Why Meritocracy Misses the Mark on True Talent

Four years of physics at degree level won’t keep you ahead of the field. The syllabus hands you the basics and a peek at the unknown, but tackling the real messy stuff—those complex, bleeding-edge problems—takes obsession and the right crew. You won’t find that in a lecture hall. It’s out there, in the wild, where people wrestle with questions the textbook can’t answer.

Today, though, many students prioritize grades over that deeper pursuit. It’s hard to blame them when jobs and opportunities hinge on academic scores rather than creative thinking. This focus shapes a workforce skilled at maintaining the status quo but less equipped to push boundaries. Over time, it risks leaving us with societies that excel at managing knowledge rather than creating it.

In my country, this is especially clear. Success is tied almost entirely to grades, a single metric that can’t capture a student’s full potential. Those who thrive often do so by mastering the system, not by stretching their abilities. Meanwhile, I’ve seen students who work tirelessly, stumble through setbacks, and grow from every challenge, only to be overlooked because their strengths don’t align with what’s measured. I’ve seen kids grind through failure after failure, learning more than the A-students ever will, only to get branded as failures because their strengths don’t fit the box. Their effort and resilience deserve recognition, but the system rarely sees beyond exam results.

Indeed, today’s outcomes are largely shaped by this system. Those who work hard are expected to get what they deserve. However, there are also students who work tirelessly, face repeated failures, and learn extensively, yet their capabilities lie beyond the system’s predefined scope. Unfortunately, this often leads them to be unfairly perceived as lacking intelligence. This highlights the failure of the system to recognize moral desert—what students intrinsically deserve based on their efforts and talents—instead prioritizing institutional desert tied to grades and exams.

This narrow view doesn’t just affect students; it extends to skilled workers too. We have plenty of competent people, from automobile workshops to the government sector, who excel at what they do. Yet some never get the chance to pursue higher education, whether due to family finances or a merit system that fails to assess their practical abilities. What matters is their skill, how they solve problems on the ground, not their lack of formal credentials. These are talents the system should notice, but too often it doesn’t.

Consider the ones who keep pushing despite the odds, the students who fail, learn, and try again, or the workers who master their craft without a degree. They show a determination and depth that a narrow meritocracy misses. A better approach would value that persistence, nurture diverse talents, and connect education to what society truly needs. We should aim for a system that celebrates both achievement and the drive to innovate, not just the ability to ace a test or earn a title.

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