This idea is usually called the "failed simulation effect" in evaluating high school/college/grad school applications: http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/05/28/the

This idea is usually called the "failed simulation effect" in evaluating high school/college/grad school applications: http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/05/28/the-art-of-activity-innovation-how-to-be-impressive-without-an-impressive-amount-of-work/ http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/05/28/the-art-of-activity-in... The basic idea is that there are a lot of things that are actually a lot more reasonable than they appear because in reality they build from a simple beginning that compounds through practice and persistence, just like anything else, but the reviewer never sees that. It's very effective when you see it.