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The value of hard work is that it allows the less capable to attain, by rote, some of the diligence and understanding that comes naturally to the more capable. It is a virtue when it allows one to be useful rather than not. When selected for in highly competitive spheres that ought to require talent and creativity, it burns billions of man-hours on rat racing against each other and accomplishing little other than letting employers demand higher credentials for the same level of actual competence.
Like you, I agree that on the spectrum of effort from sloth to inhumane, there is a sweet spot of maximal benefit to both the individual and society. Even in my original comment, I said East Asian minimum for top of class is 1500. Searching it up, to land in 1500 for SAT that's about 5-7 questions wrong in a 98 questions test, that's a range of 93% to 95% correct (assuming questions are equal in score). That's not asking for perfection, that's an A- to an A in most classes.
I remember one of the members of this forum has the tag "you're still a rat even if you win the rat race. but you'll also still be a winner." Anyways, I think your true distaste is in the "letting employers demand higher credentials for the same level of actual competence.". This is my response: any marker, any status symbol, any award, any slightly higher higher privilege, can become a "credential". And combined with micro-level priorities and incentives of thousands, millions, billions, and some day, trillions of being, there will be many that will compete and try even a little more than the next. That doesn't have to be you, you can find meaning in not doing that, or you can try to change the system so the incentives, signals, and results are better aligned, but there will always be "billions of man hours rat racing against each other". The problem is that we will only have the relatively microscopic view from our perspective, and what we think is wasteful effort of others are just them making the most rational and rewarding decision from their perspective.
I wanted to draw this particular bit out because it poked at me, my response I will borrow from someone else: "Talent is something you make bloom, instinct is something you polish."
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