ChapterZero

What makes a person smart? Note the question is, emphatically, not what makes a person a genius, or even what makes a person intelligent. Is there a great difference between the three questions? I think so– for instance, I am intelligent (not so much as I’d like to be) and smart, yet far from being a genius. I don’t see myself as being special… what I have comes naturally to me, and I think must come to many others also. But I have met only one peer at UH who challenges me intellectually, and he transferred. Maybe I sound conceited saying that, but it matters to me. I like being surrounded by people I can learn from, not facts– you can learn facts from anyone– but how to think. In high school, I had one smart friend, and he went away for college. So now I’m all alone, in a world of not-so smart people. Not that I see myself as superior… in fact, I think anyone who cares enough to try earnestly, and isn’t physically incapable of it, can be smart. But most people don’t care hard enough. One of the many wondrous things about smart people is, even if they don’t share your interests, they can understand why you may see excitement in and derive enjoyment from what others regard as dry academics. And they support you in your interests, because they know that it takes such interests to drive the world. That is why I care that I am cut off from other smart people: no one supports me in my interests. I have no one to discuss math or computers with… at least, beyond the level of how to complete a particular exercise or write a program to do something. All the little tidbits of knowledge that I gain every day, every waking moment, that I see as intriguing and profound, remain only with me. The only way I have of disseminating my thoughts to those who might care, might understand, is through this blog.

To be fair, I haven’t been exactly honest. I’m sure there are lots of smart people at UH– I just haven’t met any that travel in my realm yet. UH abounds with political pundits, for example, who might just be smart– viz., actually care about the theories they talk about– but I have no abiding interest in politics. Politics and I are as immiscible as oil and water; understanding the requisite policies and histories require more of an investment of time that I’m willing to make. Not that I don’t find politics interesting… in small, intense bursts. No, what I need is a smart person who is interested in what I’m interested in.

P.S. Maybe smart isn’t the correct word. It makes my kvetch seem a little too conceited. But I can’t think of a more appropriate word. So sue me.

Possibly relevant posts:

• What caused the Big Bang? (8/28/2002)
• Crane Brinton (5/2/2002)
• School’s out! (5/14/2005)