I think I might be one of those SMART but DUMB people
By Renhard
@Renhard (3471)
Jamaica
January 27, 2013 4:08pm CST
Let I start with the good side:
Through out all of my life I have been one of the top in every subject I do. I have represented all my schools well in everything I did, and I have gotten a lot of thanks from many. This all started after I drop my reputation a bit in the first year of high school, after that I promised myself to always challenge myself and succeed at it. So I did challenge myself, I took the subjects I considered the hardest, and I excelled at them. Luckily I also fell in love with those subjects, I realized later that those subjects were the best for me. In those years the hardest subjects were classified to be the sciences and the business subjects were usually the easier subjects with less assignments. So I did my part, done the ostensibly hardest subjects and passed them. I am greatfull for that. Like I said I was all for the challenge so I switch school, to a more intelligent school. A school that was more well known for their smart kids. I transferred to that school and once again I got one of the top results. I never expected it because the standard of the school was much higher than my previous school but I am also greatful for that. I have received over 15 awards and my gpa was pretty high. All and all everyone classified me as being smart.
Now the bad side:
You have those times when people call me smart, but others when they refer to me as dumb.
They sometimes say I lack common sense but I can explain why I sometimes behave like that, and you can tell me your opinion on the whole situation. I feel everything I am going to do I over analyse it and think about it. That is what really makes me excel in school but when it comes on everyday life, people shift it to mean I don't have common sense. You might can't see the link now but here is to make the link even clearer.
Lets say I am a new driver on the road. I drove by myself already with no problem but now I have this observer that is going to just give me an overview of my driving. This observer wants me to drive slow and I mean really really slow. Now there is this guy that wants to overtake just before I reach a narrow bridge. The observer say allow him to overtake. Remember I am driving really slow, the car is practically creeping. So now what I do is I put the car over to my extreme side of the road and release gas completely. The observer says I do not have common sense because I should have pressed the brakes to slow down, because that is what he would have done.
When I analysed the situation as far as I could see, I am already going slow, very slow, there is no need to press the brakes because I am going that slow. There is space for the vehicle behind to overtake before I reach the bridge, so he shouldn't have any problem. I can see why the observer would normally press the brakes in that circumstance because he would have been travelling much faster, which after pressing the brakes would still not carry him to the slow speed which I am going. But according to the observer I have no sense. The observer also say my reflex is slow, because when I see a hole in the road I don't quickly jerk the steering wheel to avoid the hole. I did not see a need to quickly turn the steering wheel, while travelling so slow. I gradually move the steering wheel and amazingly I didn't drop in the hole. So how is it me that doesn't have any common sense. There is no need for evasive driving, while driving 5 miles per hour.
They sometimes say I lack common sense but I can explain why I sometimes behave like that, and you can tell me your opinion on the whole situation. I feel everything I am going to do I over analyse it and think about it. That is what really makes me excel in school but when it comes on everyday life, people shift it to mean I don't have common sense. You might can't see the link now but here is to make the link even clearer.
Lets say I am a new driver on the road. I drove by myself already with no problem but now I have this observer that is going to just give me an overview of my driving. This observer wants me to drive slow and I mean really really slow. Now there is this guy that wants to overtake just before I reach a narrow bridge. The observer say allow him to overtake. Remember I am driving really slow, the car is practically creeping. So now what I do is I put the car over to my extreme side of the road and release gas completely. The observer says I do not have common sense because I should have pressed the brakes to slow down, because that is what he would have done.
When I analysed the situation as far as I could see, I am already going slow, very slow, there is no need to press the brakes because I am going that slow. There is space for the vehicle behind to overtake before I reach the bridge, so he shouldn't have any problem. I can see why the observer would normally press the brakes in that circumstance because he would have been travelling much faster, which after pressing the brakes would still not carry him to the slow speed which I am going. But according to the observer I have no sense. The observer also say my reflex is slow, because when I see a hole in the road I don't quickly jerk the steering wheel to avoid the hole. I did not see a need to quickly turn the steering wheel, while travelling so slow. I gradually move the steering wheel and amazingly I didn't drop in the hole. So how is it me that doesn't have any common sense. There is no need for evasive driving, while driving 5 miles per hour.2 people like this
7 responses
@allknowing (130089)
• India
28 Jan 13
I suppose that driving episode was just an example you gave. When someone else is in control these things are bound to happen inasmuch as they are always right. In that episode you knew you were right. Did you therefore not get that message that those in control are always right ? Try and get out of situations where people 'drive' you - one step at a time. This kind of a thing happens to all of us. It has happened to me. When I was under the control of someone in the family I could not voice my opinion. But after I got married my husband saw the potential in me and that gave me the impetus to move on - one success after another.
@Renhard (3471)
• Jamaica
28 Jan 13
Thank you allknowing. You really understand and that observer was someone in the family. He thinks I can not drive and he compares me with every one else. Saying I can't drive. No one else says that when I am driving at a normal speed. And every body else he compares me with is driving at a normal speed at that time. It is so unfair.
@Nursefrai06 (2498)
• Penrith, Australia
28 Jan 13
This is so timely, I've been getting rejected a lot. And it hurts. Do far I've been going through life thinking: " I am so smart, I am a prodigy genius man!" and then you continually do things that can only mean one thing: you're not smart, not even average, you're dumb, you've always been dumb and there is nothing you can do to change it. Your parents were wrong when they told you otherwise.stop stringing words because you're just straining yourself and no one is going to listen anyway. You need to be taken to a facility where trained professionals can care for you, where they have enough coloring books to keep you occupied for years and years until you die trying to stab a mosquito on your throat with a fork. Ugh. Anyway, this isn't about me, this is about you so...
Hmm.. Thing is, to have knowledge you need effort. The only difference between a smart person and the dumb person is that the smart person will learn faster but with no effort comes with no knowledge too. We can't know everything either, and its okay to always have something you dont understand, the extent of our ignorance may seem to grow each day but thats not bad, it just gives us space to learn more things as we go. we can't have typical instincts, we may do things differently but that's not bad. The important thing is it gets the job done.
P.S. driving at 5 miles per hour is insanely slow. 
@Renhard (3471)
• Jamaica
28 Jan 13
Wow you are right, I learn things usually lightning faster, well better yet said. I understand things very quickly. And for real, it is impossible to know everything. But concerning the driving, I do understand what the observer is saying, and it is needed but not travelling so slow. Really not so slow. I know 5 miles per hour, the vehicle was seriously barely moving. With my normal driving the distant to which I was travelling would take me 20 mins or so. It took me well over an hour to reach my destination this time. My neck started hurting, everything started to hurt.
@andak2007 (3229)
• Philippines
28 Jan 13
it is good that you are very good in school, how i wish my kids will be like you someday and at least excel in some subjects if not all. That is why i do not like to drive or learn how to drive because i easily get scared when people drive by me so fast always in a hurry. About you being dumb, i do not think that you are dumb, you are just being careful and besides he told you to drive slow so why step on the brake right?
Also try not to think too much about simple things, try not to complicate them because you are making it harder for yoursslf, sometimes you have to think outside the box to grasp the whole meaning of something.
Chao!
@Renhard (3471)
• Jamaica
28 Jan 13
I sometimes realize I do complicate minor things. Things that don't need to be complicated. But only a few times. Well I do thing smartness has to do with genetics because my smaller brother seems as if he is much smarter than me. By smarter I don't mean have knowledge, I mean he understands and excel at what ever he is doing pretty easily. And my cousin and sister is the same. But even so, our mom always pressure us. It just recently after I turn 18 my mother stop pressuring me to study.
I have another brother though, very small. He seems like he is smart but he has a talking problem and I hope it doesn't mess up what he can accomplish in the future.
I can't wait to be by myself so I can drive by myself.
@eagletrek2 (5499)
• Kingston, New York
28 Jan 13
Hi for some people who teach they think they know everything
and it goes to there heads, they might only teach driving in their town or
city and when done teaching go back to there home.
never getting out in the real word, remember the movie back to school
with rondey dangefiled (spell wrong) and the stuck up snop professor who
think he know everything about business. the writers who wrote this movie are
good, because what rodey play the mellon character and say stuff about business
is knd of true.maybe your teacher is one of those kind of people have good day.
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
28 Jan 13
yes me too because i am very smart and i can solve things fast but at times i feel i am quite a dumb guy with no mentality
@Aja103654 (5646)
• Philippines
31 Jan 13
I'm the same. Since then I have not called myself smart. I feel dumb when it comes to practical skills. So I shouldn't be so haughty about being good at academic grades alone. I have no common sense.
Though you shouldn't blame yourself. We all have our weaknesses. And you think differently than most, that is why you may seem to lack common sense... because your mind is not common.
@Renhard (3471)
• Jamaica
4 Feb 13
Sorry I took so long to respond. I never noticed your response until just a while ago.
I guess we are common then. There are a lot of practically things that I can do, because my thinking is basically graphic analysing. I mean I dont just remember things but I picture things in my mind. I mean like learning to drive a standard car, i picture the clutch engaging with the engine as i depress the clutch lever. SO things like that. But then I realize I cant picture all things example how to cook, or how to not get rob etc. There are just some things I don't know how to approach where normal people would know how to approach without even learning.
i like how you put that though about my mind not being common.
@Kashmeresmycat (6369)
• United States
28 Jan 13
Was there any reason why you were supposedly going that slow? Sometimes when you go that slow it can cause more accidents than you know. People will take chances on passing you and sometimes that's not the best choice. You should go at least the speed limit. No one says you have to go over that.
There is no need to quickly turn the steering wheel if you're going that slow. I'm sure you'd have enough time to avoid the hole as you'd see it in front of you with plenty of time.
All I can tell you though is sometimes escelling in all classes does not give you street smarts, as they say. Experience is the best teacher, or hands on training. Common sense is also something that comes in time..and lessons learned too.
Common sense and street smarts are acquired and are things that cannot be taught in school. 
@Renhard (3471)
• Jamaica
28 Jan 13
The observer is persistently saying I need to learn to drive slow before I drive fast. So I said okay I am listening to you. But at the same time he can't expect the same thing when you are moving faster.
To be quite honest, I don't think I am that much street smart like other people. But I do think I have common sense. In this world I have to know not everyone thinks like me, so not everyone will see the way I see. Some time when dealing with things outside of education, you need to drop your values to merge with the crowd, if you want to survive. And every day I try my best to blend in and build my street smartness.
