Smarter than you thought?

Question

What made you change your mind about someone you believed to be dumb? In other words, what makes you now believe that person is smart?

TIMOTHY D L, very good point.

Congratulations, Natalie!

Answer 1

People learn in different ways and at different speeds. Some years ago I noticed a difference in the quickness with which two young people just out of law school picked up on understanding the assignments I was giving them, and so I began to pay closer attention to them and how they appeared to be learning.

The first one had a multitude of questions for each step I took in explaining his assignment to him. Why this? Why that? Finally, I began to ask myself, "Why is this young fellow so thickheaded?"

The second one gave every appearance of being as sharp as a razor. He picked up very quickly on the instructions I gave him and completed his assignments quickly and flawlessly. I concluded that he was brilliant.

Then one day, out of the blue, without warning, the first young fellow got it. All of it. In great depth. In much greater depth than other fellow who was a quick study. It reminded me of the phenolphthalein experiments on acidity and alkalinity in high school chemistry, where drops of a clear, water-like liquid fell one by one into a beaker of a liquid that also looked for all the world just like water. Each drop fell into the beaker with no effect, until all of a sudden the 350th drop, let's say, turned the clear liquid in the beaker into a liquid with a dark maroon color. From one drop to the next the entire change had occurred; but we all knew that it wasn't the last drop that had done it. Rather, it was the cumulative effect of all the preceding drops, none of which had appeared to make any change, and the final drop, which tipped the balance. It seemed to me that the learning process of those two young fellows was analogous.

Answer 2

The smartest people tend to be the ones that most people shy away from because there is something strange about them: the kind of people that one must get to know in order to realize that they are truly amazing. The most amazing guy I have ever known falls under this category. At first I ignored him, but then I became friends with him. We ended up going to different high schools, but I have seen him once since then. I hope that I can find him again, because I can never, will never, and never want to forget him.

Answer 3

I try not to look at people as dumb because everyone can be smart at different things. Someone may be book smart, someone else may be street smart, some people may be smart on a particular subject.

Answer 4

Most people are roughly the same in intelligence, the difference is in education and experience. Almost everyone is good at something.

Answer 5

Me. Lately i've been feeling dumb, but then I got my CAPT test scores back! I passed everything extremely well! Then I got a certificate for advanced scores in English and Writing! Congratulate me please!

Answer 6

Changes come from within . It may not be they did something to change . The change was your perception . Congrats , not many people have this wonderful quality !

Answer 7

i don't really think that about people but i think some people think that i'm stupid b/c sometimes i say stupid stuff and i don't have a lot of common sense, but once they see that i get A's and B's in school and im in honors classes they kinda stop thinking that

Answer 8

er, some slapstick comedians actually got good science degrees- that really blew my skirt up!

Answer 9

I have never had a major change in that catagory

Answer 10

Once a dumba$$, always a dumba$$