I wonder how you'd find out who the smartest person in the world was?
You could take the guy who won jeopardy a record number of times, but I'm guessing there are people out there that are smarter...they just don't crave being on tv. Ken Jennings might just have a really great memory and spend way too much time studying pop culture.
So is the person with the amazing memory, who devotes tons of time reading - smarter than the person with incredible problem solving skills?
There are some people that are more likely to score near the top on the S.A.T.'S than someone who could tear apart an engine and put it back together. So who is smarter?
I know that being smart doesn't always mean being financially successful. I know people that rule trivial pursuit, but can't seem to win at the real life game of paying their bills.
I know that English majors often seem smart. They read a lot - that's a sure sign of a smartie. They use good english...so there's that. I also know some folks with really high test scores, who read several books a week - who couldn't tell you who their congress person was...or how to take apart an engine and put it back together.
You could take the guy who won jeopardy a record number of times, but I'm guessing there are people out there that are smarter...they just don't crave being on tv. Ken Jennings might just have a really great memory and spend way too much time studying pop culture.
So is the person with the amazing memory, who devotes tons of time reading - smarter than the person with incredible problem solving skills?
There are some people that are more likely to score near the top on the S.A.T.'S than someone who could tear apart an engine and put it back together. So who is smarter?
I know that being smart doesn't always mean being financially successful. I know people that rule trivial pursuit, but can't seem to win at the real life game of paying their bills.
I know that English majors often seem smart. They read a lot - that's a sure sign of a smartie. They use good english...so there's that. I also know some folks with really high test scores, who read several books a week - who couldn't tell you who their congress person was...or how to take apart an engine and put it back together.
Is the person who is happy smarter than the person with the high test scores who is always miserable?
I do know that an English major is more likely to win at Scrabble than an electrical engineer.
So is a quick thinker smarter than the slow thinker? They're the ones who fix problems in meetings while everyone else is scratching their heads. Is the person who finishes the New York Times crossword puzzle in 17 minutes smarter than the person who took two days to write it?
Is the Math/Science person smarter than the English/History because their job pays more and they wear a lab coat?
I'm guessing that if you took the smartest person in the world and stood them up next to my seven year old son, I could ask some questions that Griffin would know that the genius with the bad haircut wouldn't.
So is it possible that we're all the smartest in the world when it comes to one or two areas? Maybe you're the smartest person in the world when it comes down to thinking through ways to help out that guy at work that everyone ignores. Maybe you're the smartest person in the world when it comes to how to carry 15 packages at the mall while singing 'Who let the dawgs out' and irish stepdancing through the crowds.
So if you're the smartest book memorizer in your neighborhood, I think that's great. As for me, I'm going to attempt to be the smartest person in the world when it comes to thinking about ways to show Griffin that I think he's destined for greatness.
IF I have a vote, I vote for YOUR approach.
ReplyDeleteStephen Hawking is the smartest person in the world. But you'll probably have a problem with that because it's too politically correct to say that (even if it's true). Oh, that's right; he can't take apart an engine... Bruno at Pep Boys is probably a hair smarter than Mr. Hawking.
ReplyDeleteLeonardo DaVinci was the smartest person of all time.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, and that bouncer guy- Christopher Lan-something.
This is gonna sound really spiritual, so I'm glad you know I'm not very spiritual.
ReplyDeleteDallas Willard has some great stuff in Divine Conspiracy about how most Christians really don't believe that Jesus was the smartest person who ever lived, which is why they struggle with really following him in the post-enlightment era that values knowledge above all. It's easier to believe him as good and powerful, but for whatever reason we don't think of him as "brilliant" initially.
That may have nothing to do with this post, but that's where my mind went.
Also, that kid who wins the hot dog eating championships has to be in the top ten. You try making a living eating hotdogs.
I think anonymous is the smartest person in the world. You can say whatever you want with no consequences...sounds genius to me.
ReplyDeleteWhich anonymous are you talking about? There are so many. Sean was even anonymous a few times. Annie was too.
ReplyDeletehuh?
ReplyDeletealong joe's comments:
ReplyDeletei can say i've been there, wondering if Jesus knew the earth orbited the sun and what not. it's why i like the inclusion of the story of the boy Jesus in the temple. why only this story about His childhood? maybe to show that He was a pretty smart kid.
by the way...
ReplyDeletemurph, was that the original picture for this post? if it was, i can't believe i didn't notice it. what a terrifically horrible movie. and blowing up all the popcorn in the guy's house at the end... that was real genius.