 are the meritocratic. That's what he calls the meritocratic. They were born with brains and couldn't fail if they tried. Because very few in Middletown and impoverished Appalachia fall into the former category. That's the first one. People assume that everyone who makes it is just really smart. To the average Middletonian, hard work doesn't matter as much as raw talent. Well, that was his observation of that area where he grew up, but...