For the first eighteen years of your life, being correct is all that matters to The Authorities. If you know the facts, you will succeed. Pass the test. Make the grade. Keep these numbers large and these numbers small. You are a winner.

It can be difficult adjusting to the real world, where The Authorities may or may not be interested in facts and logical conclusions. Where blind, idiot personal prejudice trumps your correct answer every time. Where arbitrary ego steps on your neck and what's more, there is nothing you can do about it.

There is no appeal. There is no review board. There is nobody to tattle to. There is no textbook to point to and say "I'm right, give me the points back." And even if there was, it wouldn't matter.

You will be faced with a boss, a supervisor, a customer, or someone else whose decisions will directly impact the material facts of your life - and that person will do the demonstrably wrong thing. It will hurt your wallet or your promotion prospects or even just your pride, and there will be absolutely nothing you can do about it. There will be no comeuppance, no moment of triumph, no Hollywood moment where everyone realizes you were right all along.

Don't dwell on how unfair it is. There is no solution. You will eat yourself alive.

For a bright young person, being able to let other people be wrong can be the most difficult thing there is to learn. Learning to choke down the consequences and ask for more is something you may struggle with your whole life.