Smartness

I've been thinking about being smart and its relative importance in one's material, moral, social, and pscyhological success.

"Smart" is a pretty generic word that can refer to a variety of mental abilities (or to the fact that something hurts in a stinging, acute way, or to the fact that an article of clothing is flattering to one's form or visage). I would divide the first kind of smartness into the following categories:

1. The ability to remember things accurately.
2. The ability to manipulate information mentally.
3. The ability to construct and deconstruct logical arguments.
4. The ability to navigate physical space (have a good sense of direction)
5. Possessing a facility with language
6. Possessing a wide breadth of knowledge about things (i.e., being educated).
7. The ability to create new things and ideas

Ok, I'm fairly satisfied with that. I'm sure their is a whole academic field devoted to this that has come up with much more thoroughly researched categories, but we'll have to live with this taxonomy from my own head.

My Dad had one of the world's great memories...he could recall arcane facts like nobody's business. In his prime, he would have given ol' Ken Jennings a run for his money. He was also well-read and educated. Thus, he was a deadly combination of #1 and #6. He also had an incredible vocabulary...he put me to shame when I was studying for the GRE. So, really, he was was very gifted in categories 1, 5, and 6. He was only pretty good (better than average, but not spectacular) at the other stuff. He was a good Chess player, so obviously, he could do some mental manipulations and spacial navigation, but he was never very good at math. He wasn't particularly creative, either, although he did write some great poems before he passed away. Overall, my dad was a very smart man, perhaps approaching genius level in some areas (seriously, the man had access to a mind-boggling store of words and facts).

I'm lucky to have received some, and only some, of my Dad's mental abilities, but I am certainly no genius. I think I am just smart enough to understand that genius is a qualitatively different thing than just being pretty smart. I have some above-average mental abilities, but I essentially think like most other people think. Einsteins and Beethovens and Bobby Fishers have a totally different thing going on, I think. (film allusion: "Why would a reviewer make the point of saying someone's not a genius? Do you especially think I'm not a genius? . . . You didn't even have to think about it, did you?" Eli Cash from The Royal Tennenbaums).

Any smart person would tell you that being smart is nowhere close to being the most important thing in the world. Sometimes, in can be flat-out destructive! Here are some things that I think are more useful to having success in your work, your relationships, and your general happiness:

1. The ability to work hard (putting a lot of time and effort into your job/school).
2. Self-control (not giving into destructive impulses)
3. Being generous and kind
4. Being Funny
5. Being Brave
6. Being Creative (I know I put this under smartness, but it's kind of its own thing too).
7. Being easily entertained/not getting easily bored
8. Being comfortable around others

Being smart, without at least some of these other assets, is not really that useful.