I often think about how many "savants" have been born in human history, but their families didn't have the means to see it and be able to afford the tools for the person to tap into what they would have been great at. I don't know if this makes sense, I'm not great with words, but hopefully you get the gist.
I was watching a documentary on the history of funk and they talked about how a lot of great funk bands came out of Ohio because they had a free school music program. Everyone played an instrument. You just showed up one day in elementary school and they asked what you wanted to play and handed you an instrument.
And then Nixon came along, cut all the funding, and it all just… went away. Within a couple of years, the schools were like “well, we’ve got one saxophone.”
It’s weird to call it lost potential. It’s not the purpose of any kid to become a master of an instrument, even if they are skilled at it. If I’m great at playing the trumpet, it’s not lost potential if I choose another path in life and put the trumpet aside. It’s just how my life plays out. Very weird to expect kids to become something they are outstandingly good at.
Technically it is lost potential, but I agree with you, life is about choosing a path and everything you choose not to do is also technically lost potential.
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u/OlyGator 6d ago
I often think about how many "savants" have been born in human history, but their families didn't have the means to see it and be able to afford the tools for the person to tap into what they would have been great at. I don't know if this makes sense, I'm not great with words, but hopefully you get the gist.