[analog31]

An amusing anecdote about the "trophy generation." There is a tradition of not keeping score at soccer games for little kids. My kids were in these soccer leagues for a while, so I attended quite a number of games.

The adults didn't keep score. Whether they knew the score or not depended on whether they cared about sports or not.

The kids kept score. At the end of the game, every last kid knew the score, who won, who kicked the most goals, had the most saves, etc.

Likewise with "every kid gets a ribbon." The kids know the score. They know if it's one of those ribbons that every kid gets, or a ribbon that's actually a prize for something.