Books vs Streets

Okay, first of all, the title makes no sense. That's because you have to expand the following: Smart(Book + Street)... *sigh* Math has taken its toll on me.

Okay, so you get booksmart and streetsmart.

First of all, those considered booksmart usually have achieved quite well in their education. There are the specialists (i.e. mathematicians, scientists, etc...) and the all-rounders (i.e. people who just happen to know everything, better known as walking encyclopedias).

Now, the streetsmart people are those who are more creative in their thinking, using their creativity to get them out of any bad situation.

In other words, it may seem like booksmart = knowledge, while streetsmart = wisdom...

Which begs the age-old question, which is better?

My personal viewpoint? Neither. (Ar ar! Politically correct!) Both have to work hand in hand.

Why do I say this? (Apart from it being politcally correct) Well, everyone's either born booksmart, streetsmart, or neither. (And by the looks of it, it's mostly neither. Aha!)

Anyway, a person who is naturally booksmart, may learn to be streetsmart through his studying. Education may be partly defined as going through what other's have experienced and learned, and so you learn and put into practice the tricks of the trade. (That's just like copying , but I'll stick to 'put into practice' because it sounds nicer)

Thus, the tricks employed by booksmart people in the streetsmart world have all been used before. They may be effective (just like stepovers or Cruyff turns in football), but may screw one up (i.e. Cristiano Ronaldo...) when used at the wrong time, which is frequently the case, due to the booksmart person's lack of experience on when and how to apply.

Then again, how about street smarts helping one to be booksmart? Street smart people may have their creative and clever methods of studying, which certainly makes them look booksmart. For instance, streetsmart people usually try and spot questions, or they come up with methods of studying which may cut short their study time (which may even make the studying more productive!).

Therefore, certainly the streetsmart people would surely have the good-looking scorecards, beautiful certificates, but are they truly knowledgable on the topic? It's like having the outline without the substance, the icing without the cake. Some call it 'smoking'.

Finally, we have the saddest case of all. The 'neither' zone. These are the people who are crap at studying (maybe they're just lazy), crap at getting themselves out of sticky situations (think bimbos), and well, are just pure failures.

Advice of the day: If you're booksmart, congrats! If you're streetsmart, congrats too! If you're neither, then....