- The Chapter begins with Chris Langan, a brilliant boy who was born into poverty. He was always very smart and found his classes easy as a child, but his parents and teachers did not notice. When he was of age to go to college, he received full scholarships to Reed College and University of Chicago.
- He went to Reed and did well, but later was informed that his scholarship was not continued until the next year because his mother had failed to fill out the renewal forms. This was because she was simply unaware of how to fill them out. Chris tried to reason with them, but they did not allow him to keep his scholarship.
- So he left, got a new job and eventually went to Montana State University. While he was there, his car transmission broke and he begged his college advisor to switch his classes to the afternoon so he could walk or hitchhike to class, but he told him it was not possible. Chris didn’t get what he wanted because he was not properly equipped to deal with life and make things happen to his advantage.
- Robert Oppenheimer had a similar life as Chris, but he knew how to get what he wanted. He grew up in a rich family, so learned entitlement. Even when he tried to poison his tutor, he was only given probation.
- The chapter talks about the differences of class, and how children growing up in rich families are so much more equipped to succeed in life. Chris did not get what he wanted in life, while Oppenheimer did. They call this “practical intelligence” and it is taught in most well-off families from a young age.
- A large group of people who were deemed highly intelligent as children were observed as adults and categorized by their success. The ones who were most successful almost all came from a rich family, while the ones who were brilliant but not doing anything worthwhile, most came from a rich family. Chris Langan became an example of this lower group.
- In his adult life, he became married and owned a farm, but did not have an academic career. Instead, he read books at his home and wrote about them. The chapter is saying that people raised in a rich household are much more likely to succeed and get what they want in life.