You got top grades at school, excelled at college, and graduated from a top-tier university with a first-class degree. Obviously, that makes you smarter, right?
There is no doubt about your scientific ability and you have got a very gifted mind in many ways. But smart? Are you 100% sure about this?
Being a standout performer on the academic front certainly shows that you have a lot going on between your ears, but there are some big differences between being “book smart” and showing real intelligence. These are:
1. Knowing and understanding
“Any fool can know. It’s about understanding.” – Albert Einstein
There is often a huge gap between knowing something and understanding it in more detail. You may know that combining chemical X with chemical Y produces a highly explosive result, but this knowledge is not the same as a complete and practical understanding of why these chemicals react the way they do.
Knowledge is superficial; it relies heavily on observation and memory. Understanding requires something entirely deeper; an inquisitive nature that seeks to explain why.
This is an absolutely essential piece of understanding that calls out to truly intelligent minds and prompts them to follow the clues to find it.
Achievements are not born of knowledge; they emerge through curiosity and the courage to take leaps of faith into the dark void of mystery. If our ancestors had not explored and expanded their inquisitive nature, we would still be living in caves.
2. Consider the context
A fact is useless in isolation. Until you can explain how this fact relates to many other topics that transcend the larger context, your mind is limited.
I can tell you that ocean acidification is having a negative effect on corals’ ability to form skeletons. An interesting observation, to be sure, but not particularly useful when taken in isolation. A stand-alone fact means little until you consider the larger context and how it affects the complex and diverse ecosystems that rely on these important coral habitats.
Smart people are more aware of how one piece of information relates to the bigger picture. They understand the relationship between things (there’s that word again); or if not, they try to figure it out. Book smart people usually don’t worry too much about things outside of their narrow frame of mind.
3. Emotional perspective
No doubt there are plenty of people out there who can make a decent argument and defend their point of view against an opponent. However, sometimes it would be better if you let go of the situation with your humility and grace.
Really smart people can recognize these times and act accordingly. Those who are limited by book minds cannot always do this.
But why does this matter, you may wonder? Well, it comes down to the interaction between knowledge and emotion. The key word here is balance. When your inner state is in balance, you will be ready to use your knowledge to the best effect. If you are faced with emotions, knowledge gives way to arrogance and stubbornness – many consider them negative.
In a friendly argument, a truly intelligent person can sense the rising tension and diplomatically end things. Without such emotional awareness, a discussion can quickly degenerate into a heated argument that serves neither side.
4. Consider the other person
The above-mentioned emotional tension plays another role in intelligence – it allows a person to consider the impact of his actions on others. Call it empathy, call it theory of mind, call it what you like, the ability to understand how one’s actions affect the outside world is not something you learn from a book.
This aspect of intelligence is more natural, innate, than pure knowledge alone. It asks a person to put themselves in the shoes of another being and see how they feel. This is then fed back into the decision making process.
Without this important aspect of circular intelligence, you become a crass faker who relentlessly pursues his own work at the expense of others. A person who says and does things that hurt others and then can’t understand why they behaved that way.
5. Implementation
A book can only take smart people so far in life. After all, everything can be achieved only through the implementation of action and knowledge. This step is the downfall of some academically brilliant people. They don’t have enough funds to implement things.
At this point, they tend to find their lives plateau and stagnate. They lack the practical or emotional nous to move themselves up the corporate ladder, and they lack the raw ambition and determination to make their own way in business or otherwise.
Their gift for absorbing and remembering information cannot compensate for their lack of planning.
6. Knowing that you know nothing
As Socrates is often and misquoted, “I am the wisest man alive, because I know one thing, which is that I know nothing.” This idea points to the final piece of the true intelligence puzzle. You see, intelligence knows its limits, and so in order to properly claim to be intelligent, you must be willing to admit that you actually know nothing.
This Socratic Paradox is a concept that book smart people often fail to grasp. For them, it seems ridiculous to fill their heads with bits of information, only to then question everything. Because that’s what a smart person does when they refuse to fully understand what they claim to understand.
Intelligence says: “I understand from a very limited perspective, but I leave clear understanding only to the universe.”
Book smarts remain steadfast in their knowledge and understanding and refuse to accept the possibility of being wrong.
So there you have it. If you need to decide whether someone is really smart or just being smart, you can refer to these six points. The components are so interconnected that the mind requires all of them to be present to one degree or another.
~Credits~
Steve Waller is the founder of the personal development portal Conscious Rethinking is a one-stop resource for those who want to unlock their potential and improve their lives. He and his team strive to help people solve their problems and pave the way for peace and tranquility.
Author of the photo: Archan Nair
