Being conscientious isn't a moral virtue.

Working hard - being conscientious - is not a moral virtue. It’s not enough.

The grade on your assignment has nothing to do with how hard you worked on it. You get a grade dependent on your answers being correct. If we didn’t answer the questions, show our work, or do the work, the teacher won’t care. The point wasn’t to work hard. The point of the assignment is to get the correct answer and show your work.

This is a hard lesson for children. I remember feeling crestfallen when teachers explained to me why I failed my assignment. Even though I worked hard (lots of words), I didn’t answer the question.

In these modern times where you get to choose your own facts, adults are also having a hard time accepting the realities of math, gravity, and science.

We are occupied with veneer, imitation, and appearance. In Mel Brooks classic comedy, Blazing Saddles, the Territorial Attorney General, Hedley Lamarr, is trying to replace the town of Rock Ridge with a railroad that will make him rich. He sends a group of thugs to destroy the town. The residents get wind of his plans. Knowing the thugs will be coming, they decide to build a fake Rock Ridge and lure the gunmen there, instead of the real one. The fake Rock RIdge will be built down to the smallest details, including the residents. Seeing the villains shoot up a town made up of facade people, houses, and stores is priceless. A lot of the business and work we do is like the fake town of Rock Ridge: an elaborate facade.

Conscientiousness is no substitute for the real thing.