The summer training in the lab is going well. For basic training at the beginning stage, a trainee's character or attitude is more important than what she knows. In this sense, the summer student is doing well.
The following is a part of what I told to the student.
"Your attitude makes a big difference in your training result. When you take a part time job for the summer at a burger shop, sure, you can get by with just flipping burgers. But if you want to own a burger shop in the future, you'd want to learn more, like how the business is operated and what else is going on, in addition to flipping burgers."
This led me to think more about the gap between an A+ student and an A student.
They are both smart. After all, they are both at an A level, and struggling Bs tend not to reach the A level easily. The difference between an A/A+ and a B(and below) is the ability to understand the subject correctly, and the difference can be huge. However, the difference between an A+ and an A, both understanding the subject correctly, also tends to be huge as well.
In many cases the difference is "the difference in the depth." An A+ student has deeper understanding or deeper knowledge, so that their knowledge is more connected to other fields of knowledge, and can be more useful or applicable.
The "depth" can be measured in a quantitative manner. Let's take biology for example. After reading 10 papers, an A student can construct his or her understanding for the subject and can talk about the subject adequately or sufficiently. But an A+ may have read 30 papers, whereas a professor may have read 1000 papers on the subject. So in addition to a cursory knowledge from 10 papers, the A+ and the professor know the history, schools of thoughts, and occasionally the history of failed theories, which may be unwritten and go unnoticed by a new scholar. This is the depth difference.
What makes the depth difference? It basically is the difference in the ability to go the extra mile, or an attitude that makes effort in an effortless-looking manner. An A+ has a habit of doing a little bit more, yet doesn't think it is an effort. It seems more like a built-in system. They just do a little more than an A, who is equally smart but stops at a point.
Perhaps an A is smart enough to know where to stop? Indeed. I can see that point. But an A+ is a student who "foolishly" volunteers a bit extra, so they can have a bit more depth.
I see the difference in other areas. Dancing for example. A dancer who has potential to be an outstanding dancer is someone who dances more, and is someone who sticks around later on the dance floor. It is this simple.
If you are an A and wondering where the A+ is coming from, this is my observation. Before you call the difference "talent" and stop thinking about it, you might want to consider this.
