The Good Student?

[Poppy98]

I was curious if almost all members used to be either "the studious student" or "the natural genuis" in school.

I was definitely not a natural, but I found the well-performing academic students to be pretty friendly and I think it's sort of a safer identity.


How about you?

 

[Outdated]

An interesting phenomena I noticed - the studious student tends to be a lot more successful in their later occupations where as many of us geniuses end up either burnt out or drop out for other reasons.

If I'd been allowed to have my own way and study at my own pace I could have finished high school by age 12 and had a PhD by age 16 but I grew up in an environment where more importance was placed on "being normal". Instead by the time I was 16 I wanted nothing more than out of school and I got a job as soon as I was legally old enough to work. Bye bye.

It was the right decision though, I had a great time. I got to see a lot of my country while I was still young enough to live it. Even after I burnt out I still managed to have a great time.

 

[Shevek]

I never learned to study, so as the school work got harder, my marks went from high to low, with a couple of exceptions where I was interested. I'd lost faith in the wisdom of my elders and kept trying unsuccessfully to be accepted socially at the back of the school bus, quite unaware of the difference between IQ and Emotional Intelligence. After flunking out of high school and waiting for calculators to replace slide rules, I went to the library for some engineering, and wound up winning prizes, and even getting invited to lecture to graduating engineers.

 

[Poppy98]

I went to the library for some engineering, and wound up winning prizes, and even getting invited to lecture to graduating engineers.

Wow, that's pretty cool!

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I was curious if almost all members used to be either "the studious student" or "the natural genuis" in school.

I was definitely not a natural, but I found the well-performing academic students to be pretty friendly and I think it's sort of a safer identity.


How about you?

Always depended upon the topic. I did well in school without actually applying myself... I was always distracted by other things.

 

[Shevek]

Wow, that's pretty cool!

Thanks, but it was ultimately frustrating. School might have taught me how to get along with the majority of people, who don't really understand their jobs, and can't see merit without a relatively meaningless piece of paper.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

I never took marks seriously unless it was some of interest like my quality courses made a point of getting an A on every every course. In high school would pass based on final exam. did OK in college after final mark after night school courses was 80.04 right on line for honours. I guess having eidetic memory helps, discourages studying. So no genius, just unusual abilities. My older brother was a true genius I failed math grade nine parents moved middle of school year. screwed me up So took grade eleven and twelve math concurrently. passed both then took only math and physics and chemistry in grade thirteen. Refused to take english past grade ten thought it was waste of time. Either way got A's in english in college. I guess if I turned my brain on got an A, not difficult.

Read lot of biographies over the years see pattern person does poorly in high school, may even drop out does to university later becomes prominent scientist. In my case and older brothers head of guidance department wrote letters on our behalf, got both of us accepted into university. I passed on going this route Brother, he went into engineering passed all courses refuse to write final paper, as he did not go the university for a piece of paper, rather knowledge. got his degree 15 years later. Professor's recognized his genius.

 

[Poppy98]

I never took marks seriously unless it was some of interest like my quality courses made a point of getting an A on every every course. In high school would pass based on final exam. did OK in college after final mark after night school courses was 80.04 right on line for honours. I guess having eidetic memory helps, discourages studying. So no genius, just unusual abilities. My older brother was a true genius I failed math grade nine parents moved middle of school year. screwed me up So took grade eleven and twelve math concurrently. passed both then took only math and physics and chemistry in grade thirteen. Refused to take english past grade ten thought it was waste of time. Either way got A's in english in college. I guess if I turned my brain on got an A, not difficult.

Read lot of biographies over the years see pattern person does poorly in high school, may even drop out does to university later becomes prominent scientist. In my case and older brothers head of guidance department wrote letters on our behalf, got both of us accepted into university. I passed on going this route Brother, he went into engineering passed all courses refuse to write final paper, as he did not go the university for a piece of paper, rather knowledge. got his degree 15 years later. Professor's recognized his genius.

Oh wow, those are both really uncommon too. Engineering, from what I hear is not an easy field to breeze into.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

Oh wow, those are both really uncommon too. Engineering, from what I hear is not an easy field to breeze into.

Yes my brother breezed into it, I settled for chemical engineering in college rather than chemistry in university. My bother in his co op program got work terms like doing top secret work for canadian navy programming satellites for professor. His marks were atrocious in high school, yet he won awards for top math and physics. An NT brother is a Mensa member we were one percent apart in Sat test. what does that say. Us Aspies are different. I could not think about making the school reach for the top team NT brother was our school team. yet few years later cousins son team won the championship. If your wondering what reach for the top is check ALex Trebek. this is where he started.

ThIs is why since a teenager I have been trying see if we as a family are related to Pieter Zeeman the nobel laureate in physics. After all the fruit does not fall far from the tree. Hard to solve puzzle so far driving me nuts. Suspect his family making it hard. Lots of positive clues so far. Craziest part lead me into more off beat puzzle the DaVinci code. which so far easier to make headway. So far all my relatives I'm finding on my dads side of the family via DNA have an inordinate number of advanced degrees.

 

[Ken]

I was never a Good Student. Took most of my life to figure out why. It's probably too long a story to post, but while I was a terrible student, I still, achieved my childhood dream of becoming an Electronics Design Engineer.

This never happened because of any schooling. Totally unable to achieve any kind of a degree. Most of my education occurred at home in my room, at the library, under a tree, etc. I guess, from birth I was obsessed with electronics; electronics theory, circuitry, and all things electronic. I am not a genius. I am mentally very slow Diagnosed as mentally retarded. My "strength" if you want to call it that is just obsession. I spent most of my life buried in books. I would dig old radios, TV, etc. out of trash bins, dissect them and remove all the parts. I would study and experiment with all those parts. I was gleefully in heaven hidden away with all my parts and books.

In school I realized that I couldn't learn simple algebra. I knew that I would never be able to get a degree which I knew was a requirement for being an engineer.

Once I found a new TV in the trash bin behind a department store. I dug it out and took it home and fixed it. I then took it back to the store and showed them that I fixed it. The store manager hired me to fix all the returned or bad-out-of-the box items. This was the start of my electronics repair career.

Finally, I got a job at an actual electronics design firm. My job was to assemble prototype circuits designed by the engineers for them to test their designs before finalizing a circuit. The engineer would give me a schematic and I was to assemble the prototype. I absolutely loved that job because I had my own very quiet workspace. I felt I was in heaven.

Then, due to my autistic social blindness, I almost got fired. Once when an engineer handed me a schematic, I told him that it would not work and pointed out the error on his schematic. He was highly offended. Before I was fired, the boss looked at the schematic and my "fix". He wanted me to go ahead and built the original design and another with my "fix". Sure enough the original did not work, but mine did. After a few more of these instances, the boss said that all designs must be reviewed by me before any prototype is built.

After a few years, I was then promoted to senior electronics design engineer. My childhood dream.
Not a good student, not a smart person. I was even diagnosed as mentally retarded.
Sometimes things that traditionally require smarts can be achieved with just a heavy dose of autistic obsession.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

Ken you have a lot in common with Tesla, who did not complete university dropped out thought Einstein's physics was BS, yet had an innate understanding of electricity. I Imagine you and my brother would get along well.similar backgrounds. My brother has no friends, other than me.

 

[Ken]

Ken you have a lot in common with Tesla, who did not complete university dropped out thought Einstein's physics was BS, yet had an innate understanding of electricity. I Imagine you and my brother would get along well.similar backgrounds. My brother has no friends, other than me.

I never thought Einstein's physics was BS. I use it a lot.

At least your brother has you.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

No; tesla did why I lost respect he is overhyped. My brother did not go to my other brothers place on Sunday for our Christmas get together. He sends me the stoke stuff every thursday very useful. My brother is an electronics technologist. when his position ended. He got a part time position at a company that designed equipment for automotive assembly plants. He is also mechanically inclined made the equipment from scratch. no engineering background.

 

[Poppy98]

I was never a Good Student. Took most of my life to figure out why. It's probably too long a story to post, but while I was a terrible student, I still, achieved my childhood dream of becoming an Electronics Design Engineer.

This never happened because of any schooling. Totally unable to achieve any kind of a degree. Most of my education occurred at home in my room, at the library, under a tree, etc. I guess, from birth I was obsessed with electronics; electronics theory, circuitry, and all things electronic. I am not a genius. I am mentally very slow Diagnosed as mentally retarded. My "strength" if you want to call it that is just obsession. I spent most of my life buried in books. I would dig old radios, TV, etc. out of trash bins, dissect them and remove all the parts. I would study and experiment with all those parts. I was gleefully in heaven hidden away with all my parts and books.

In school I realized that I couldn't learn simple algebra. I knew that I would never be able to get a degree which I knew was a requirement for being an engineer.

Once I found a new TV in the trash bin behind a department store. I dug it out and took it home and fixed it. I then took it back to the store and showed them that I fixed it. The store manager hired me to fix all the returned or bad-out-of-the box items. This was the start of my electronics repair career.

Finally, I got a job at an actual electronics design firm. My job was to assemble prototype circuits designed by the engineers for them to test their designs before finalizing a circuit. The engineer would give me a schematic and I was to assemble the prototype. I absolutely loved that job because I had my own very quiet workspace. I felt I was in heaven.

Then, due to my autistic social blindness, I almost got fired. Once when an engineer handed me a schematic, I told him that it would not work and pointed out the error on his schematic. He was highly offended. Before I was fired, the boss looked at the schematic and my "fix". He wanted me to go ahead and built the original design and another with my "fix". Sure enough the original did not work, but mine did. After a few more of these instances, the boss said that all designs must be reviewed by me before any prototype is built.

After a few years, I was then promoted to senior electronics design engineer. My childhood dream.
Not a good student, not a smart person. I was even diagnosed as mentally retarded.
Sometimes things that traditionally require smarts can be achieved with just a heavy dose of autistic obsession.

Oh man, so many of you have had much cooler lives than me.

Sometimes things that traditionally require smarts can be achieved with just a heavy dose of autistic obsession.

*chuckle* well that's a plus.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

Special abilities trumps intelligence personally learned this. Fortunately my special skill was significantly rare.

 

[Ken]

No; tesla did why I lost respect he is overhyped.

Sorry, but I don't understand what you are saying.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

Ken I think you and my brother would get along great. As for Tesla, now DC is getting popular again.