chris@mimsy.UUCP (Chris Torek) (12/20/88)
In article <6125@ecsvax.uncecs.edu> skyler@ecsvax.uncecs.edu (Patricia Roberts) writes: >... There's a lot of pressure here not to do too well in school >nor too badly. Now *that* rang a bell: Pressure not to do *too well*. I went to your average USA high-tech-yuppified-area (Montgomery County, Maryland) schools for most of my K-12 education. There was a fair amount of peer-group pressure exerted against `brains', as we were called. Perhaps not *bellum omnia contra omnes*, but certainly *contra genius* [is that a real Latin word? mine has rusted almost beyond recognition]. There seems to be some social force encouraging students to be `average'. -- In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 7163) Domain: chris@mimsy.umd.edu Path: uunet!mimsy!chris
uucibg@sw1e.UUCP (3929] Brian Gilstrap) (12/21/88)
In article <15072@mimsy.UUCP> chris@mimsy.UUCP (Chris Torek) writes: >In article <6125@ecsvax.uncecs.edu> skyler@ecsvax.uncecs.edu >(Patricia Roberts) writes: >>... There's a lot of pressure here not to do too well in school >>nor too badly. > >Now *that* rang a bell: Pressure not to do *too well*. I went to your >average USA high-tech-yuppified-area (Montgomery County, Maryland) >schools for most of my K-12 education. There was a fair amount of >peer-group pressure exerted against `brains', as we were called. >Perhaps not *bellum omnia contra omnes*, but certainly *contra genius* >[is that a real Latin word? mine has rusted almost beyond recognition]. > >There seems to be some social force encouraging students to be `average'. >-- >In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci Dept (+1 301 454 7163) >Domain: chris@mimsy.umd.edu Path: uunet!mimsy!chris It doesn't stop there either. I've been out of school for about 1 1/2 years now and I've found the same to be true in the industry. It's not as prevalent (sp?) as it was in high school, but it's there. It tends to be evidenced by people reacting like you have "the cooties" or something. Then again, it could just be that I'm *very* wierd in other ways. :-) However, I have found that there is more room in the work culture for a strata of "tech-wienies", though. Just my $0.02 worth. Brian R. Gilstrap ...!ames!killer!texbell!sw1e!uucibg ...!bellcore!texbell!sw1e!uucibg All thoughts and statements are One Bell Center Rm 17-G-4 my own...my employer wouldn't St. Louis, MO 63101 even think of thinking them... (314) 235-3929