<p>I would have to say motivation and hard-work, as has been previously said. Also, as stated before, pushy parents help in the beginning, but eventually, they can only push so far, and from that point, either the student falls or flies. For unusual levels of success, you have wish to find enjoyment in whatever interests you and go with it past levels you are already comfortable with.</p>
<p>Ok…but to have such motivation/hardwork/work ethic, you must parents who care about education and who care about you…
without caring/helpful/concerned parents (who may push you a little bit), you, as a young child, will not grow up enjoying learning and all that.
Basically, your childhood and how you are raised is VERY important. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>^^yes and no. having a good network is always good for children. success is usually a mixture opportunity and preparation. and sometimes that prep does not come from the parents. im not sure about the parent thing i think a parent should love from a distance and only step in when needed. overly involved parents a good at first but later can be a hindrance</p>
<p>^agreedddddddd</p>
<p>hmm. The parent theory is interesting. For me, it is somewhat true. Until about 3rd grade, my parents taught me to work hard and do my homework. After that, my success has come from within.</p>
<p>Yeah, parents only go so far. My parents raised me and my brother and sister identically as far as school goes, but we’re pretty different. None of us makes bad grades (of course, my brother and sister are still in middle school), but we all have vastly different motivations. I just love school, learning, absorbing, and I love my extracurriculars (French club, Debate, and writing up the wazoo). My sister is good at school but she’s not exactly an academic. She’s the quintessential well-rounded girl, pretty decent at volleyball, art/design/jewelry-making, piano, and socializing. My little brother gets so-so grades but will probably be the best geologist or big-animal veterinarian around because that’s his thing. After a certain point, parents aren’t a motivating factor. I think that point is around the beginning of middle school, when you start to realize that your life is only as successful as you–not mommy or daddy or guidance counselor–make it.</p>
<p>Passion. Willingness to look at things from unusual perspectives. Intellectually insatiable. Willingness to learn from research dead ends and mistakes. A healthy disdain for grade-grubbing and competitiveness. Pursuing interests for your own sake, not for awards, glory or parental approval.</p>
<p>As a parent, we kept S1 supplied with a computer, the occasional textbook from Amazon, and got the hell out of the way. He’s done all right for himself. :)</p>
<p>Bump!!!</p>
<p>Well to me, there’s no such thing as just “talent”. Sure, there’s genetic makeups that give people advantages, but it’s about what you do with that genetic makeup. If you waste it, you will do far worse than a person who has less “talent” than you, but actually tries.
Besides that, I think the term undermines the work that those who succeed have done. Saying “oh, that person has talent”, almost makes it seem like they just got as good as they are by sitting and derping around all day. Anybody who is good at anything works their tail off to get it. It’s what separates the extraordinary from the great.</p>
<p>I’d say passion AND opportunity for the first category- those geniuses you see at Intel, perfect scores on AMCs, all that. It takes real love to spend hours and late nights at the lab, working through dense scientific papers, solving problems. But you also need someone who will let you use their lab, guide you through proofs, and introduce you to the subject in the first place.
In the second category, well-rounded people…hard work. And a love of reading, is what I seem to see as the common thread between them.</p>