1. What do I write? A rather idiosyncratic blog with a niche audience. Specifications that frequently don’t get implemented quite as I expect them to. Some academic papers that nobody reads. My fixed mindset has led me to believe that my writing will never reach a large audience. My lab partner from ninth grade biology class (assigned seats, alphabetical by last name)? She writes episodes of television shows. I personally identify as a poorly socialized mathematician; I have no chance of being held up as an example of what someone might aspire to be. Her wedding announcement was in the New York Times.

  2. Does fixed mindset also hold me back in sports? I’ve really been trying to go to the gym a few times a week, but I keep making excuses. I don’t really believe that I can achieve my goals. I’ve decided that my best chance to become successful at anything athletic is to rely on my family’s good genes and hope that I can find an activity where I can find some minimal success in the “over 90” division. On the other hand, one of my high school classmates competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics. I think that he came in fourth at the shot put.

  3. When it comes to programming, I can write examples that are used in tutorials. I can put together a proof of concept that will never get used in production. Let’s face it, I’m never going to write a killer app. One of my classmates from my eleventh grade physics class was a co-founder of MyFitnessPal. He and his brother sold their company for approximately infinity dollars.

Also worthy of mention (not in my grade): The younger brother of one of my classmates works in the film industry. The inventor of the Roomba graduated four years ahead of me. One of the co-founders of AirBnB was in my cousin’s grade. Decades before I was born, Ron Rivest (the “R” in “RSA encryption) graduated from my high school.