cream rising to the top

I realized somewhere along Hwy 62, I take much more for granted now than I ever did as a freshman. More in terms of my abilities and what I expect a meritocratic world to hold for myself and for others. To this end, I've had different versions of "merit" floating around in my head lately. Deborah Stone, the visiting professor, pointed out an interesting book review by David Brooks this past week. Brooks states that college admissions are stacking the deck in favor of those who are most like them:

In 1952, more than 37 percent of Harvard freshmen had fathers who had not attended college. By 1996, less than 11 percent did. In 1954, 10 percent of Harvard freshmen had fathers who worked at blue-collar jobs. Forty-two years later, only 5 percent did.

In 1996, only about 3 percent of the American labor force was in one of the highly credentialed professional occupations (doctor, lawyer, professor), but nearly a third of Harvard freshmen that year were children of such professionals.

With the traveling and schmoozing that I've done lately, I can see how that is the case. I've come across some fabulously brilliant people with backgrounds that are both amazing and slightly frightening. People are always surprised that there are no doctors in my family, only teachers (as if that means that teachers aren't ultimately more influential). However, Brooks' case is frightening with its suggestion that a culture difference is widening due to a combined effort of societal and cultural pressures.