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.
好学的白人、东亚和南亚男生一直被认为擅长数学和科学，包括计算机科学。在家长和老师的鼓励下，他们都选择了这个方向。然而，在开始学习这些课程后，即使他们经常出错，这些错误也会被视为学习的机会，而不会被视为缺乏天赋的证据。被灌输了这些信息增强了他们对未来职业生涯的信心和先入之见，使得至少一些人——就我所指导的学生来看——担心，要是选择了法律或政治等不同于期许的道路，他们可能会发现自己其实不是那块料。