Regarding your edit: I learned in school to hide my ability in order to avoid the problems you faced. I think a lot of kids did (most?). It’s what leads to that

Regarding your edit: I learned in school to hide my ability in order to avoid the problems you faced. I think a lot of kids did (most?). It’s what leads to that stereotype of a teacher asking an obvious question but nobody raises their hand. What a messed up situation for an education system to punish performance and teach people to not engage and hide ability. Then there’s the nasty ego side effect of us all thinking we’re smarter than everyone else because we assume we’re the only ones hiding our abilities.