The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way

There is standing joke that Caltech’s football program was “un-defeated in 1944.” No, that institute was not known for their athletic prowess. Should any school? Honestly, do kids attend schools for their sports programs or intellectual learning?

Bill Coleman, a silicon valley tech legend, once said that he would always hire a good athlete. Among so many qualities and traits for good employees in silicon valley, athletic talent, strangely, was on the top of his list. And this, Amanda Ripley, stipulated, was one of the problems of the American education system.

To excel in any sports program, good enough to make the division one varsity team, you must have some innate talent. Yes, young athletes also need to work hard and practice, but there is zero chance to make the basketball team if you are short.

Americans think other school activities — such as academic learning — are the same. If one cannot do well in math or science, one must be “not good at it.” In that case, there is no point working on that anymore, since one can never be good enough to “make it.” This attitude bewilders Asians.

Asians, or really Confucianism, generally believe that anyone can excel at anything as long as he or she works hard enough. In fact, not working hard enough is pretty much the only reason for failure. What happens when one fails? Work harder next time. Yes, innate talents play a part, but hard work can overcome anything. This is the root of the tiger mom thing: accept no excuse for failure. Work harder.

No one needs to excel at any sport to earn a decent living, but everyone needs a good education, including math.