How do you be a smart person?

Question

Hello I don't think that I am a smart person because, collage it is not for me. I am on my early 20s & I want to be smart like Kennedy or Oprah.

I do know it is a dumb question to ask. How do YOU turn to be smart person?

Answer 1

First, learn to use the spell check feature on YA when you type things in. Not to be rude, but using spell check to find your mistakes helps a lot. Eventually, you learn from them and can fix them yourself without help. You will also have to have a dictionary on hand because some of your words are spelled correctly, but they are not used correctly or you're using a word that means something different than how you've written it. Example: Collage is a group of pictures pasted together in a mosaic type design and a COLLEGE is an institution of higher education. They are both words, but mean different things and a spell check won't catch that.

2. Go to school. Doesn't matter what type of school you want to go to, just go to one that keeps you thinking, keeps you using your brain. After my first daughter was born, my brain started to go to mush. I could feel myself getting stupid and it really sucked. I wasn't doing anything to exercise my brain and I figured out that I had to do something about that or risk losing the best part of my intelligence forever. I chose to do puzzles....word puzzles. Hard ones. I started with crosswords, but built up until I could do very difficult logic problems until they became easy. It took a lot of work, but it was worth it. After I exercised my brain to this point, I began writing. It has been my mental salvation, trust me. For you, pick something interesting to do that's sort of difficult. Exercise your mind and get it used to working on tricky tasks or problems. Your brain is just like your body. If you don't work it out, you'll lose capacity, your brain will become 'fat and lazy' and turn to mush. Find a way to exercise it and you'll notice your mind becoming sharper, stronger and more powerful.

3. READ! Read everything and anything. If you hear things on tv that sound interesting, research it...find out all you can about that subject. Doesn't have to be anything important, just something you can research to give you a good working practice at learning new facts on your own. A suggestion would be to start by reading "Les Miserables" by Victor Hugo. It's a good story, there are a lot of hidden layers in the book and you can even research the topics covered in the book such as the French Revolution and prisoner conditions in the Bastille. If you don't want to read this (even though it's a really good story), find something deep that you can be interested in. Anything is a good start and you can build from there.

4. Write down vocabulary words you hear or have heard and look up their meaning in the dictionary, then write those words down with the definitions. Then try to use them in a sentence. Practice using them as much as you can in every day speech. The more complex and thorough your vocabulary, the easier it will be for you to understand complex ideas and theories. Research will be easier too.

5. Research things online. Look up the history of Great Britain's monarchy. Read about Templar Knights. Find out more about the first flight at Kitty Hawk. ANYTHING is fine, just research it and expand your mind.

6. Last, just keep teaching yourself new things and never give up. Learning is a life long process. It doesn't end with the end of school. Oprah and Kennedy had to read a lot, research a lot, and ask a lot of questions. Make sure you ask a lot of questions too, even if you think it might sound silly or stupid. Asking is never stupid, but pretending that you know something that you don't is stupid. Don't ever pretend. Ask and find out what you need to know. Soak up any information that you can and soon you'll find that you're not a stupid person at all, that you're actually pretty smart. You just have to work for it, but the good news is, there are so many fun ways to do this that you'll love every minute of it once you get going.

Good luck.

PS: Another thing that will help increase brain capacity is learning how to play chess well. Even if you already know how to play it, increasing your skills at this will help a lot. I didn't learn how to play until I was 26 years old, and at first everyone beat me. Now, I am undefeated for the last 7 years, and was rarely defeated six months after I learned to play. It's a really good skill builder. If chess is hard at first, start by becoming a checkers champion. To me, checkers is just a simplified version of chess, easy to master if you work hard at it and learn from your mistakes.

Anyway, hope this helps. If you're truly looking for a way to improve your mind, these ideas should be a great help to you. Best of luck.

Answer 2

Well now that right there is the problem. You are putting labels on the people. In a well functioning relationship each person must bee seen as an equal in the others eyes. If the "smart person" is making it known to the "simple person" that he/she is smarter then that causes the "simple" person to hold back, and feel intimidated and not worth anything. They will also feel that the "smart" person will look down on them for what they are really feeling if they did chose to express their feelings and communicate. I think the "smart" person needs to gain some humility and realize that he/she may not be so smart if they think the other person isn't just as smart.

Answer 3

The only thing I can say is, that to be smart you have to have an aptitude for it. You need to study the subjects you enjoy, (and some that you don't particularly enjoy but are necessary).
Do lots of reading of articles and doing interesting things.
I'm now 74 years old, I've worked in the Oil & Gas Industry for most of my life (over 50 years) where I gained as much knowledge as I could and, I'm still learning...it keeps the mind active and alert....I love doing crosswords and other such things.

Answer 4

Be observant,learn not only from your mistakes, but those made by others. Keep your eyes & ears open, and mouth shut. You have a computer obviously, research anything and everything you wonder about. Read the bible, for guidence.There is a christian phrase to go by:What Would God Do? abbr: WWGD, you might of seen it before. Engage your mind before you put your mouth in gear>keep an open mind, before you draw conclusions. These are some of the things that have contributed to my wisdom. I am saying wisdom, for I am often sought out, by friends & family and people such as yourself for my life experience. Oh, whenever you think you are going through a difficult time, remember,it is because you have something to learn from it.

Answer 5

Hey, come on, don't try to turn yourself into something other than who or what you are. You don't need a university degree to be a smart person. I'm no good with academic things but give me a knackered motorbike and a spanner and I show Mr. College Professor from next door just how smart this scruffy looking girl is. I always found that 'University of Life' teaches you a lot more than college ever will. Look where all that smartness got Kennedy...!

Answer 6

I think that's a really good question, and it's not a dumb or stupid question. I think it shows that you have the initiative to want to better yourself and you just don't know how to go about doing it...you're young and trying to get things figured out. I would suggest surrounding yourself with people that you think are smart, you start to pick up on their way of talking and enhance your vocabulary. Read everything and anything that appeals to you, but engage your material...ask questions of it to get a better understanding...this way you will remember it.

: ) Hope this helps

Answer 7

I'm told I'm smart by almost every person I meet, and still I don't believe them, but I always have a way of making myself feel smarter. Just listen for a conversation you can relate to, then jump in. Don't try to make jokes, let them roll on their own. You'll pick up a few things from the people you talk to. LISTEN, gaining information is the best way to get smart.

Answer 8

There is a way. The best way is to gain knowledge about the world. News papers try reading them, they tell you everything such as what is going on around the world. The best newspapers to read are The Guardian, The times you know what i mean. I know some people say news isn't going to help but trust me you learn alot like politics and whats happening around the world. You'll be surprised, if you want to gain more knowledge then hit the books they are the best resources.
Good luck.

Answer 9

Start by packing your mind with useful bits of information regarding what you want to do, then practice using that information in resourceful ways. Do this everyday, and before you know it you will wake up "smart". Then you can work on wisdom once you've got smart down pat. I wish you the best of success.

Answer 10

Read, go to college with a plan, consider advice, but totally ignore them when they put you down. There will always be people that think you are stupid, DO NOT be one of them! Also, 'like K & O' is not a good way to go about it. You are comparing yourself again.

Seeking God would be a tremendous help as well.