im not dumb,im just too kind,i do not react sometimes for the benefit of the other person,i on purposely miss opportunities not to hurt others,that makes me a loser in the eyes of others,and they think i am dumb,i dont know if they are right,maybe im dumb,maybe not,what difference does it make anyway
@WassimBerbar said in #6:
> It's like asking a person taller than you "Why are you short?"
I guess I must still be short with my 6'7 FT ...I should eat more soup
> It's like asking a person taller than you "Why are you short?"
I guess I must still be short with my 6'7 FT ...I should eat more soup
'Cause o' threads like these.
Yep, Alexander Woollcott it ain't.
I would not ordinarily leap to call myself, uh, slow.
But an epiphany is available to each of us. Mental acuity is to be measured relatively but can't really be measured with absolute generality. In other words, all of us are sharper in some areas than other areas. And mental acuity is not, in the long run, necessarily determinative, in any event.
The epiphany I am talking about came to me yet again, just a few short minutes ago.
I watched (on Youtube) a kid not yet even a teenager play an elegant and very difficult piano piece. To watch this kid play is to cause one's jaw to drop.
The piece played is complex, very rapid, nuanced, written by and to be played by a virtuoso. The kid nailed it. Calmly, gracefully, accurately. Beyond remarkably. Not just mechanically, but with feeling and understanding. And he's not yet a teen.
Afterwards, he spoke with a teacher (I think it was a teacher, anyway). The kid seemed modest and possessed of a gentle, accurate sense of humor.
Am I dumb? Compared to that kid, I'm afraid "dumb" gives me too much credit.
The point is this: we should not spend too much time comparing ourselves against others. And we can all become helpfully, usefully good at something. It's not important how "smart" we start. It's important how hard and long we try to improve at the things we can be good at, after first discovering just what those things may be.
Of course that takes effort. It's not lack of talent that holds most people back. It's a lack of sustained effort, avoided by excuse making.
One such excuse that I've encountered more than once is this: "oh, I'm just not good at that" -- but said before any REAL effort was applied in order to really see if they COULD be "good at that." Sometimes, people just say "I'm not good at that" much too early -- as a way to get around really trying. Or maybe just because they have not yet learned to have enough faith in themselves.
I once thought I couldn't program a computer. For three weeks I "just didn't get it." I felt, uh, slow. But I didn't give up on it too soon and -- weirdly -- it suddenly began to seem much, much easier. With sustained effort, I surprised myself -- truly -- by suddenly and unexpectedly "getting it." But that took weeks to even really begin.
So I learned not to give up on something too early.
Effort and perseverance matter much more than native talent almost always. So, I won't listen to anybody who shouts "yer dumb!!" at me (especially when they hear me play the piano). Because they are probably missing the point: we can all improve for as long as we live, barring some sad but unlikely medical calamity.
I would be VERY surprised if anybody who comes to this "chess server" (note) is actually not at least average in intelligence, and likely smarter than average. But whether or not that is true, I hope for the future of the world that they will all fail to be discouraged and will instead try to do their reasonable best. Because if they do, great good will result.
But that takes study and practice and not being distracted too frequently from those. Find a spectacular basketball player. Ask him or her if he or she played and practiced reliably, for a long time, even when friends just wanted to "chill" and do something less filled with effort. I suspect I know the answer.
But I could be wrong, of course. After all, compared to that piano-playing preteen, I'm not all that sharp.
But an epiphany is available to each of us. Mental acuity is to be measured relatively but can't really be measured with absolute generality. In other words, all of us are sharper in some areas than other areas. And mental acuity is not, in the long run, necessarily determinative, in any event.
The epiphany I am talking about came to me yet again, just a few short minutes ago.
I watched (on Youtube) a kid not yet even a teenager play an elegant and very difficult piano piece. To watch this kid play is to cause one's jaw to drop.
The piece played is complex, very rapid, nuanced, written by and to be played by a virtuoso. The kid nailed it. Calmly, gracefully, accurately. Beyond remarkably. Not just mechanically, but with feeling and understanding. And he's not yet a teen.
Afterwards, he spoke with a teacher (I think it was a teacher, anyway). The kid seemed modest and possessed of a gentle, accurate sense of humor.
Am I dumb? Compared to that kid, I'm afraid "dumb" gives me too much credit.
The point is this: we should not spend too much time comparing ourselves against others. And we can all become helpfully, usefully good at something. It's not important how "smart" we start. It's important how hard and long we try to improve at the things we can be good at, after first discovering just what those things may be.
Of course that takes effort. It's not lack of talent that holds most people back. It's a lack of sustained effort, avoided by excuse making.
One such excuse that I've encountered more than once is this: "oh, I'm just not good at that" -- but said before any REAL effort was applied in order to really see if they COULD be "good at that." Sometimes, people just say "I'm not good at that" much too early -- as a way to get around really trying. Or maybe just because they have not yet learned to have enough faith in themselves.
I once thought I couldn't program a computer. For three weeks I "just didn't get it." I felt, uh, slow. But I didn't give up on it too soon and -- weirdly -- it suddenly began to seem much, much easier. With sustained effort, I surprised myself -- truly -- by suddenly and unexpectedly "getting it." But that took weeks to even really begin.
So I learned not to give up on something too early.
Effort and perseverance matter much more than native talent almost always. So, I won't listen to anybody who shouts "yer dumb!!" at me (especially when they hear me play the piano). Because they are probably missing the point: we can all improve for as long as we live, barring some sad but unlikely medical calamity.
I would be VERY surprised if anybody who comes to this "chess server" (note) is actually not at least average in intelligence, and likely smarter than average. But whether or not that is true, I hope for the future of the world that they will all fail to be discouraged and will instead try to do their reasonable best. Because if they do, great good will result.
But that takes study and practice and not being distracted too frequently from those. Find a spectacular basketball player. Ask him or her if he or she played and practiced reliably, for a long time, even when friends just wanted to "chill" and do something less filled with effort. I suspect I know the answer.
But I could be wrong, of course. After all, compared to that piano-playing preteen, I'm not all that sharp.
@Noflaps said in #15
How much long will be its summary
How much long will be its summary
Sorry, friend. i'm not quite sure what you mean to say. But I don't write any Cliff Notes.
If somebody brings a bottle of water, and perhaps a change of clothes, they can often get through one of my posts.
But I don't blame anybody who looks for something less lengthy. Have a nice evening.
If somebody brings a bottle of water, and perhaps a change of clothes, they can often get through one of my posts.
But I don't blame anybody who looks for something less lengthy. Have a nice evening.
thx
I'm unique and my surroundings didn't support my talent
'stupid is , as stupid does'
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