3 ms·

In highschool there was this guy who used to study a lot. Everybody said he was studying too much, and that he needed to study that much because he wasn't that

by nico 17y ago

In highschool there was this guy who used to study a lot. Everybody said he was studying too much, and that he needed to study that much because he wasn't that smart. Finally he graduated with one of the best averages in our class. Then he got into the best engineering school in Chile, and I remember thinking that maybe he wouldn't be able to make it, or that he wouldn't have such good grades. Well, I was wrong. He graduated from engineering with a great average. Now I don't know where this guy is working or what he's doing, but I have no doubt he will achieve whatever he sets himself to accomplish. For me, he is an incredible example of how will and discipline got him to achieve the things he wanted. 2 other stories about this guy: 1. Until he was around 12 he was fat. Then one day, after summer vacation he came back to school thin. He stayed like that at least until he finished engineering. 2. Junior year in highschool he had the best average in the advanced math class. There was a math competition and he was not chosen to go. When he asked the teacher about this, the teacher said: "for this competition we need talent, not effort"

gaius 17y ago
Reminds me of one of my classmates from undergrad. We were in the same hall in the first year, then we were housemates for the next two (in the final year he went back to halls and I, ermm, dropped out). Anyway, dude was a machine. He was smart, too, mind, but he put the hours in, working late into the night studying. And during the day he dominated every class, and make it look effortless. His elder brother was a total slacker, cared only about smoking dope, doing yoga and getting laid. So there's some nature vs nurture there.
- silentbicycle 17y ago
  > So there's some nature vs nurture there. Not necessarily. Particularly if there was a couple years between them, there might have been an element of, "I'd better study hard - I want to accomplish stuff, not just goof off like my brother". I've seen the reverse a couple times, where a younger sibling grows up in the shadow of an older sibling widely considered to be really smart, so they try to compete by being really artistic or something instead.
lutorm 17y ago
"Everybody said ... that he needed to study that much because he wasn't that smart." That's a dead giveaway for a "fixed mindset" about intelligence. Studies show that people that think that effort is an indication of lack of ability will avoid effort to not look stupid, leading them to perform less well over time than those that don't have this mindset. See research by Carol Dweck et al.
- nico 17y ago
  This is a very common thing around here indeed, people don't like to admit to making an effort, at least regarding school, so lots just won't push harder, whereas others will just lie, saying they didn't study very much. Nobody wants to look like they made a great effort and then got an awful grade (fail).

by nico 17y ago

gaius 17y ago

Reminds me of one of my classmates from undergrad. We were in the same hall in the first year, then we were housemates for the next two (in the final year he went back to halls and I, ermm, dropped out). Anyway, dude was a machine. He was smart, too, mind, but he put the hours in, working late into the night studying. And during the day he dominated every class, and make it look effortless. His elder brother was a total slacker, cared only about smoking dope, doing yoga and getting laid. So there's some nature vs nurture there.

silentbicycle 17y ago
> So there's some nature vs nurture there. Not necessarily. Particularly if there was a couple years between them, there might have been an element of, "I'd better study hard - I want to accomplish stuff, not just goof off like my brother". I've seen the reverse a couple times, where a younger sibling grows up in the shadow of an older sibling widely considered to be really smart, so they try to compete by being really artistic or something instead.

lutorm 17y ago

"Everybody said ... that he needed to study that much because he wasn't that smart." That's a dead giveaway for a "fixed mindset" about intelligence. Studies show that people that think that effort is an indication of lack of ability will avoid effort to not look stupid, leading them to perform less well over time than those that don't have this mindset. See research by Carol Dweck et al.

nico 17y ago
This is a very common thing around here indeed, people don't like to admit to making an effort, at least regarding school, so lots just won't push harder, whereas others will just lie, saying they didn't study very much. Nobody wants to look like they made a great effort and then got an awful grade (fail).