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I recognize that my experience is probably not average - but at my high school (2004-2008 US public school) the advanced/AP classes were 80%-90% female. This w

I recognize that my experience is probably not average - but at my high school (2004-2008 US public school) the advanced/AP classes were 80%-90% female. This was true for all subjects, the student government, and the academic after school activities. Also anecdotal - but I've seen a lot of the boys who were academically behind seem to get their shit together ~3-5 years after graduating and ended up going to college, grad school, getting white collar jobs, etc. It appears that if you have the resources and privilege its not too hard to overcome having dicked around in your primary education - but I'm willing to bet most people who aren't in that position never catch up.

jl2718 6y ago
Raising animals has made me think a lot about maturation. Our babies are helpless and incompetent longer than any other species on earth. Compare a human to a dog at 3 months and clearly the dog is smarter and more capable. Slower maturation often ends up as better total cognitive adaptation as an adult. For some reason, boys are hormonally behind by about 4 years now, also with significant differences between haplotypes. But I see same thing over and over, the fast ones stall and the slow ones just keep growing in their area of interest. This is true even in college students. If I had to bet on one of my students for the Turing award, it would be my worst at the time, already quite famous. It’s a little upsetting for me because I was more on the precocious side, and this observation has greatly humbled me. Specifically because I think you’re right; catching up is probably rare for institutional reasons, and maybe half the people turning wrenches would be much better than me at whatever I’m feeling challenged by. Maybe we have it all wrong, and we should be looking for the slowest learners, as in, the ones that have to take in everything and won’t accept anything until it’s 100%.
- bopbeepboop 6y ago
  Another conclusion is that we’re badly stunting our best and brightest. Raising plants you get the same effect if you transplant as a batch rather than as each plant matures — because the fast growers end up damaging their roots by over growing by the time you replant the bulk because that’s the average rate. Slow to average growers never encounter that problem. It may not be that we’re seeing something fundamental so much as our own malpractice. If you examine the negative outcomes of precocious students, most involve some form of self-harm rooted in boredom. Like a dog chewing itself because you keep it too idle. That’s a sign we’re not seeing a fundamental fact of growth patterns.

jl2718 6y ago

Raising animals has made me think a lot about maturation. Our babies are helpless and incompetent longer than any other species on earth. Compare a human to a dog at 3 months and clearly the dog is smarter and more capable. Slower maturation often ends up as better total cognitive adaptation as an adult. For some reason, boys are hormonally behind by about 4 years now, also with significant differences between haplotypes. But I see same thing over and over, the fast ones stall and the slow ones just keep growing in their area of interest. This is true even in college students. If I had to bet on one of my students for the Turing award, it would be my worst at the time, already quite famous. It’s a little upsetting for me because I was more on the precocious side, and this observation has greatly humbled me. Specifically because I think you’re right; catching up is probably rare for institutional reasons, and maybe half the people turning wrenches would be much better than me at whatever I’m feeling challenged by. Maybe we have it all wrong, and we should be looking for the slowest learners, as in, the ones that have to take in everything and won’t accept anything until it’s 100%.

bopbeepboop 6y ago
Another conclusion is that we’re badly stunting our best and brightest. Raising plants you get the same effect if you transplant as a batch rather than as each plant matures — because the fast growers end up damaging their roots by over growing by the time you replant the bulk because that’s the average rate. Slow to average growers never encounter that problem. It may not be that we’re seeing something fundamental so much as our own malpractice. If you examine the negative outcomes of precocious students, most involve some form of self-harm rooted in boredom. Like a dog chewing itself because you keep it too idle. That’s a sign we’re not seeing a fundamental fact of growth patterns.