As Portia looks over the college applications in the novel, she is trying to put together a picture of students on the whole, not just their grades, but their encapsulated life stories. Which got me thinking about the relationship between different kinds of “smarts” and maturity. We-- or at least I-- sort of have this internalized connection between being smart and being mature. I think its more than a superiority complex, I do think generally smart people have a greater a appreciation for...I don't know, more complicated jokes or something. So there does appear to be some connection. I think in order to discuss this any further, I need to do some defining.
First off, smarts (I'm aware that that isn't really a word, but I'm trying not to use something I may want to define later). There are different kinds of and ways to be smart. Memorizing tons of information from books, and knowing lots of facts is one, and being able to interpret information is another; the ability to create something someone else will understand is another kind of smartness, and so forth. These all generally fall into the category of academic or school smarts. There is, of course, a lot of overlap, but people have their strengths and weaknesses within the category. Separate from that is what is commonly referred to as “street smarts” which again, I think has many facets. Whilst I wouldn't last a day on the streets in the city, I know my way around my familiar environments pretty well. Adjusting you society may seem kind of obvious, and not a kind of intelligence, but I really think it is. If I was suddenly a migrant farmer, I wouldn't know what to do, how to get my food, where to go to sleep. If I was suddenly thrown into a wealthy fancy environment, I don't think I would know how to react. In either of these situations, I'm confident I'd be able to figure it out. But I don't have that knowledge now. I also think that that adaptability is a skill, or maybe a personality trait, the way some kids take to college really easily and some struggle to get themselves together a little bit; its like grown-up sleep-away camp; some kids get homesick and cry a lot, and some kids jump right in to the canoeing and arts and crafts. Most, I think, float somewhere in between.
Which leads to my discussion on maturity. I consider myself a mature person, but I think that a big part of that is recognizing elements of my own maturity. A three year old can cry, “Myself! Myself!” all they want, and they are not more mature than the kid who asks for help. When I say “maturity” I don't mean just taking care of yourself, although I think that's part of it. To me, maturity also includes security, a certain amount of self-confidence tempered by the humbleness to ask for help. And all of this is blanketed with a huge “I am not sure” because I am not.
Now to reconcile the two. I don't think they are unrelated, but I also don't think there is any notable causation. Being smart does not make you mature and lots of mature people are not that smart, particularly “book smart”.
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