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Most tests for potential are easily gamed by people who are taught how to pass the test, or simply avoided by people whose wealth and social status allows them to avoid the test.

For example: When I was 18 I was completely overlooked by the NFL because I had never played gridiron football. Had I been coached professionally for 10 years I may have been a star.

I sat in an interview for an army officer scholarship once, acutely aware that the man testing me had an accent that made it clear he was from a higher social class than me. He mentioned that I was not properly prepared for the meeting, but I was given no notes as to what to prepare. I was told later that in the private schools that feed the majority of candidates to this route, that they coach their pupils specifically for this test.

So I would like to hear a test for potential that is not easily gamed by wealthy people




In our present society, gaming the test is part of the test.

Whether it's learning the social mores of the institution you're trying to join, or grinding test prep, or whatever else.

Is that ideal? Probably not, but like I said nothing's perfect.


How do you game the color of your skin? How long does it take to game your accent in a second or third language?


Nepotism, obviously.




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