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People's perception's of others is an interesting subject. Let's take this snippet as an example: > "Even so, these people of the Power Elite were visibly muc

People's perception's of others is an interesting subject. Let's take this snippet as an example: > "Even so, these people of the Power Elite were visibly much smarter than average mortals. In conversation they spoke quickly, sensibly, and by and large intelligently. When talk turned to deep and difficult topics, they understood faster, made fewer mistakes, were readier to adopt others' suggestions." First, there's the issue of inherent bias to deal with. When one is entering a gathering of 'the power elite', one will tend to expect brilliance (if that's were one's biases lie, at least) and that will color one's perception of what's actually being said. Putting that aside, if one sees an exceptional 15-min presentation at a power elite gathering, is that just some kind of natural phenomenon? Did that person just pop out of the womb spouting clear, well-organized thoughts to the world? No - it's a skill developed through practice. This is really one of the most irritating things to encounter, the assumption that a person's skills are somehow innate and not the result of hours of hard work and concentrated effort. In almost all cases, an unprepared, unpracticed talk or presentation is a disaster, and the decision to 'wing it' is always a bad one. Similarly, someone who powers through difficult math and science courses in college is not 'naturally intelligent' - no, they're the ones who spend four hours a night solving problems and reading, while missing out on the fun social party scene. So when people say "oh, you're just naturally gifted, and I can't keep up with you because of that", the best response is, "are you sure it's just not because your a bit lazy and not willing to put in the required hours of effort?" [edit] P.S. for a nice short sci-fi send-up of 'power elite' worship, I recommend "Ironclads" by Adrian Tchaikovsky: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466691-ironclads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34466691-ironclads

hirundo 4y ago
It's both. I've worked harder then fellow students who had much better results and less hard for better results than other students who failed, and seen the same capacity follow students across classes. It's the same with physical talents, where I had a particularly vivid example. I golfed almost obsessively for about three years, and then introduced a friend to the game ... who beat me on the back nine of his first round.
- photochemsyn 4y ago
  For coursework in college, there are many complicating factors. Part of the problem is just learning how to learn, vs. learning how to cram. The really difficult paths through sci/tech programs are the ones where you can't just cram facts into your head to pass a test and then forget it all a week later - it's where everything you learn in course A becomes a foundation for everything you learn in course B, and so on, and if you fall off the horse anywhere along that ride, it's very difficult to get back on. Often, the people who do really well in the later courses will have adopted a learning strategy that's not about cramming, it's about note-taking and foundational learning, so then the later coursework becomes much easier for them, such that to someone who hasn't done that, these people seem to glide effortlessly through the work, while others have to put in hours and hours with apparently poorer results. Some people learn that early on, others have to take their lumps and learn it later (I was in the latter category, but it was a lesson worth learning).
pmoriarty 4y ago
"Putting that aside, if one sees an exceptional 15-min presentation at a power elite gathering, is that just some kind of natural phenomenon? Did that person just pop out of the womb spouting clear, well-organized thoughts to the world? No - it's a skill developed through practice." Another skill common among these types is salesmanship. The get paid to put on a good show and sell their product/company. You don't have to be smart to be effective at that, but you may have to be persuasive. A lot of these people have speechwriters and ghostwriters too, so even what you hear or read from them are often not their own words or thoughts.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]

hirundo 4y ago

It's both. I've worked harder then fellow students who had much better results and less hard for better results than other students who failed, and seen the same capacity follow students across classes. It's the same with physical talents, where I had a particularly vivid example. I golfed almost obsessively for about three years, and then introduced a friend to the game ... who beat me on the back nine of his first round.

photochemsyn 4y ago
For coursework in college, there are many complicating factors. Part of the problem is just learning how to learn, vs. learning how to cram. The really difficult paths through sci/tech programs are the ones where you can't just cram facts into your head to pass a test and then forget it all a week later - it's where everything you learn in course A becomes a foundation for everything you learn in course B, and so on, and if you fall off the horse anywhere along that ride, it's very difficult to get back on. Often, the people who do really well in the later courses will have adopted a learning strategy that's not about cramming, it's about note-taking and foundational learning, so then the later coursework becomes much easier for them, such that to someone who hasn't done that, these people seem to glide effortlessly through the work, while others have to put in hours and hours with apparently poorer results. Some people learn that early on, others have to take their lumps and learn it later (I was in the latter category, but it was a lesson worth learning).

pmoriarty 4y ago

"Putting that aside, if one sees an exceptional 15-min presentation at a power elite gathering, is that just some kind of natural phenomenon? Did that person just pop out of the womb spouting clear, well-organized thoughts to the world? No - it's a skill developed through practice." Another skill common among these types is salesmanship. The get paid to put on a good show and sell their product/company. You don't have to be smart to be effective at that, but you may have to be persuasive. A lot of these people have speechwriters and ghostwriters too, so even what you hear or read from them are often not their own words or thoughts.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]