Are YOU smarter than a 5th grader?


The other day I was watching someone who I consider to be much smarter than me struggle...helplessly...with a computer issue.  It was really a fairly simple one.  This person was using Excel to make a graph.  Or trying to, anyway.  I am self-taught at Excel.  And pretty darn good at it if I say so myself.  And was feeling superior.

And then it occurred to me.  I was comparing this "smarter" person's skill set with my own.  Excel? Pshaw!  I got it down.  Linux?  HUH?  Never in a million years.  And I'm currently (trying to) learn Photoshop.  It's hard to teach an old dog new tricks.  But give this Excel-challenged person an engine or a carbuerator to dissasemble and repair...he's your guy.

A friend posted a quote from Albert Einstein on their Facebook profile. It said something like everyone is a genius.  But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will fail dismally.  And if that fish's persepective on its intelligence is based around its tree climbing ability, it will think itself stupid.

So change your perspective.  You may be a whiz at cooking, sewing, grammar...but feel "less than" because you can't figure out a formula for Excel.  Or you may be a gear head and mechanical things light your fire, but feel as if you are dumb because a simple email program confounds you.  It's not a matter of smarter THAN...it's a matter of perspective.  We're all in this together.  Let's make sure we have each other's back.  In the end, that's what will matter.

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