Brighter Isn't Better

I’ve never been the most intelligent kid in my class. I have to work hard to get good grades. I’m not Einstein. Answers and formulas don’t simply pop up in my head, nor do I always know what I’m doing. But after reading chapter 7 of Thank You For Arguing I now  know that it’s not a problem. I just have to pretend that I know what I’m doing.

In my high school there are many different types of students, those that are geniuses, goof balls, dedicated, or ones that always slack off. But something that I have seen is that its not only the geniuses that succeed in life, many that succeed are the ones that slack off because they have that special something. That something that is able to convince people, and after reading this book I understand that persuading others is what’s most important. Of course I know that being able to do calculations and knowing important figures and dates is a great advantage, but if a person doesn’t have practical wisdom or as Aristotle says, phronesis, they will have a tougher time succeeding.

Unfortunately not everyone has practical wisdom. They don’t have the power of making others believe “that they know how to solve the problem at hand,” (67) and this can be a problem for them. My Dad’s best friend is one of the brightest people I know. He was always the best of his school, as well as in college, but he had no people skills. He wasn’t able to sell himself as a confident person, and if one does not seem confident others will not follow. With his professors he felt comfortable, but when he got into the real world he wasn’t able to demonstrate how intelligent he was. He wasn’t able to sell himself. Instead everyone saw him as a shy, small and dumb person. He studied marine biology and has an MBA from El Inalde. One would think that he is more than ready to get a good job, but instead he packs a truck with potatoes of Frito Lay. Jose didn’t have the power of making people believe in him. He relied only on what his diplomas said, but he never relied on himself.

This proves to me that what Thank You For Arguing says is true. Of course there have been geniuses who do not have practical wisdom and are successful, but there are few. And also to the ones that aren’t valedictorian, don’t worry we still have a shot. We just need to work on our decorum and practical wisdom. It sounds easy which worries me, and it probably isn’t. But its probably easier than changing how our brains function.