<p>His point is that it is not the grade that makes the kids feel inadequate, but the view of yourself in context with your immediate peer reference group (your school) instead of the view of yourself in context with a large reference group (the population as a whole, or all math majors in all universities). So yes, if you are in the bottom quarter of your class at Harvard math, many will feel rather defeated, even though on a pure aptitude level, they may be equivalent to the top quarter at Podunk U math, where those students are feeling pretty proud of themselves. It’s hard to know the large reference group when you don’t see the large reference group.</p>
<p>If a club baseball player is put on a professional baseball team, does that club player feel as fragile as the student? Do they ignore their own internal comparisons? Do they keep playing ball and enjoy it? Should they for the love of the game? I don’t know the answer. But I know that a club baseball player is a much better player than the majority of the population.</p>