Studious white, East Asian, and South Asian men are presumed to be good at maths and science, including computer science. They are shunted in that direction, encouraged by parents and teachers; once enrolled in programmes their mistakes are taken as learning opportunities rather than evidence of a lack of aptitude. Absorbing those messages boosts their confidence and assumptions about future careers, to the extent that at least some number — based on students I have mentored — worry that they may not turn out to have an aptitude for an unexpected path into law or politics.
好學的白人、東亞和南亞男生一直被認爲擅長數學和科學，包括電腦科學。在家長和老師的鼓勵下，他們都選擇了這個方向。然而，在開始學習這些課程後，即使他們經常出錯，這些錯誤也會被視爲學習的機會，而不會被視爲缺乏天賦的證據。被灌輸了這些資訊增強了他們對未來職業生涯的信心和先入之見，使得至少一些人——就我所指導的學生來看——擔心，要是選擇了法律或政治等不同於期許的道路，他們可能會發現自己其實不是那塊料。