Marks, marks, marks…
I’ve been to every class this semester, with the exception of a trip to Ottawa. I’ll give you a minute to let that sink in: no sleeping in past noon, no skipping to eat lunch, no really late nights; every class.
While I haven’t skipped a single class, I’ve been late to class. Once. Which class? The midterm. My alarm didn’t go off and I showed up more than halfway through, out of breath from the sprint over.
The midterm was marked and returned recently, and I got 67%. Since I consider myself to be smart, my brain had to resolve the cognitive dissonance:
- The highest mark was 98%.
- My 67% in 20 minutes averages 3.35% min.
- The highest 98% in 50 minutes averages 1.96% per minute.
- Therefore, I’m more efficient at exam-writing than anyone else in the class. Therefore, I’m better and smarter and would obviously have received 167.5% had I had the full 50 minutes.
QED
Cognitive dissonance is the result of either two conflicting beliefs or a belief conflicting with the real world. In my case, it was caused by my belief that I’m smart conflicting with the 20
November 21st, 2007 at 1:46 am 1
I like the proof.
And since you’re so infinitely smart, there’s no ceiling effect on the marks you could get. Why didn’t you stay longer, write questions for yourself, and answer more? Oh right. Blame the alarm clock.