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To: wideminded
“I would figure that the child of a Rhodes Scholar and a valedictorian from Wellesley probably has enough smarts to get into college without a bribe. Of course being the child of a president likely does have some perks.”

With all due respect, then you've bought into the total bs of the system. If your father was a plumber, and your mother a housewife, does that mean that someone whose parents both have degrees from Princeton is automatically brighter? NO, it doesn't. It does mean, in my opinion, that you probably had more emphasis on education at home, and were privy to a lot more knowledge about how to navigate school and get in to where you want to go. That, however, is not the same as being intrinsically brighter. We need to get beyond this ridiculous mindset.

No offense meant, but do you think that all Rhodes Scholars are tremendously bright? Bill Clinton was one, and had unimpressive SAT scores. There are bright people everywhere, and lots of people are late bloomers.

189 posted on 03/12/2019 10:16:26 AM PDT by neverevergiveup
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To: neverevergiveup
If your father was a plumber, and your mother a housewife, does that mean that someone whose parents both have degrees from Princeton is automatically brighter?

No, of course it has nothing directly to do with occupation or degrees. But there is a genetic component to intelligence. If the parents are definitely both very smart people, there is a higher chance that their child will be bright than if the parents are just two random people.

I have never heard anything about Clinton's SAT scores, but there is no question he is very smart even though he may be morally lacking. People who have known him agree that he can absorb new information much more quickly than most people. Kenneth Starr himself said he wished he was as smart as Clinton.

In a place like Princeton there are people with more average intelligence and some who are among the smartest people that exist. If someone has two parents from the latter group, they could turn out to be an idiot, but it is less likely.

270 posted on 03/12/2019 4:14:41 PM PDT by wideminded
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