I feel like literally anybody that’s considered smart as a child is gonna inevitably hit a wall somewhere at the age of 18 that prevents them to continue to excel in academia purely from their talents

It’s undeniable how often you can find students considered prodigies teaching the age of 18 or graduating hs only to fall apart completely when they’re asked to demonstrate their knowledge and continue deeper and deeper into research. Everyone goes through the post grad filter but few do and the ones that do take years before they truly understand whatever the fuck they’re learning