When the news media learned that James Holmes majored in neuroscience, they might have automatically assumed that he’s pretty smart. His family bragged about his academic achievements and one of his college friends said that he did well in tests without taking notes in classes. Because he’s socially awkward, he also behaves like a typical nerd.
From a USA Today article, it appears that he’s merely just a good student, not a genius the media has been depicting him as. His high school transcript showed mostly “Bs and no advance-placement classes.” He graduated from the University of California-Riverside with honors.
Graduating from a university with honors for a science degree is pretty smart in my books. Sure, he might not be a genius, but far from a “dolt,” as he was described by a neuroscience researcher who was present at a summer science camp that Holmes attended. He was also described as “average” and “mediocre” by other educators in the camp. I think they’re being a bit harsh on him for giving neuroscience a bad name.
In the end, he’s probably still a pretty smart guy, just not an Einstein. Graduating with honors from college can still get you to places. If someone with a C average in college can become the president of the United States, imagine what a B student can do. Um, ok, maybe not.
