4 ms·

Or, he goes to the polytechnic high school that’s right next to Caltech (half a block from the astronomy building no less) and getting research experience there

Or, he goes to the polytechnic high school that’s right next to Caltech (half a block from the astronomy building no less) and getting research experience there is much easier than a regular high school. Looks like he went to Pasadena High School though. When I did a bit of aerospace research at Caltech in high school all I did was cold email professors so any kid around here with some initiative and smarts can get connected.

MontyCarloHall 10mo ago
And indeed, that's exactly what happened [0]: the kid in the OP was in a rigorous research program for high schoolers, which connected their talents to PIs who could nurture and support them. GP shouldn't reactively tear down the success of exceptionally talented kids because of their own unfortunate n=1 life experience. [0] https://www.justinmath.com/math-academys-eurisko-sequence-5-years-later/ https://www.justinmath.com/math-academys-eurisko-sequence-5-...
- _9za9 10mo ago
  $50,000 a year high school tuition can make anyone exceptionally talented
  - MontyCarloHall 10mo ago
    Pasadena High School, where Matteo went to school, is public.
    - halfmatthalfcat 10mo ago
      Not all high school educations are created equal - See Carmel High School (Carmel, IN), New Trier High School (Winnetka, IL), or any other High School in a densely high wealth area.
      - mothballed 10mo ago
        Pasadena school district spends $28K / student for their total $390M expenditures across ~14k students in 2023-2024 school year. I would bet dollars to doughnuts it's $30k+ per high school student since they are more expensive.
      - gammarator 10mo ago
        While Pasadena is a relatively wealthy city, historically there has been significant avoidance of its public schools by affluent residents: https://southerneducation.org/in-the-news/new-polling-data-finds-widespread-support-for-integrating-and-fairly-funding-public-schools/ https://southerneducation.org/in-the-news/new-polling-data-f...
  - cm2012 10mo ago
    The data says this is not true. Quality of education has almost no effect on lifetime income outcomes when you control for initial test scores.
    - csto12 10mo ago
      Do you have a source on this? That’s really interesting if true.
      - cm2012 10mo ago
        Sure. There are many studies but here is one. Will Dobbie & Roland Fryer (NBER) This study uses regression-discontinuity around exam cutoffs at Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science, and Stuyvesant. It finds increased rigor of coursework but little impact on SAT scores, college enrollment, or college graduation, which are key predictors of lifetime earnings (and typically closely linked to earnings outcomes). https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w17286/w17286.pdf https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w17286/w172...
        grumpy_coder 10mo ago
        The schools studied in that paper are free, or close to free. Not $50,000 per anum And I don't think OP was suggesting it's the quality of education that affects outcomes in attendees of expensive private high schools.
        cm2012 10mo ago
        There are very similar studies for private schools, can't find this second
- Isamu 10mo ago
  The criticism is of the spin in these articles. The experience these kids get is great, it should happen more. The articles always spin to get your attention, and the subject matter is fascinating, but it can be presented with less spin. And frankly any kid deserves praise for doing the unglamorous work that this takes. Very few can be arsed to put up with the extra work that it takes to do anything worthwhile, we are a nation getting lazier every day.
- antonvs 10mo ago
  > exceptionally talented kids Good euphemism for wealthy parents

MontyCarloHall 10mo ago

And indeed, that's exactly what happened [0]: the kid in the OP was in a rigorous research program for high schoolers, which connected their talents to PIs who could nurture and support them. GP shouldn't reactively tear down the success of exceptionally talented kids because of their own unfortunate n=1 life experience. [0] https://www.justinmath.com/math-academys-eurisko-sequence-5-years-later/ https://www.justinmath.com/math-academys-eurisko-sequence-5-...

_9za9 10mo ago
$50,000 a year high school tuition can make anyone exceptionally talented
- MontyCarloHall 10mo ago
  Pasadena High School, where Matteo went to school, is public.
  - halfmatthalfcat 10mo ago
    Not all high school educations are created equal - See Carmel High School (Carmel, IN), New Trier High School (Winnetka, IL), or any other High School in a densely high wealth area.
    - mothballed 10mo ago
      Pasadena school district spends $28K / student for their total $390M expenditures across ~14k students in 2023-2024 school year. I would bet dollars to doughnuts it's $30k+ per high school student since they are more expensive.
    - gammarator 10mo ago
      While Pasadena is a relatively wealthy city, historically there has been significant avoidance of its public schools by affluent residents: https://southerneducation.org/in-the-news/new-polling-data-finds-widespread-support-for-integrating-and-fairly-funding-public-schools/ https://southerneducation.org/in-the-news/new-polling-data-f...
- cm2012 10mo ago
  The data says this is not true. Quality of education has almost no effect on lifetime income outcomes when you control for initial test scores.
  - csto12 10mo ago
    Do you have a source on this? That’s really interesting if true.
    - cm2012 10mo ago
      Sure. There are many studies but here is one. Will Dobbie & Roland Fryer (NBER) This study uses regression-discontinuity around exam cutoffs at Brooklyn Tech, Bronx Science, and Stuyvesant. It finds increased rigor of coursework but little impact on SAT scores, college enrollment, or college graduation, which are key predictors of lifetime earnings (and typically closely linked to earnings outcomes). https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w17286/w17286.pdf https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w17286/w172...
      - grumpy_coder 10mo ago
        The schools studied in that paper are free, or close to free. Not $50,000 per anum And I don't think OP was suggesting it's the quality of education that affects outcomes in attendees of expensive private high schools.
        cm2012 10mo ago
        There are very similar studies for private schools, can't find this second
Isamu 10mo ago
The criticism is of the spin in these articles. The experience these kids get is great, it should happen more. The articles always spin to get your attention, and the subject matter is fascinating, but it can be presented with less spin. And frankly any kid deserves praise for doing the unglamorous work that this takes. Very few can be arsed to put up with the extra work that it takes to do anything worthwhile, we are a nation getting lazier every day.
antonvs 10mo ago
> exceptionally talented kids Good euphemism for wealthy parents