Talent is everywhere: presuming competence and finding hidden ability
Gershenfeld finds hidden genius in fab labs, Rometty hires for curiosity over credentials, Ky Dickens argues for presuming competence in non-speaking students and Liemandt wants universal learning, not just access. They share a view that schools and employers miss ability because of how they screen for it.
Why do schools and employers miss ability, according to these four accounts? Show answer
The filter they use measures a proxy, such as a degree or speech, instead of the ability itself.
What does Neil Gershenfeld find wherever fab labs open? Show answer
The same inventive kind of person he sees at MIT, including in rural villages and Arctic hamlets.
How does Gershenfeld explain the output of MIT's few thousand people? Show answer
They are not uniquely the brightest. MIT is simply a productive environment for them.
What did Ginni Rometty discover about IBM's hiring? Show answer
99 percent of hires had degrees, which excluded people who had aptitude but not access.
What trait does Rometty hire for first? Show answer
Willingness to learn, meaning curiosity. She says she will take it over anything else.
What is Ky Dickens's central claim about non-speaking autistic people? Show answer
That being unable to speak does not mean being unable to think, since she describes speech as a motor problem for many.
Why is Dickens's case contested? Show answer
Earlier facilitated methods led to false allegations attributed to facilitators, and she says a professional body calls spelling to communicate pseudoscience.
What does Joe Liemandt mean by universal access but not universal learning? Show answer
Nearly every child sits in a classroom, but children need individualized instruction to actually learn.
Why does a passing grade of 80 percent mislead? Show answer
The child moves on with gaps that compound, and a missing basic can later look like carelessness or lack of talent.
How should a school be judged, in Liemandt's view? Show answer
By the rate of learning, since raw achievement mostly reflects who was selected.
What caution applies to Liemandt's numbers? Show answer
They are his school's own reports, and randomized trials by an outside lab were still to come.
What should an employer do first to find hidden talent? Show answer
Audit the door: see what share of hires hold a given credential and ask who that filter excludes.