“Nothing infuriates an academic more than a talented and successful colleague.”

“Success is nothing more than a few simple disciplines, practiced every day.”

“Nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful people with talent, leave the house before you find something worth staying in for.”

“They know that professional success is no longer solely linked to academic success, as it once was.”

“Talent is perhaps nothing other than successfully sublimated rage.”

“Wellesley's success…appears to have been nothing more than an affair of a rear-guard, and is ridiculously magnified.”

“Artistic talent is far more common than the talent toartistic talent. Any parent with a hard hand can crush it, but to nurture it is much more difficult.”

“But rising income inequality explains, at best, half of the increase in the rich-poor academic achievement gap. It’s not just that the rich have more money than they used to, it’s that they are using it differently. This is where things get really interesting. High-income families are increasingly focusing their resources — their money, time and knowledge of what it takes to be successful in school — on their children’s cognitive development and educational success. They are doing this because educational success is much more important than it used to be, even for the rich.”

“Mediocrity knows nothing higher than itself; but talent instantly recognizes genius.”

“Too often secondary school counselors seem to press academically talented students toward an early vocational choice. We believe more mistakes are made by an early vocational decision than a delayed decision, especially by students who are intellectually gifted and who possess wide interests.”