- Joined
- Apr 14, 2006
- Messages
- 23,225
Had a similar experience, but in law school. The #1 ranked student in our class would walk around before finals "sabotaging" people by telling them he'd learned that the exam would contain a question about some esoteric topic when it didn't. Those who fell for it would spend inordinate amounts of time studying niche material that was never going to be tested.
This is why I am so glad I went to law school where I did. There were no class ranks. And although we received a grade in each class after the first semester, there was an unbreakable social code that one did not ever tell one's grade, nor ask that information of anyone else. So, to all of the students and to the world outside, we were all equal - tied for both first and last in the class, with 174 others. This removed the competitive incentive to do such horrible things. It was, all in all, a very civilized place and I greatly enjoyed my time there.