Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

It bothers me when people say they are “smarter” than someone else. Or when it is implied that someone is “smarter” than another. How is smartness weighed? Who is the judge of smartness? When I was a child, I used to hear people say it all the time. “I’m smarter than you!”

I don’t think it’s true. People are not smarter; we simply have different sets of developed skills. Whereas my mathematical skills are lacking, my communication skills are great. Does that make a math whiz smarter than me? And who is to say intelligence in one area is more important than intelligence in another? Einstein had great scientific intelligence but questionable emotional intelligence. He was a brilliant physicist, adulterous husband and absentee father. Do you think they called him a genius at home?

And why, FOX Broadcasting Company, should my smartness be weighed against a 5th Grader? They are current on material that I have not studied in almost two decades! They have sharp, spacious minds… free and uncluttered, not bogged down with concerns such as health insurance and student loan payments. Free to study, think, create, play, and eat chicken nuggets!

Well, I may not know who invented the electric telegraph, but I know where babies come from.

Top that, kid.