Why Smart People are Getting Smarter?
byXIAOLAIon2012/02/13·25 COMMENTS
Because they always ask right questions. (Here’s a nice blog written by a Harvard student: “What I’ve Learned About Smart People.”)
“Smart” is more of a habit than an attribute. Some were born smarter than others, but in the long run, the difference may well diminish, or even extend in a reverse direction. This is simply because “smart” is in effect an acquired capability, and no one is smart enough.
While being the smartest is impossible, getting smarter (at least compared to the previous self) is pretty easy: learn. Develop a habit of lifelong learning. Learning is to an individual just as adapting is to any species. Inability to adapt will lead a species to extinction, likewise, an individual has to learn to survive the ever-changing environment.
An important habit that good learners have in common is asking right questions. One has to ask right questions to get right answers, and wrong questions often lead one astray. However, it’s more important to know that asking no questions is a bad habit. Most people are afraid of asking questions, since by doing so their ignorance might be revealed.
Being ignorant is not a shame, since one always has the opportunity of exposing himself to the knowledge. However, it seems that so many people are deliberately keeping themselves ignorant, and that’s a shame. What’s more shameful is that these underdeveloped creatures have an urge to stop others from asking questions.