Thought of the Day: Street Smart vs Book Smart

jbc15

jbc15

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Oct 9, 2013
This was something I've been thinking a lot about lately. Why is there a difference between book smart and street smart? Is it because of the education system here or is it just something you either have or you dont? 

I think it's a little of both. Students are taught how to regurgitate information as opposed to being taught how to think. People become good testers but not necessarily 'intelligent'. I do think being street smart is something certain people just naturally have or going through certain experiences. But I think having classes that really challenge students to think outside the box and not just sticking by the textbook would be really helpful. What you think NT? Is it something that can/should be fixed?
 
ideally there would be a mix of both taught in the classroom.

you can know all sorts of math theorys and periodic elements and what have you but if you have minimal common sense and social skills then despite all the knowledge you possess your going to be an akward individual.

a good sense of book smarts mixed with street smarts can go a long way.
 
street smarts > books smarts



...but yes a healthy combination of the two is ideal
 
Book smarts will get you through school.

Street smarts will get you through life.

Ideally there should be a near even mix of the two.
 
American popular culture is usually pretty anti-intellectual. From Washington Irving to Mark Twain to George W. Bush to Jaden Smith, taking swipes at formal education is almost obligatory in this Country. However, when push comes to shove, "book smarts" suddenly becomes important.

When a gangster gets shot, he needs the nerdy Doctor to save his life. When we need a bridge built, we get an engineer, not a community organizer to do the job. When we needed to build the A Bomb in order to finish the Second World war, we got nerdy scientists and not slick talking political bosses.

This dynamic does not just apply to the STEM fields. I would much rather read George Will, Paul Krugman, Milton Friedman, Frederich Hayek, Victor Davis Hanson, Thomas Sowell and other nerds with PhD's and Nobel Prizes, instead of reading letters to the editors by "street smart" cops, shop keepers, construction workers and homemakers.

We go on and outwardly say how worthless formal education is and then we privately hope that we have our legal matters litigated by the best lawyers, our kids are educated by the best trained teachers and our loved ones' illnesses are being treated by the best doctors.
 
The world needs both . . . and the extreme cases will rarely ever be in situations where they would need the other

However, you can get through school on short term memorization, doesn't necessarily make you intelligent
 
Rexanglorum said:
American popular culture is usually pretty anti-intellectual. From Washington Irving to Mark Twain to George W. Bush to Jaden Smith, taking swipes at formal education is almost obligatory in this Country. However, when push comes to shove, "book smarts" suddenly becomes important.

When a gangster gets shot, he needs the nerdy Doctor to save his life. When we need a bridge built, we get an engineer, not a community organizer to do the job. When we needed to build the A Bomb in order to finish the Second World war, we got nerdy scientists and not slick talking political bosses.

This dynamic does not just apply to the STEM fields. I would much rather read George Will, Paul Krugman, Milton Friedman, Frederich Hayek, Victor Davis Hanson, Thomas Sowell and other nerds with PhD's and Nobel Prizes, instead of reading letters to the editors by "street smart" cops, shop keepers, construction workers and homemakers.

We go on and outwardly say how worthless formal education is and then we privately hope that we have our legal matters litigated by the best lawyers, our kids are educated by the best trained teachers and our loved ones' illnesses are being treated by the best doctors.
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Thread/
 
Street smart = critical thinking skills, adaptability, and quick thinking

Book smart = memorization, test-taking, and general academic skills
 
Rexanglorum said:
American popular culture is usually pretty anti-intellectual. From Washington Irving to Mark Twain to George W. Bush to Jaden Smith, taking swipes at formal education is almost obligatory in this Country. However, when push comes to shove, "book smarts" suddenly becomes important.

When a gangster gets shot, he needs the nerdy Doctor to save his life. When we need a bridge built, we get an engineer, not a community organizer to do the job. When we needed to build the A Bomb in order to finish the Second World war, we got nerdy scientists and not slick talking political bosses.

This dynamic does not just apply to the STEM fields. I would much rather read George Will, Paul Krugman, Milton Friedman, Frederich Hayek, Victor Davis Hanson, Thomas Sowell and other nerds with PhD's and Nobel Prizes, instead of reading letters to the editors by "street smart" cops, shop keepers, construction workers and homemakers.

We go on and outwardly say how worthless formal education is and then we privately hope that we have our legal matters litigated by the best lawyers, our kids are educated by the best trained teachers and our loved ones' illnesses are being treated by the best doctors.
Click to expand...
/thread 

This dude shut it down...
pimp.gif
 
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Batman is what you want to strive for...the perfect balance of book and street smarts.
 
girlslovewaffles said:
Street smart = critical thinking skills, adaptability, and quick thinking

Book smart = memorization, test-taking, and general academic skills
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this.

da weakness of book smart people is they assume that everyone is abiding by da same "rules" and thats hot they get caught with

they pants down exposed...

da problem with street smart people is if you dont know how to maneuver in a "institution" with set guidelines you will

quickly get outpaced by someone who knows how to work in that type of vacuum.
 
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girlslovewaffles said:
Street smart = critical thinking skills, adaptability, and quick thinking

Book smart = memorization, test-taking, and general academic skills
Click to expand...

With all due respect, that's bull ****.

Degrading people who succeed in school to be good at memorization and test taking is insulting.

Being "book smart" in order to succeed at higher level involves developing intuition, understanding of a specific models and mastering lower level skills and principles in order to solve very hard problems. Also the discipline to manage yourself outside the classroom, which tons of people lack.

Being "street smart" to me means some who is resourceful.

But I've notice, especially on this board, that some dudes who were smart enough but too lazy or undisciplined to get through school love to tout "street smarts" and **** on having a good education.
 
i dunno how anyone can cosign with this girlslovewaffles character.  Stereotyping entire groups of people
 
RustyShackleford said:
girlslovewaffles said:
Street smart = critical thinking skills, adaptability, and quick thinking

Book smart = memorization, test-taking, and general academic skills
Click to expand...

With all due respect, that's bull ****.

Degrading people who succeed in school to be good at memorization and test taking is insulting.

Being "book smart" in order to succeed at higher level involves developing intuition, understanding of a specific models and mastering lower level skills and principles in order to solve very hard problems. Also the discipline to manage yourself outside the classroom, which tons of people lack.

Being "street smart" to me means some who is resourceful.

But I've notice, especially on this board, that some dudes who were smart enough but too lazy or undisciplined to get through school love to tout "street smarts" and **** on having a good education.
Click to expand...

Okay.

Feel free to read that I also wrote "general academic skills," which encompasses what you mentioned in your rant.

For the record, I agree with you about the last part. I despise it when academic failures try to pass off as intelligent individuals because they are "street smart." It's absolutely not a substitute for academic success, and I'm in no way degrading "book smart" people. In fact, I'd say "book smart" over "street smart" anyday of the week, twice on Sundays. Currently applying to med school so I am all about academia.

Last but not least, I actually think you're undervaluing test-taking and memorization skills. Raw intelligence can be limited if the person is unable to excel in a classroom setting (test-taking, memorization, reading, etc). To be able to excel in those areas is a sign of being "book smart," not something to be taken lightly at all.
 
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bamez said:
i dunno how anyone can cosign with this girlslovewaffles character.  Stereotyping entire groups of people
Click to expand...

Stereotyping is a consequential byproduct of evolution. I don't believe that any one individual on Earth can say they live their life free of that.

I won't judge an individual based on stereotypes. But it does make decision-making and problem solving much simpler if you can focus on a primary entity or set of characteristics.
 
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RustyShackleford said:
girlslovewaffles said:
Street smart = critical thinking skills, adaptability, and quick thinking

Book smart = memorization, test-taking, and general academic skills
Click to expand...

With all due respect, that's bull ****.

Degrading people who succeed in school to be good at memorization and test taking is insulting.

Being "book smart" in order to succeed at higher level involves developing intuition, understanding of a specific models and mastering lower level skills and principles in order to solve very hard problems. Also the discipline to manage yourself outside the classroom, which tons of people lack.

Being "street smart" to me means some who is resourceful.

But I've notice, especially on this board, that some dudes who were smart enough but too lazy or undisciplined to get through school love to tout "street smarts" and **** on having a good education.
Click to expand...

agreed

memorization can get you through some classes/subjects, but overall success in higher education is so much more than just memorization and test taking abilities
 
College classes are no joke, and going to college seeking a degree and having the discipline to focus on your classes instead of partying every night because you know it'll pay off in the long run is being street smart in a way. I think the problems lies more with middle school and high school. You can literally breeze through these classes. How come people are acing language classes but can't say anything other than 'how are you?' to someone who is a native speaker of that language? How many of us graduate from high school knowledgeable about writing resumés and managing our finances? How many have their own knowledgeable views and opinions about government, economics, philosophy, etc. I am not downplaying the importance of academics, I believe a fundamental understanding of math, science, and english is necessary. But why are art, philosophy, finance, music, and social studies class taught in such a way that you're just memorizing facts? Why can't learn to be both book smart and street smart from school?
 
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