from Verse One Hundred TenWhen you know what Nature does and know how people act, then you have the means to get through the world. If you know Nature but do not know people, then you have no way to interact with society. If you know people but do not know Nature, you have no means to travel along the Way.~ Wen-tzu: Understanding the Mysteries ~
Just like everything else in life, people need to be well-rounded. A person could be exceedingly strong in one area, but, if he/she does not possess enough complimentary strengths, that first one will be wasted.
In high school, I knew a fellow who was a MENSA-level genius. He was so highly intelligent that many of our teachers didn't like to call on him in class because he could intellectually run rings around them! He was like a walking encyclopedia; mention almost any topic and he could tell you about it up one side and down the other.
Yet, for all his intellectual prowess, he had less commonsense than a slug. He would make one bad decision after another. It didn't matter what aspect of his life one spoke of -- dating, studying, everyday living -- he simply seemed incapable of making simple and easy decisions.
Conversely, I've known many people in my life who exhibit great commonsense, but in almost every other aspect of their life the person is a dolt. You could hit them in the head with knowledge and they wouldn't know it!
Neither of these traits is above the other; they should go hand in hand.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
In high school, I knew a fellow who was a MENSA-level genius. He was so highly intelligent that many of our teachers didn't like to call on him in class because he could intellectually run rings around them! He was like a walking encyclopedia; mention almost any topic and he could tell you about it up one side and down the other.
Yet, for all his intellectual prowess, he had less commonsense than a slug. He would make one bad decision after another. It didn't matter what aspect of his life one spoke of -- dating, studying, everyday living -- he simply seemed incapable of making simple and easy decisions.
Conversely, I've known many people in my life who exhibit great commonsense, but in almost every other aspect of their life the person is a dolt. You could hit them in the head with knowledge and they wouldn't know it!
Neither of these traits is above the other; they should go hand in hand.
This post is part of a series. For an introduction, go here.
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