Not Competing In A Culture Obsessed With Ranking | Math Misery? Competing From a very young age, we are subject to comparison by adults. Jimmy was really heavy when he was born. Jane started walking when she was 6 months old! That’s really fast! As we get older we compare ourselves with our peers, “I’m better than he is at handstands.”; “Pound-for-pound Joe is the strongest in the class, but Jeff is absolutely stronger than everyone else.” and so forth.
We also accept / know our specialties as well and within our specialization we know where we stand. I wonder if doing a difference comparison is (a) just a natural thing, (b) something that we’re conditioned to do, or (c) if I’ve been the only crazy one constantly comparing one thing to another. As an armchair anthropologist, I wonder if that’s just how we evolved. We Compare Everything We don’t just compare ourselves to others. Now some of this is, of course, a necessity.
Off to College! I remember when I started college. You could major in whatever you wanted! What’s the exam going to be on? What?