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asian male, 16 y/o soon to be senior, 2380/36 first try no prep in sophmore year, taking 7 ap's next year. The calc teacher is trying to get him to skip senior year because he thinks he will be wasting his time.
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<p>AZN INVAZN</p>
<p>I feel like an idiot with only 5 APs next year and a 2100.</p>
<p>The smartest person in my school? Might be in my grade, really uptight, has a weird schedule, and does a lot of leadership stuff and community service and has a job. It's a female, and she's in all the honors classes.</p>
<p>Second smartest might be the freshman kid in my Spanish class who has a flair for grammar and...everything else except sports...</p>
<p>aisgzdavinci- I am so with you...(I have the same stats too)</p>
<p>That 16 yr old guy is a beast...</p>
<p>Ever wonder what genes are responsible? (and about the Nature v. Nurture concept?) o.O</p>
<p>validictorian is going to columbia, really nice, kinda mousy, a little on the shy side, always in the dean's office helping him or else just studying, all AP's/Honors classes, did a prestigious internship with a lab this year. that's about it.</p>
<p>salu. is also nice. i'm close friends with her. i've heard from people who don't really know her (such as the junior who sits next to me in band) that she seems snobby, on the quiet side sometimes, really active in campaining for obama, loves government, going to yale, studying poli sci, amazing at playing clarinet, very close with her mom (extremely gilmore girls), goes to parties with us, but never drinks.</p>
<p>In my grade, I would say the smartest person doesn't have the best grades. He's an all-state fencer. He's slightly socially awkward. He writes beautifully. </p>
<p>The girl with the best grades in my grade is very um social? She seems be having issues getting a bf, which she really likes. We don't speak much at all. I don't hate her. i've never really talked to her. She gets straight A+-s She's very well rounded. She gets into everything she tries. Hard worker. I'm pretty sure she's not the smartest. She tries and its very visible.</p>
<p>This is an interesting thread. </p>
<p>I don't want to flatter myself by implying that I have the ability to judge intelligence, so keep in mind that this is only opinion: </p>
<p>One of the smartest people in my class, in my opinion, is coincidentally ranked number one (weighted -- there are lots of 4.0s.) He's an accomplished debater (I think third in the state in one competition) and has a few other extracurriculars (as far as I know, no leadership positions.) He did not make National Honor Society. He rarely does homework at home and he often cheats on tests (e.g. finding out the questions beforehand in classes like Calc [BC as a junior, one of ~10] and AP Chem, actually copying in World History, etc.) According to him, he's worked harder for debate than he's ever worked for any school subject. He projects an image of not trying at all, but I'm under the impression that he slightly exaggerates his lack of effort: when something needs to be done, he does it. He got a 35 on the ACT and a 2320 on his second try on the SAT (there are about four people in the class who have scored higher, so far.) He's Indian. He listens to rap and uses the n-word. He has strong opinions. I classify him as one of the smartest in the class because of his writing and speaking abilities as well as the critical thinking skills that are either the result or the cause of his involvement in debate. These alone would not be enough to put him at the top: he is also very good at math, science, and the rest of his subjects. </p>
<p>Another is ranked about sixth or seventh in the class, also with a 4.0 but a few more unweighted classes. He is VERY talented academically. If our GPAs were percentage-based, he would be the highest by far. In every subject, he always has a high 'A,' sometimes finishing quarters with above 100%. He is involved in a few math and science-related extracurriculars, has been in SGA since middle school, and is Vice-President of the Executive Board for our school's SGA (Exec Board is the school-wide board as opposed to the class boards.) He got a 2290 on his first attempt at the SAT: 700 CR, 790 M, 800 W, and retook it yesterday (his current score is the sixth or seventh highest in the class.) He does not consider himself exceptionally intelligent but just "good at school" (although he admits that he's "amazing at math.") Although I agree that academic success != intelligence, I think that it takes an enormous amount of intelligence to succeed to the extent that he does. He tries pretty hard, putting more effort into assignments than is necessary to get an 'A' (unlike me and the first person described: we [he to a greater extent than I] do the bare minimum) but most people, with all the trying in the world, could not do AS WELL as he. Yes, some of academia is no more than memorization. But is memorization not a facet of intelligence? His ability to retain information in every subject in conjunction with his innate ability to understand subject matter is what guarantees him such high grades and what makes me consider him so smart. He is also Indian. He's humble and pretty shy. And adorable. I'm kinda biased because he's my boyfriend and I'm in love with him. </p>
<p>This is really hard because I can't narrow it down to one or two. There's a third kid, but he doesn't require much explanation because he's very similar to the person above (and they're, like, best friends.) He got a 2360 on the SAT (third in our class) and like the person above, he puts more effort than most people into schoolwork and gets exceptionally high grades. I don't know where he is in terms of ranking; he takes more unweighted classes than the rest of us in the top of the class, as he's in Band and Latin. He's an exceptional writer. He's involved in a few extracurriculars. He is very quiet and modest and many people don't know how incredibly smart and academically-talented he is (whereas the two people above are reputed as smart.) </p>
<p>One girl got a 2400 on the SAT. She is well-rounded: she's in band, wins a lot of math awards, and does well in every subject. She cheats on tests. I don't think she tries very hard. She's ranked about fourth because Band is an unweighted class. Her courseload is the most advanced in terms of taking higher-level classes than are typically offered to her class (she's one of the three-grades-ahead math students, the only junior who took AP French, the only junior who took AP Physics, etc.) I don't know why she's not higher on my list, because I do admire her and consider her very smart -- I guess nothing about her really stands out to me to the extent that some of the qualities of the first three do. She probably looks the best on paper, though. She's my friend but some people consider her arrogant, and in some situations I can see where they're coming from. </p>
<p>There are about three more people I can think of who belong on this list (again, I can't narrow it down or put them in any sort of order), but I'll stop here. This was fun.</p>
<p>As the angry cynic in everyone wants to point out, their SAT and ACT scores (number one and four) have less validity than they should because they cheat. Its sort of pathetic, to be honest. I also don't see how you can admire a known cheater unless you are a cheater yourself.</p>
<p>They didn't cheat on the SATs...</p>
<p>I abhor cheating myself, but I try not to impose moral judgments on others. The only times I've ever cheated to my benefit are as follows: </p>
<p>(1) In fourth grade, I looked at someone else's test to see where she was because I wasn't sure if I was working quickly enough. Not only was I way ahead of her, but I also noticed that she got the question that she was working on incorrect.<br>
(2) Several (maybe 5-10) times in my high school career, I've forgotten to do a worksheet for homework and copied someone else's (these are assignments checked for completion, not graded.)<br>
(3) One time, my friend who sits next to me was looking at my Calculus test, and he notified me of a dumb addition mistake I'd made that he had caught while checking his work against mine. I didn't ask; he volunteered the information. I corrected it. </p>
<p>Yes, you can argue that facilitating cheating is just as bad as (or the same thing as) cheating -- I have on several occasions (as in situation 3) let others cheat off of my work. This year, though, I've tried to avoid doing so as much as possible. I do not by any means approve of it, but I think that everyone has a right to make his or her own decisions. </p>
<p>When helping someone by letting him or her cheat off of my work (e.g. copying my assignments), I feel obligated to make sure he or she understands the material, so I take on the additional responsibility of explaining my work. So, generally, it's not merely a process of allowing copying -- it's just a more convenient way of helping someone complete the assignment himself. (For example, two or three times, I've sent a classmate the text [1-2 paragraphs] of my conclusion for a Physics lab and followed it with a bit of clarifying information. This student wants help -- am I obligated to take the time out of my life to reword or summarize the entire thing so that I'm not "cheating" by letting him see my own?) As for tests: I do not encourage others to copy my work, but I sort of have a laissez-faire attitude about it; I don't take extra care to make sure that they do not. I believe that they are only cheating themselves. </p>
<p>As for people one and four, I have respect for their intellectual capacity. By no means do I admire their accomplishments gained through dishonest means, nor do I think that they deserve their grades (despite the fact that I'm positive they would have been able to achieve them on their own merit), but you know what? I accept that life is unfair. People cheat to get ahead. It's not just high school; it's real life, too. My admiration for them would be much higher if they never cheated, but I still respect their intellect.</p>
<p>"I abhor cheating myself, but I try not to impose moral judgments on others. The only times I've ever cheated to my benefit are as follows: "
LOL I love that you can remember this...</p>
<p>"I abhor cheating myself, but I try not to impose moral judgments on others.
I do not by any means approve of it, but I think that everyone has a right to make his or her own decisions."</p>
<p>I don't understand how this works out. Cheating is wrong-- it's black and white. Schools wouldn't have policies expelling students for cheating if it were truly a matter of different ethics and relativity. Everyone has the right to make his or her own decisions? Well yes, but when someone decides to steal, the police don't say, "Oh, I don't want to impose moral judgments on this person!"</p>
<p>^ Omg Lmao</p>
<p>I don't want this thread to degenerate into a discussion of moral relativism, etc. I don't believe in absolute morality; you can if you want. But yeah, for all intents and purposes, what they do is absolutely wrong. I still respect their intelligence.</p>
<p>" I still respect their intelligence."
Cheating in the first place is statistically unintelligent. The sheer chances of getting caught and the repercussions that accompany getting caught should steer any smart individual from cheating (mind you, in this sense, cheating more refers to cheating on an exam, test, or essay rather than on a homework assignment).
To sum it up, cheating is just plain dumb.</p>
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" I still respect their intelligence."
Cheating in the first place is statistically unintelligent. The sheer chances of getting caught and the repercussions that accompany getting caught should steer any smart individual from cheating (mind you, in this sense, cheating more refers to cheating on an exam, test, or essay rather than on a homework assignment).
To sum it up, cheating is just plain dumb.
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<p>This reasoning is slightly simplistic. For most people, cheating has a negative expected value, because the punishment for getting caught outweighs the benefits. However, for really smart individuals, I think it's definitely possible to have positive expectation from cheating.</p>
<p>a friend of mine has a 4.6 gpa(record high for my school), ranked like top 15 in the nationally in track (Decathon), and has been class president 2 years so far(sophomore and junior), elected SGA president, National Honors Society, National Science Society, 239 on his PSAT, 22 something on his sat, 33 on his ACT, 5s on all of his APs that he has gotten back so far,First place in 3 different activities in FBLA state level, state all-stars scholars bowl team, oh ya and his grandfather is a close friend with W.</p>
<p>W as in Bush?
That immediately makes him incompetent
LMAO</p>
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<p>Cheating isn't a matter of morality in the same manner as drinking underage.</p>
<p><a href="1">quote=Poseur</a> In fourth grade, I looked at someone else's test to see where she was because I wasn't sure if I was working quickly enough. Not only was I way ahead of her, but I also noticed that she got the question that she was working on incorrect.
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<p>This isn't really cheating, especially if you didn't share information. Besides, I cheated in fourth grade too. Then I matured.</p>
<p><a href="2">quote=Poseur</a> Several (maybe 5-10) times in my high school career, I've forgotten to do a worksheet for homework and copied someone else's (these are assignments checked for completion, not graded.)
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<p>This isn't cheating in a sense I hate (it isn't really cheating). You shouldn't lose points for a course because you forgot to do a such small task. You should lose points for not knowing the material relevant to the course.</p>
<p><a href="3">quote=Poseur</a> One time, my friend who sits next to me was looking at my Calculus test, and he notified me of a dumb addition mistake I'd made that he had caught while checking his work against mine. I didn't ask; he volunteered the information. I corrected it.
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<p>Why didn't you tell him that he shouldn't be looking at your test? And why did you change it? I've looked at other people's tests on ones I didn't know, then decided to not fill them in because I didn't know it. You could have done the same. Its not like your grade would have suffered.</p>
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<p>If you don't approve of it, why do you facilitate it?</p>
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<p>Or you could explain it to them without giving them the answer, like I do. It helps them even more.</p>
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<p>The fact they need to cheat on simple high school tests that should be easy for someone of their intellectual capacity brings into question the actual extent of this aforementioned capacity.</p>
<p>"The fact they need to cheat on simple high school tests that should be easy for someone of their intellectual capacity brings into question the actual extent of this aforementioned capacity."
Perhaps it only brings into question their work ethic. I know many people who are gifted but refuse to do the work simply because they are completely content in not trying. These people, however, are rarely the smartest students, but rather students that are smart in one area.</p>
<p>If they were really as smart as she said, no amount of poor work ethic would prevent them from scoring well without cheating.</p>
<p>I know this from my own personal experiences. I have little work ethic, and I don't study nearly as hard as other people for tests. Yet, I still seem to do fine (i.e. the best) without cheating. She obviously seems to think that these people are as intelligent, and probably more so, than I am. They shouldn't have to cheat at all to get good scores. Consequently, the fact they do lessens my perception of their intelligence.</p>
<p>And smart cookie, you can quote by putting whatever you want to quote inside (quote)"text"(/quote), although the parentheses are brackets. If you want to attribute it, put an = after the first quote and write their name.</p>
<p>Ex. (quote=nukchebi0) I spend way to much time on the internet.(/quote) (with brackets), would give you:</p>
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