Quentin's aptitude discipline test is inconclusive. At first I thought that Grossman would later uncover his secret ability but it never happens. We later find out that it's Penny who had the secret genius aptitude who starts his own private research. Even until the end of the book Quentin never "finds" his aptitude. This seems to be commentary on "specialization." Not everyone has extreme talent in one single field. Many people are well-rounded and more or less average in everything. I think this is the case for Quentin; he's good at magic - passable at it - but he doesn't excel into it. To apply this to a real life scenario, I myself perform relatively good in all my classes but there is no one subject that I flourish in. Like Quentin, I think it can be difficult when your skills and abilities aren't the dominate factors influencing your choice in career. Even after he practices in the solitude of fillory and becomes an expert he never discovers any aptitude. Another curious event - he becomes an expert after he experiences the pain of losing his lover, Alice. Is this to go along with the them that becoming an adept stems from how much you suffer? Was Alice really any more talented than him or did she just suffer from the death of her brother sooner allowing her to draw on more pain to fuel her magic?
Quentin never tries to experiment in the creation of new spells - he doesn't even express the desire to do so. I believe this stems from his lack of ability, or his traumatization of the accidental first encounter with the beast. It came to be b/c Foggs mispoke the spell - creating a new spell - which allowed for the beast to come. His not taking part in the creation of spells such as magic missile is even more evidence that he is smart, but not the smartest. However, his self-other-loathing clashes with the more universal traits of being average. If he hadn't been such a wallower, I might have actually identified with him.
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