Daniel at Key Words coincidentally almost exactly duplicates a conversation I had yesterday with someone who has just completed their physics doctorate. Daniel and this person both maintain that intelligence is often perceived, particularly in early stages of education, to be linked to the replication of accepted dogma and that more lateral, creative and critical thinking (of the kind that best serves post-doctorate researchers, for example), is often regarded very poorly during this same early stages.
I suppose I did have an inkling that this was the case, but it's nice to have it confirmed by people in the field.
Hey Carlotta, thanks for the link! This issue is a button pusher for me. It bugs me to no end to think that societies around the world encourage associating conformity with intelligence - especially when it's so blatantly false!
ReplyDeleteConformity is really just a way to keep your best and brightest from performing to their capacities. After all, if you're limited to just what others can think and do, you'll never do more.