IQ and talent are often overrated.

[Anonymous]

The individuals who have truly made lasting contributions to society typically did so through decades of hard work and persistence. They don't need prestigious colleges or competition awards to justify their passions. Yet, people (yes you DCUM helicopter parents) often obsess over IQ or elite university admissions mostly for vanity—to show off their children. The same mindset applies to the Ivy League obsession. Yes, your child might be brilliant—so what?

The reality is that many Ivy League graduates end up chasing careers in investment banking or tech, more focused on personal gain than on advancing humanity. It’s less about purpose and more about prestige and profit. Look at those frauds....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The individuals who have truly made lasting contributions to society typically did so through decades of hard work and persistence. They don't need prestigious colleges or competition awards to justify their passions. Yet, people (yes you DCUM helicopter parents) often obsess over IQ or elite university admissions mostly for vanity—to show off their children. The same mindset applies to the Ivy League obsession. Yes, your child might be brilliant—so what?

The reality is that many Ivy League graduates end up chasing careers in investment banking or tech, more focused on personal gain than on advancing humanity. It’s less about purpose and more about prestige and profit. Look at those frauds....

blah blah blah

[Anonymous]

Perhaps the worst are the mediocre parents desperately trying to rebrand their children as exceptional.

[Anonymous]

Mmmkay. Well my ivy kid loves the school, works hard, gets many opportunities due to just being a student there. They enjoy being around a lot of other high IQ talented kids and there is nothing wrong with fitting in in that environment and choosing it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The individuals who have truly made lasting contributions to society typically did so through decades of hard work and persistence. They don't need prestigious colleges or competition awards to justify their passions. Yet, people (yes you DCUM helicopter parents) often obsess over IQ or elite university admissions mostly for vanity—to show off their children. The same mindset applies to the Ivy League obsession. Yes, your child might be brilliant—so what?

The reality is that many Ivy League graduates end up chasing careers in investment banking or tech, more focused on personal gain than on advancing humanity. It’s less about purpose and more about prestige and profit. Look at those frauds....

People who have made lasting contributions started out with a high level of intelligence/talent and then put in the hard work and persistence required. All the hard work in the world will go nowhere without underlying intelligence/talent.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mmmkay. Well my ivy kid loves the school, works hard, gets many opportunities due to just being a student there. They enjoy being around a lot of other high IQ talented kids and there is nothing wrong with fitting in in that environment and choosing it

Hopefully not surrounded by the ones who pretend to be something they’re not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
People who have made lasting contributions started out with a high level of intelligence/talent and then put in the hard work and persistence required. All the hard work in the world will go nowhere without underlying intelligence/talent.

These days, it's difficult to find schools that truly reflect authentic merit and intelligence. There's simply too much parental interference and over-packaging. Maybe even the teaching faculty are not too far from _branding_

[Anonymous]

The problem is you have neither.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mmmkay. Well my ivy kid loves the school, works hard, gets many opportunities due to just being a student there. They enjoy being around a lot of other high IQ talented kids and there is nothing wrong with fitting in in that environment and choosing it

No, but your talented, smart kid likely would be able to fit in and excel at life at almost any school. They'd find a group of similar students at most schools in the T50-100 rankings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
People who have made lasting contributions started out with a high level of intelligence/talent and then put in the hard work and persistence required. All the hard work in the world will go nowhere without underlying intelligence/talent.

These days, it's difficult to find schools that truly reflect authentic merit and intelligence. There's simply too much parental interference and over-packaging. Maybe even the teaching faculty are not too far from _branding_

Maybe so, but the post you’re replying to is about people who make lasting contributions to society, with no reference to schools. The school someone attends, or doesn’t attend, has nothing to do with what kind of contribution they make to society.

The post above is saying that the people who make lasting contributions have hard work/persistence and intelligence/talent, not one or the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Mmmkay. Well my ivy kid loves the school, works hard, gets many opportunities due to just being a student there. They enjoy being around a lot of other high IQ talented kids and there is nothing wrong with fitting in in that environment and choosing it

No, but your talented, smart kid likely would be able to fit in and excel at life at almost any school. They'd find a group of similar students at most schools in the T50-100 rankings.

Exactly—if I’m paying half a million for a school, I’d much rather my child be surrounded by real brilliant, kind, and curious kids than cookie-cutter clones ones

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
People who have made lasting contributions started out with a high level of intelligence/talent and then put in the hard work and persistence required. All the hard work in the world will go nowhere without underlying intelligence/talent.

These days, it's difficult to find schools that truly reflect authentic merit and intelligence. There's simply too much parental interference and over-packaging. Maybe even the teaching faculty are not too far from _branding_

Maybe so, but the post you’re replying to is about people who make lasting contributions to society, with no reference to schools. The school someone attends, or doesn’t attend, has nothing to do with what kind of contribution they make to society.

The post above is saying that the people who make lasting contributions have hard work/persistence and intelligence/talent, not one or the other.

I would believe this if colleges stop holistic admissions for the sake of merits

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Perhaps the worst are the mediocre parents desperately trying to rebrand their children as exceptional.

? this says nothing about the kids at all.

[Anonymous]

Research scientist here. Not quite. If you want to make a lasting contribution, I agree that most people will achieve that through persistence and dedication, not necessarily a stratospheric IQ. Some people achieve wonders with their emotional intelligence, as well as commitment. Think Mother Teresa.

But when it comes to Nobel-level scientific discoveries and math proofs, you actually do need a very high IQ, not to mention some amount of luck. The experiment designs that lead to ground-breaking discoveries aren't going to get dreamed up by themselves, you know. And some of these people have the emotional intelligence of mushrooms.

You can't have everything.

The ones most suited to a normal life are the normal people. At the edges, it gets dicey

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The individuals who have truly made lasting contributions to society typically did so through decades of hard work and persistence. They don't need prestigious colleges or competition awards to justify their passions. Yet, people (yes you DCUM helicopter parents) often obsess over IQ or elite university admissions mostly for vanity—to show off their children. The same mindset applies to the Ivy League obsession. Yes, your child might be brilliant—so what?

The reality is that many Ivy League graduates end up chasing careers in investment banking or tech, more focused on personal gain than on advancing humanity. It’s less about purpose and more about prestige and profit. Look at those frauds....

Sorry your life sucks...