My Journal #290 - Book Smarts vrs Common Sense

In my opinion, when it comes to “intelligence” there are two types of being smart. There is “book smart” and there is “common sense smart”. And these are very different types of intelligence. And since there are two types of intelligence then there must be four different types of people.

Those with book smarts and common sense.

Those with book smarts and no common sense.

Those with no book smarts yet common sense.

Those with neither.

If a person has book smarts and common sense then they are a bit tricky. Welcome to my world. Most people that possess both are rather conceited and arrogant. That sometimes makes them hard with which to deal. I am told that I am in this category. But I have learned how to “dum” myself down for conversational purposes.

Anyway, these people not only understand written concepts, they have the ability to see the uses of the concept. They also know how to apply the uses of the concept. For me, these are very interesting people to be around.

If a person has book smarts and no common sense, they are a pain in the ass. They can recall some of the most mundane data ever written, and recite it perfectly. But they really have no idea what it means, unless someone told them what it means to them. They have no ability to apply the data to any practical purpose.

And these people are always in trouble. They become frustrated with people that don’t remember all the crap they remember, and inside they are frustrated that someone else can take the data and put it to good use. They are usually doing really ignorant things and blaming others. Personally, these people are impossible with which to deal.

If a person has common sense and no book smarts, I seriously can get along with them. They may not know every detail of every word ever written, but they can see things in their mind and when given a piece of data they immediately produce something.

These people are fun to chat with. They don’t get tied up in mundane topics, but they pick up enough about other topics to be interesting. And because of their ability to use common sense, they make the conversation down right fun.

If a person has neither, well they are at least more entertaining that those people with book smarts and no common sense. You need to move slowly with the people, but they too can be entertaining.

So, I’ve taken each of you and put you into a category. Email me where you see yourself and then we will have a topic to discuss.