But if we change the word "sexy" to "intelligent" and the word "shirt" to "society", we get a deeply disturbing question:
Can one be too intelligent for others? Can we be too smart to relate....or actually too smart for others to relate to (because one can stoop a lot further than one can jump)?
There was an interesting tumblr meme on a geeky fb page we follow:
Yes, yes we do. Of course not all of us Outliers notice whether a leaf is crunchy or not--that would have to do with what part of our shiny little brains are more glowy.
However, the point is that this person never considered the ramifications of the crunchy leaf (or the end of string theory or the wisdom of Augustine). They simply had no idea that this was a thing--the disappointment of a "crunchy" leaf that is not. They had not experienced, either, the little rush of a perfectly crunchy leaf. There is a whole layer of autumn that they had no idea existed, though their feet walked through it every year.
Where does that leave the Capable Genius? Oh let's not go too far and say there is no way to relate to those around us--engaging in maudlin and erroneous navel staring. Even if someone is not as intelligent as we are, they could be as athletic or as kind or as spiritual (or more so) than we are. They might be more artistic or musical. We can relate to every human in some way (remember, we are not brains in a jar).
And yet, there is this huge part of our existence that others truly do not understand. That is a lonely feeling and even more, it is difficult to understand what to DO with the mind the Lord gave us. We can, and should, relate to other people in any way we can--emotionally, mentally, spiritually--but we also need to consider how our brand of genius may be the star, not the flashlight, of our little corner of humanity: something to guide folk from afar, not something they might be able to hold in their hands.
The Lord created each of us with our own unique set of traits and weaknesses to do our own work. Even if, at times, we feel that no one understands us, He always does. We are never smarter than He. Perhaps this lonesomeness is meant to bring us to a fuller joy in Him, relating to the Creator of more wonder and intellect than we can imagine.
So we worship Him and serve them, and love all. This, we think, is the best life.
I think this is really important. I have made many mistakes in life by being unaware of this. I have often assumed that if *I* can understand something, then everyone else can too - and if they don't know something, it is only because no-one has taught them it before. It was YEARS after I found out that I was an outlier, before I realised this implication - that others literally cannot see the world the way I do, nor understand why I get so excited about a neat algebraic proof nor be transported by the tone of a particular piano, nor almost physically ill by the tone of a different one. And those are mostly sensory - if their bodies don't sense what I sense, then what hope have they of understanding why I *will not* watch docos on sex trafficking (to say nothing of supposed entertainment with such graphic images) or of how purely elegant atomic level chemistry is or how tantalising 4-D geometry. I think you get the point... :S
ReplyDeleteOr for that matter, why another person *thinks* they relate to us and we *know* full well that they are relating to the tiniest bit of the iceberg that is above the waterline, blithely unaware of what lies below. A sweet lady said to me yesterday that she completely understands the need to fill the introverted, artistic, musical, mental *and* empathetic/relational 'tanks' I have. And I know that she doesn't at all - Her creativity is on another, very different level to mine. Neither wrong, neither better, neither less fulfilling, but how can a swan understand an albatross' need to stretch its wings and soar on the ocean air?
ReplyDelete