Contrast Robert Oppenheimer’s experience in college with Chris Langan’s experience

In the course of his brilliant academic career, Oppenheimer made a few unusual maneuvers: for one, he attempted to poison his Cambridge tutor, Patrick Blackett. Yet Oppenheimer was only placed on probation for this action. In contrast, Chris Langan had trouble simply navigating college environments that, according to Gladwell, would logically be nurturing and supportive. For Gladwell, the difference in Langan's and Oppenheimer's fates resides in a quality called 'practical intelligence', a quality of informed self-assertion that leads to real-world success. According to sociologist Annette Lareau, children from well-off backgrounds can cultivate such practical intelligence thanks to assertive and involved parenting; less privileged children tend to experience more distant parenting styles, and thus have problems learning how to assert themselves. True to this theory, Oppenheimer, a recognized genius, was encouraged by his parents to share his knowledge. (He would later use this assertive mentality to secure a leadership role in the Manhattan Project despite his relative youth and inexperience.) In contrast, poverty and detached parenting held Chris Langan back from high academic ambitions.