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Last year: Conjunctions are important. Conjunctions and punctuation. |
She was a little taken aback, I think, by the thought that intelligence could be an intimidating thing.
The analogy I came up with was to turn it around to physical intimidation. We all know people who are almost effortlessly physically fit. Their idea of a good time is to run five or six miles, and they could no more go a week without physical activity of some sort than stick their own hand in a blender. If I were to say to one of these people that I wanted to be more physically fit, then their immediate mental response (even if they restrained themselves from speaking it verbally) would be something like, "So just start exercising." And for those people, it really is that easy.
Matt's mother and sister are a case in point. I hate to be around them, not because they are bad people, but because I can't help comparing myself to them; because I can't help but think that they are comparing me to themselves and thinking, "God, why doesn't she just get off her fat ass and do something?" They intimidate the hell out of me. I only get through meetings with them because they are both innately pleasant - they smile a lot, and make polite conversation. (Rachael is a little better at this than my mother-in-law. Jill's innate pleasantness is fine-tuned for second-graders, so she comes across a little patronizing to adults, which only emphasizes my conviction that she think less of me. Rachael occasionally ignores me, but that has more to do with the fact that we simply don't have anything in common.)
It doesn't come home to me very often, but K.T. - and myself, and most of our friends - can be like that, but from an intellectual standpoint, rather than a physical one. We are effortlessly intelligent. Our idea of a good time is to read for a few hours, and we could no more go a week without reading or learning than stick our own hands in a blender. If someone were to say to us that we wanted to learn something, our immediate mental response (even if we restrained ourselves from speaking it verbally) would be something like, "So just learn it." And for us, it really is that easy. We get online or get some books or magazines and just read until we know whatever it is that we want to know.
So would it be any wonder that people who aren't as effortlessly intellectual might hate to be around us, because we continually make them wonder if we're thinking they're stupid?
It sounds like bragging to say it that way, but it occurs to me that it might be a good thing to stop and think about it every now and then. With the advent of the internet as a major method of communication, intelligence is ceasing to be the purview of geeks who have nothing better to do with their time, and becoming a positive thing in its own light - but everyone hates to be outshined. And so those of us who are effortlessly intellectual are envied and maybe even hated a little, that what others have to work at comes so easily to us.
So would it be any wonder that in order to be socially successful away from our narrow circle of highly intelligent friends - in order to make a good impression at an interview (which includes not frightening your prospective boss into thinking you're smarter or better at their job than them, even if it's true) - in order to not intimidate people, we'd have to make an effort to be pleasant and polite; to smile and appear friendly; to meet people on their own intellectual ground rather than try to impress them with our hyper-intelligence. The intelligence will show through. The rough part is convincing them it's nothing to be afraid of.
Word of the Day: pellucid - admitting a great deal of light without distortion; reflecting light evenly from all surfaces; easy to understand
It sounds like a second-choice name for a space shuttle. "With the vital mission of taking some extremely high-profile people into space and spinning them around until they get sick and vow never to leave the ground again, the Pellucid is lifting off today for the third time, piloted by..."
Or maybe a medication. "Do you get cramps? Migraines? Excessive back-hair? Do you ever stub your toe in the middle of the night on the way to the bathroom while trying to step over the cat? Then ask your doctor about Pellucid, new from Wayne Pharmeceutical. Side effects include loss of hair or teeth, flaming rashes in the facial and genital areas, and extreme, unspecified pain over nine-tenths of your body."
Or maybe it's just me.
What Intimidates You?
- between books
Current Projects:
- not much
Diet Progress: 12 lbs lost
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