You know, kind of like the opposite of "the smartest guys in the room." Lately I've been feeling pretty dumb lately. I've never been great at grasping thing in a comprehensive way, but lately I've been hitting new lows in that area. It's humiliating.
I suppose the argument could be made that that's what I need in my life at this point. (Come to think of it—I've made that argument!) But still it feels lousy.
I remember a documentary about all these prizefighters who had fought Muhammed Ali. Larry Holmes (one of the fighters) said that he wished he was a smarter man, but he was what he was.
That's the way I feel. I (I'm not saying this is right or wrong) really admire great intelligence. Some of these judges or physicists or chess players. (I've got a thing on my computer: "The 19 Smartest People the World Has Ever Seen.") Here's the link.
http://www.businessinsider.com/smartest-person-in-the-world-2011-12?op=1
I look at the profiles and dream about being that smart.
But such is life. I'm glad I have the level of intelligence that I have.
I know what you mean about feeling like the dumbest woman in the room. I have just finished my sixth year in the Disability Studies program and I haven't yet finished my proposal. Most students finish it by year 3 or 4 and graduate the next year. There is just so much that i don't know how to do and so much I have to learn that it's taking me such a long time.
ReplyDeleteWe all have things we do very well and things we have problems with - yes, even geniuses. One summer I worked at the University of Chicago Hospitals and Clinics. I was downstairs in the cafeteria with friends from the lab I worked in. We were playing hearts and needed another hand. I asked this doctor who was sitting in the cafeteria near us if he would be our extra hand. Boy was he terrible. We were chuckling at his moves. We were saying to ourselves, "What's wrong with this guy? Is he dumb?" To make a long story short after we had played our card game and he left, we found out that he was a Nobel Prize Winner in Medicine. Boy did we feel silly calling this guy dumb.
Moral of the story - you shouldn't put these people of superhuman intelligence on a pedestal. They might be good at certain things, but I bet that there are certain things that you can do that would put them to shame. Everyone has gifts. Identify and treasure yours.
You know, this is such a great comment, Andrea. So insightful. So true. Thanks.
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