I agree with your analysis through college, but once you enter the workforce, you're likely to find yourself as the smart one again. This time you will be Mr. Excel, or the guy who knows how to look things up, etc.
It's especially bad when you're the Smart Kid, but you also have some kind of autism going on, so you were always a bullied outcast, from very early on.
I suppose I did get out of it, not by developing into other social roles, but by finding out what really matters to me in life, which isn't really people (that's very normie coded).
Biographically, this hits close to home. In my experience, this is kind of conditioning in childhood can be extraordinarily harmful in ways that don't often surface until adulthood. The notion that our value as a person is inextricably tied to our performance is constantly reinforced. As you said, school is a poor model for real life. Feedback loops are short, the rules are succinct, success is well defined. In actuality, some jobs may be like that but most aren't. My entire professional life has been a disappointment due in large part to my inability to reconcile that dissonance. Compound that with the echoes of those teachers and other trusted adults insisting that I was poised to go on to great things -- when I've done no such thing -- further solidifies my self image as a failure. If I've cast off that identity as the "smart kid" in any meaningful way, the ties to my self worth are far harder to break.
Less egalitarian school systems probably. Im pretty sure brittian puts all the smart kids in one class together, so they dont feel like theyre at the top since they are surrounded by other smart kids
I feel like being the Smart Kid is like being a country with natural resources. You can get away with not developing extremely important life skills early on (namely: empathy, work ethic, and a healthy self-esteem) just by coasting on your intelligence and cramming routines.
I have the impression that former Smart Kids must have a tremendously varied set of outcomes in later life. Like, a degree of luck -- in your case, being exposed to an environment that didn't let you rely 100% on your intelligence -- is usually necessary to integrate your talent in a positive way.
The good news is that if you manage to do it, you can become a perfectly functioning adult with an IQ that's several standard deviations above the mean -- and let's be honest, that's a huge advantage in anything you want to accomplish.
This made me realize that I am probably pretty unique that I’ve been able to keep my “Smart Kid” identity into my 30s. I had opportunities to join Big Law Firms where I wouldn’t be the smartest person in the room, but I instead became a Government Bureaucrat in flyover country. I’ve yet to meet anyone at work who graduated from a more competitive program than mine. Even in law school, I had a reputation for being the smart, but lazy loner. The only place I ever encounter people smarter than me is Substack.
What a great argument for ability grouping at the end- I've not heard it put that way before, and I think it deserves it's own exploration at more length.
I agree with your analysis through college, but once you enter the workforce, you're likely to find yourself as the smart one again. This time you will be Mr. Excel, or the guy who knows how to look things up, etc.
It's especially bad when you're the Smart Kid, but you also have some kind of autism going on, so you were always a bullied outcast, from very early on.
I suppose I did get out of it, not by developing into other social roles, but by finding out what really matters to me in life, which isn't really people (that's very normie coded).
Biographically, this hits close to home. In my experience, this is kind of conditioning in childhood can be extraordinarily harmful in ways that don't often surface until adulthood. The notion that our value as a person is inextricably tied to our performance is constantly reinforced. As you said, school is a poor model for real life. Feedback loops are short, the rules are succinct, success is well defined. In actuality, some jobs may be like that but most aren't. My entire professional life has been a disappointment due in large part to my inability to reconcile that dissonance. Compound that with the echoes of those teachers and other trusted adults insisting that I was poised to go on to great things -- when I've done no such thing -- further solidifies my self image as a failure. If I've cast off that identity as the "smart kid" in any meaningful way, the ties to my self worth are far harder to break.
I think this trajectory / type is not nearly so strong in other Anglosphere countries and I'd be interested in why.
Less egalitarian school systems probably. Im pretty sure brittian puts all the smart kids in one class together, so they dont feel like theyre at the top since they are surrounded by other smart kids
Interesting read!
I feel like being the Smart Kid is like being a country with natural resources. You can get away with not developing extremely important life skills early on (namely: empathy, work ethic, and a healthy self-esteem) just by coasting on your intelligence and cramming routines.
I have the impression that former Smart Kids must have a tremendously varied set of outcomes in later life. Like, a degree of luck -- in your case, being exposed to an environment that didn't let you rely 100% on your intelligence -- is usually necessary to integrate your talent in a positive way.
The good news is that if you manage to do it, you can become a perfectly functioning adult with an IQ that's several standard deviations above the mean -- and let's be honest, that's a huge advantage in anything you want to accomplish.
This made me realize that I am probably pretty unique that I’ve been able to keep my “Smart Kid” identity into my 30s. I had opportunities to join Big Law Firms where I wouldn’t be the smartest person in the room, but I instead became a Government Bureaucrat in flyover country. I’ve yet to meet anyone at work who graduated from a more competitive program than mine. Even in law school, I had a reputation for being the smart, but lazy loner. The only place I ever encounter people smarter than me is Substack.
My advice for the uncertain smart kids. Just fuckin fake it . Its better to be confident than right
What a great argument for ability grouping at the end- I've not heard it put that way before, and I think it deserves it's own exploration at more length.