Street smart verses book smarts
In my view, there’s no denying that street smart kicks book smarts ass. To be bright on the streets means you are mindful of the situation. In this case, you can assess or evaluate the surrounding that you find yourself in, those who are there, plus what the available angles may be. Whether you’re on the street, on the trenches, or on whatever level you prefer, you have to learn to believe in your judgment about people plus what counts or makes a difference. Besides, in life, this prowess is of considerable significance, regardless of where you are cultivating it from.
Perhaps most importantly, being street smart is the result of experience. It means that you have mastered how to handle positive or bad things that may have happened to you, think about them, and strive to do better. The critical difference between street intelligence and book intelligence is who is at the center of the knowledge. While on the streets, it is you alone against the world. In a classroom setting, it is you trying to understand someone else’s perception concerning the world.
Moreover, despite how brilliant the writer, maybe, you are far from experiencing the outside world. In simple terms, you are detached from the experience. Street smart means you are risking yourself to survive, prosper, or have scars. In this case, you have been tested, and fortunately, you had a reserve of confidence to rely on when you were tested again. Being street smart will contribute to one becoming book smarts because the street-smart know what works and what doesn’t, and adjust appropriately.
Book smarts, as I have posited it, clearly means anyone good at adhering to the rules. These are individuals whose potential to score very high, solid A’s, is evident and cannot be ruled. They sit in the front and possibly enjoy jogging their minds around crossword puzzles. Also, they like things that have singular right answers. In many cases, they believe that the magnitude and authenticity of their intelligence will be a substitute for their lack of exposure in the real world. Thinking about things has excellent value, but considering how you are going to cope with a complex and challenging situation is a world away from actually being in one. From my observation, as Tyler Durden put it in the movie ‘’Fight Club’’ – “How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?”. It merely means that if you have never been involved in a confrontation, in this case, street life, the only thing you cannot understand regarding yourself is how you are supposed to respond. Also, if you have ever faced a confrontation, possibilities are you may never know how you are supposed to react in another fight.
Much like the Stereotypical ROTC idiot in the war films, for example, “The Thin Red Line, Aliens 2” describes the professional, but less pedigreed sergeant. However, the smartbook confuses false illusion with fact and only discovers the dissimilarity when it’s too late. Worse still, they persist even later, rather than realizing that they are striving to improve the wrong skills, looking for more books and diplomas: their choice blinds them because they keep on gazing at the world with one single eye.
I say all of this as someone with a strong love of books and understanding what might be termed book smart. But this experience, used to service street smarts, illustrates best everything I wish to accomplish in life.