Words of a friend...

Recently while talking with a friend about life, i was told that people view me as being smart. While this is a huge compliment to me, i don't look upon myself as being such. I look at myself as an average person... and many times it is hard for me to realize that not everyone thinks the way i do, nor doe everyone understand things the way i do.

it is interesting to think about this a little because it highlights how folks are different. I personally don't know if it is just something we all take for granted or not, but when it comes to things i tend to think folks think about things similarly to how i do. If a problem needs solved, i tend to think they will know how to go about solving it just as much as I would. If something is broken i think people would go about trying to fix it just as i would. This doesn't mean its true though. many times people do not think like i do. Not everyone is good at solving problems, not everyone is good at trying to solve them either. A more common example is the old saying that common sense is not that common.

I realize that everyone has had different experiences than me as a human being going through life. This especially in their childhood / early teen years usually forms how one thinks... along with school which is supposed to teach you how to think, is what shapes folks usually in the thought process. I've always thought that once things were explained, each person would think the same about whatever item that was explained. That is not the case though, largely based upon their life experiences.

I have kinda rambled on this subject. it is hard for me to put in words why folks look at me as being intelligent, when i don't really think of myself as such. I figure i am just like everyone else, and am able to do just what everyone else does. I don't like to attribute myself of being any better than the next guy,and honestly many folks i know make me feel sooo dumb so often its not even funny. The folks i work with for instance are so smart it is scary. i wish i knew half the stuff they knew. I find the comments my friend has said though as encouraging and also as flattering. So to that friend thank you. What are y'alls thoughts on intelligence? What makes someone smart and someone not?