I think we'd be discouraged less if we didn't habitually overestimate the abilities of our peers. With hindsight I'm sure we can agree that the idea of a 3rd gr

I think we'd be discouraged less if we didn't habitually overestimate the abilities of our peers. With hindsight I'm sure we can agree that the idea of a 3rd grader really knowing C++ is ridiculous -- heck, adults who use it every day are usually missing huge swaths of knowledge about various parts of it -- but at the time I'm sure that idea could have been discouraging.