Homeless student is Intel Science Talent Search semifinalist
geek.com
geek.com
Am I the only one who is not comfortable with this outlier / (perhaps romanticized) story being used to justify that homeless people _can_ do something about their situation (so if they don't they really are trash and deserve their condition!)? Of course they can, but the potential barrier is just way too high (compared to correct living conditions citizens) for the journalist to consider we are being human enough.
My first reaction was to want to say that the reporter should ask her opinion on if anyone can achieve great things regardless of their station in life, but that goes too far in the other direction. Instead the article should just state the facts about how she has achieved what she did without trying to discern any political or moral points from it.
Apart from the meta stuff, she sounds awesome. I usually grumble at these things because privilege plays such a big role--and who knows, maybe she has her own form of privileges that aren't represented by homelessness--but she managed to beat the odds. Good for her.
My issue with the "mindset is everything" idea is that it is, itself scientifically false.
And no, I don't think its to any one's benefit to believe bullshit. You can bet some slimy "self help" guru is already planning to feature this story in his next sales pitch.
The problem with this idea is that it gives false hope to people who either lack the natural (genetic) ability or the social support structures (family, supportive schools, access to research facilities, etc) to succeed.
There were obviously several factors important to her success: innate genetic potential, a supportive family, access to supportive researchers. To isolate and credit one factor just perpetuates myths that do no one any good.
Finally the thing that I find most amusing about the "mindset is everything" idea is that mindset itself has a large genetic component and to the extent it can be enhanced it requires some pretty heavy intervention (cognitive behavior therapy, possibly certain meditation practices).
See the fnords (http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fnord) guys, they're always there.
"Her story is sure to be a compelling one and a great example of the extreme barriers the right mindset can overcome. In this case, an exceptional person managed to overcome even the apparently insurmountable barrier to get out of their dire situation."
Especially vs. the Thiel 20 under 20 thread yesterday where there was a lot of discussion (and admitted jealously) about the fellowship winner's likely advantages -- and the simple fact that most people who participate in this stuff know about it and are able to get neat research gigs run mostly by professionals because their parents are well-to-do and academics (I know, as a kid whose dad is a math prof).
I'm inspired. I'm reminded of the team of high school students (underrepresented, low-income) who beat MIT in a robotics competition.
Her situation is sad and unfortunate, but her circumstances shouldn't be used to advertise in her favour. Her work should stand on its own.
And even were this not true, I'd have questions about how she got the resources, equipment and expertise to pull this off. Its an interesting story but a lot missing for me to have any take-away from it. And feels too much like the typical throwaway feel-good story.
This is not the first time she has been homeless. Her family has been living on the edge of poverty for years, like many american families have been.
She's doing her research at SUNY Stony Brook, a local University, which does have the lab resources.
Here's are two important takeaways: 1. her parents love and support her. That's the most important thing we can give our children. 2. she doesn't feel sorry for herself, but presses on, taking advantage of opportunities as they arise.
It reminds me of Liz Murray, another young woman from New York who was homeless in High School (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDQjH816L6E) Her parents weren't as capable (they were drug addicts), but she credits their love with helping her get through.
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/Programs/ES/BPEA/2011...
(edited to use a freely available copy of the paper)
Have some sympathy
People who overcome obstacles and still contribute knowledge, start companies, etc should be celebrated.
Not sure why this type of story has to unravel into class warfare noise. I get enough of that elsewhere. The signal to noise ratio should be better here.