Anecdotal, but still: What you have described might have been the case in a handful of top schools, mostly at metropolitan areas. The key difference for the "rest of us" was a high school theacher who would pick top 1-2 pupils after couple of lessons and teach at their pace for the rest of the year. This is my case and the story that was confirmed by dozens of people in my university.
If you want to talk about the key, that’s a much bigger discussion. Personally I always thought Alan (with all due respect to obviously one of the greatest luminaries of our time) had it wrong. Point of view is not worth 80 IQ points. First, that smacks of a time when we used to conflate IQ with intelligence and honestly think someone with 150 was 5 smarter than someone with 145. No, intelligence and knowledge just get you to the table. Point of view is why you’re there.
It’s like saying Picasso’s style gave him points towards his technique. Having a good line allowed him to express his style.
So what’s the key? Insight. And while that’s much harder to understand and evaluate, that’s the ticket.
The last time I checked, we didn't have a whole lot of songs that feature a cat playing the cowbell and therefore I would be doing myself a disservice, and every member of the HN if I didn't perform the hell out of this.
