One thing (in retrospect) that I love about the xUSSR school system, is its focus on competitive math and physics.

There's a robust multi-level system of "Olympiads", starting from the neighborhood level, and going all the way up to the national level. Every student knows about them, and more importantly, "magnet schools" scoop up students who do well in competitions.

This works really well for math, and so pretty much every Fields medal award ceremony has awardees from the xUSSR countries.

I'm really surprised that this kind of system is not more widespread, especially in the US. After all, sports and competition is kinda a thing here?

Reading Leo Szilard biography right now. School was easy and he just read all the time on his own. Which is pretty much (I’m no Szilard) how it was for me too. School boredom as a recipe for success?

Alternatively, school boredom as a recipe for being the class clown.

The issue I see these days is that every industry is getting more and more competitive, and leaves less and less time to think more broadly or creatively. Can't go off reading about differential geometry when you need a guaranteed perfect SAT, a great entrance essay (i.e. a strong personal story), and easy-to-gauge extracurriculars ("placed X in Y", not "read some smart books and had some interesting thoughts that don't impress the admissions officer"). Same goes for the industry and academia as well.

I think top schools are much more likely to accept that kid with a 1550 on the SAT who spent his downtime studying differential geometry instead of the SAT.

> Whizzkids will educate themselves

Only those you see becoming one.

You never hear of all the "Einsteins" who never leave the patents office because they never got inspired for some passion or various other stupid reasons.