Rebelliousness, while may be a valuable skill, is different from intelligence.
The rebellious person did a deeper, objective, thoughtful analysis but did worse than the obedient mimic.
Often it's a D student who knows the material the best, has the most passion for the subject, is the smartest in the class, and puts the most work in. I saw it all the time while I was TAing.
Perhaps a smart person is a rebel roleplaying as a conformist. In a game theoretic sense you get the most advantage without the penalty. It is one explanation I suspected but haven't seen for why contradictory traits might be expressed by somebody in or close to power.
> A conformist would mimic what the professor sees and pick his right one.
Less Wrong calls this 'Guessing the teacher's password'.
It's the art of mimicry. That there is no penalty for this in the education system is an indictment.
> Often it's a D student who knows the material the best
Even most A students will agree with you. There is an argument made by Alfie Kohn that grades should be abolished.
You could either solve the problems using techniques taught or you couldn't. Grades were a direct measurement of this ability. Maybe grades don't matter in Psychology or Sociology class, but I don't want to rely on an electrical system designed by the D students in my classes. It would probably kill me.