I’m so goddamn sick of the “former gifted child” shit. They called anyone who didn’t have to wait for the slowest kids in class that. “WOW, you’re 8 and knew what “fortress” means on the vocabulary test? You’re gifted!”
I get where you’re coming from, but I think the term does speak to a real phenomenon. For my part, I was such a high achiever in school that I was pretty alienated from my peers, and I responded to this isolation by doubling down on my academic pursuits.
I grew up in poverty, and I was the first in my family to go to university, so you can imagine how jazzed my folks were when I got into one of the best universities in the country. Back then, I genuinely believed that we live in a mostly meritocratic world, despite also being aware of many concrete ways in which the system fucks people over; I think I was just bullshitting myself, because the entirety of my self worth was invested in my academic achievements, and I desperately needed to believe I was striving for something meaningful, even if that was the selfish desire to have a more secure life than my parents had had.
The greatest benefit of going to such a prestigious university was that it thoroughly demolished any naive notions of meritocracy I might’ve held onto. Some of the most blindingly intelligent people I’ve ever known had their life path decided for them by socioeconomic pressures; you’re a much more competitive applicant for PhD programmes or postdoctoral fellowships you have a family who can financially support you as you study (I am convinced that this is an intended effect of unpaid internships).
I’ve found that even those that have been able to find work in their field have struggled after they’ve graduated. The problem is that even for people who aren’t interested in postgraduate research, the entire academic pathway promotes the kind of desperate tunnel vision that can only lead to burnout. We were told to “go to university, get a good degree, and you’ll be able to get a good job”, and that this was a viable strategy for people who were exceptional enough. Even if you don’t have overly strict parents, it can lead to a disproportionate amount of pressure, because we are made to believe that we can triumph over systemic injustice by just working harder.
I’m rambling a bit now, so I’ll just finish off by saying that this is a distinct phenomenon that’s real and potentially politically interesting. If nothing else, it can lead to conversations about how to prevent this kind of toxic mindset developing, and how to cope with burnout after putting all your eggs in one basket in this manner.
I liked the meme comparing it to going pro if not for my knee football bro. Very apt
Sounds better than ‘has a thirst for knowledge that needs to be crushed’.
The average roleplaying game rulebook is like a vehicle repair manual except all the part names come from a mixed up swirl of foreign mythologies or experimental science concepts. Not every kid has the patience, the mental agility, or the lack of more interesting social distractions necessary to internalize those rules and run a game for their friends.
300pg Tome: drops on the table with a loud thud
Old Gamer: There’s a game in there kid. Greatest game you’ll ever play. If you have the will to find it…
But scheduling ttrpg’s is impossible.
If anyone wants to prove me wrong, I’ll run one over matrix if I get 4 players.
It’s definitely very hard.
The best option I’ve found so far is to live with or near your players. Currently we live next door to the people we game with which is excellent. Regular weekly game, allowing for life stuff.
The other best option I’ve found is to agree to a schedule, like every week and provided more than x people turn up the game runs.
Scheduling is the biggest killer of games though by far.
Hearsay. Not proof.
I can only assume you’re joking here, because what proof would possibly work for this context? Unless, of course, you’re fishing for the opportunity to be in a game that meets regularly, in which case, I respect the attempt
That’s the goal, yes. Everyone likes to correct t 0people who they think are wrong on the internet
So either I get to be roght, or i get a regular game.
I’ve run two 5e oneshots with people from Lemmy in the past month lol planning another. One of those players is planning one actually and I gotta find someone who’d be willing to join
I’d be interested, if you wanted to pass on my username/direct me to who I’d message.
I don’t do d&d; rules heavy and bad design with the bloat of history, but otherwise interested!
Seeing as we all ran games as teenagers… damn, we burned out early.
… Huh
Those who want to and can run RPGs tend be of above average intelligence, but tend not to be as interested in the real world. Kids who showed a bunch of promise, but often have barriers to translating that promise into mainstream definitions of success.
Or that’s been my experience in life and with other lifelong rpg enthusiasts, and my understanding of the comment.
Or alternatively, very interested in the real world and want to tell stories with other weirdos about the themes that they find compelling.
When my brother’s grade 9 teacher told our mum that he just wasn’t very good at research, she was like, “uhh, he just spent 3 weeks doing research on the wild West to run a game of deadlands for a bunch of people in their twenties and thirties, I don’t think research is the problem”
The TT stands for Table Top.
Yeah, wut?
