th percentile on the GMAT, everyone had good grades in undergrad, and most were the cream of the crop at work. But here, by definition, 50% will be below average, and it's going to shock you.
You're in high school, skywalker (or Kucinich). Rest assured, you'll learn modesty fast when you start running with the big dogs. |
That's very true, for most people. They said that to my brother when he left school to go to Cambridge. Our school is a state school, it's non selective, and sends usually 1 or 2 students a year to Oxbridge. He was used to being top, but was also told to expect to find most people there to be at least as good. They weren't, and he just graduated top of his college and 8th of his year (of over 200) with a high first. As you say, when you get loads of people who are used to being top, 50% will be below average. However 50% will be above, and still someone has to be top. There are a lot of very bright kids. There aren't a lot of incredibly bright ones. IMHO, Skywalker falls into the latter catagory. I could well imagine him going to Harvard/Yale/Princeton and still being one of the top few people. There might be people better than him there, I'm sure he knows that, but he'll learn as much modesty as is needed.
Kids nowadays know pretty much what to expect, IMHO. Talking to people at the interviews for university, it's obvious they expect everyone to be at least as bright. They know they're good, but they expect everyone else to be. We're not under illusions that when the pool widens, we won't necessarily be the top dog anymore. However someone will be. I don't have much faith in the intelligence of many teenagers. My school was generally well rated, though non-selective, and many of the people I was with had problems with things that seemed simple. So the fact I was top of my classes doesn't count to much when comparing myself to others at university interviews, where there will be intelligent people. Sky knows that.
You are correct, many people will find it a shock, as the people will be brighter than those you're used to. But that doesn't mean that everyone with experiences like Sky will run into people better than him. He may remain at the top when he goes to College, and grad school.
I was expecting to meet people at least as good as me at the Oxford interviews, and while I met a few who were impressive, many of the people there could hold an argument, and had no knowledge outside their studies. Sure, they were getting straight As (everyone applying there is) but it was quite easy to tell which would get in and which wouldn't, in most cases. Talking to Sky, he'd be one of the ones that would.
He may learn humility, but personally I'd rather see more realists, who recognise their own achievments, than those who are scared to because people think they're bragging. Most people on 'Poly are intelligent, and have been top 10% in the education they've had (as evidenced by the how smart are you thread a while ago), but there are a few who are way ahead even of the Poly average, whether in terms of grades, IQ or general depth and breadth of knowledge. Sky would, at least for his age, be one of them, IMHO.
Last edited by Drogue on 20-03-2004 at 06:55
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Drogue
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Omnipresent conscience
Oct 2002
time: 05:34
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quote:
Originally posted by Space05us
quote:
I'm pretty sure that most Apolytoners felt similarly at your age. You'll get over it eventually. |
Unfortunatly, this man speaks the truth. |
On the former, yes, on the latter, not necessarily. Most Apolytoners are very bright, and were in school and college. Most, when they got to college or grad school realised that there were other people just as smart as them. However some people at Poly are won't find that, because they're specially bright. Some didn't just go to a good college and do well, they went to a good college and did well 2 or 3 years before their peers, or graduated top of their class. Most apolytoners are quite far above average (IMHO), but that doesn't meant there aren't people who are even higher here, and as such, what happens to most Apolytoners, as mentioend above, wouldn't be true for them. Sky would be one of them IMHO. I don't agree with him on much politically or even philosophically, but I can see he's a hell of a lot brighter than most gifted students. I've very occasionally met ones that are doing college level math at that age, or ones that can debate politics and philosophy at that age, but never a 15 year old that can do both to that standard.
I'm sorry for the rants, but I know people believe statements likem those above, that there's always someone brighter, that most gifted people go through that. But there are people who are considered gifted even compared to other gifted people, who won't need to learn that when they go to college or grad school others will be as good, because they won't. Like the 13 year old doing his PhD in Math at Carnegie Mellon (IIRC). He did a degree in 2 years, and is expecting to have 3 PhDs by the time he's 20. He's not going to meet others who are brighter when he moves on, because there aren't any. Like Matt Dillon's character in Good Will Hunting. It's true what the professor says, that there are only a handful of people that can tell the difference between them, between a very gifted person and an absolute genius. Likewise, it is not as obvious to most people the difference between a gifted student and a very gifted student. Just because most gifted people eventually go to a place where all others are just as intelligent, either college or grad school or some such, doesn't mean they all will.
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20-03-2004 02:44
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