The smart guy...

I'm scared...

I was told this morning that I'm "the smart guy" here in the office.

Whoa!

Let's repeat that, I'm THE SMART GUY!

What does that tell us? First, that this office may, in fact, be doomed. Second, I'm a MUCH better BS artist that even I thought. And third, I may need to redefine what my definition of "smart" is. While I'm probably WAY to biased about the first two, I think the third brings up an interesting point: what do I define as smart?

Really I guess it is as subjective as anything else. I mean really, in an office like this, the person who figures out how to operate the microwave on something other than the express setting may be the smart guy (I know, that's a VERY specific example...). In another realm, where intelligence flows like the Heineken does here each and every "beer Friday," smart may be someone who is well versed in items animal, vegetable, and mineral. But, let's say, for arguments sake, that there is such a thing as a universally acceptable definition of smart; how would I define it?

First, I would say that a "smart" individual is someone who is able to use logic (yes Jill, I used the L-word) to reason out answers they don't know right away. I think this is important because anyone can memorize information, but to discover something for yourself using only your mind is MUCH more impressive.

Second, I think the ability to use that knowledge is important. You will hear people say things like, "they are street smart, not book smart," but, to me there shouldn't be a distinction. In either case, if you truly are "smart," you are using information you have learned, or reasoned out and applying it to situations. Again, just memorizing something and spitting it back out on a test is useless once you get out of school and into the real world.

Third, and I think most importantly, is the ability to remain open to other ideas, theories, and viewpoints other than what you hold to be true. Imagine where we would be if "smart" people like Sir Issac Newton, Albert Einstein, or Thomas Jefferson refused to reach out beyond their existing viewpoints. We'd still be vassals of the Queen!

So based on THAT definition of smart, I guess I'm flattered, but I rather think the idea of being better at bull-crap can safely be assumed to be the main factor for my newly established title.