Some of the people who read this or just know me in real life as me questions like why aren’t you rich yet?, or why hadn’t you won the Nobel Prize? I assume they are half joking but I will address this anyways.
First off I will never win the Nobel Prize cause most of my ideas aren’t Noble Prize material, and the ones that are I’m not the one who proves it. I stand a better chance of winning a Cable Ace award, than a Noble. Sure 5 years ago I gave a very nice talk, that made a strong circumstantial case for Alzheimer’s being a prion disease, and the experiments needed to prove it. Unfortunately this went against current thinking and it was a class project, but after much debate they decided not to fail me. It would take 3 more years before I was proven right, but they wouldn’t even give me an A. My friends have discouraged me from being an iconoclast, cause it makes me seem like a big ass. However, I have a history of ideas that are ahead of their time and being right. My qual exam in grad school, was basically the same as a project that in 2 years would be funded as the NCI-60, but mine had cool informatics. That time I almost failed again, but in the end I squeaked by, after heavy derision for my foolish ideas.
I wore a shirt the other day that said “I make stuff up”, which a colleague thought was tremendously funny, that I would admit this. However, a quick reminder that I know I make stuff up on the spot, and a challenge to name the last time I was wrong silenced him. So at least it's getting better ;)
Why am I posting this? Not for the reasons you think, my ego is fine at its current diameter. I was reminded of a very humbling story yesterday. A few years ago I took an online IQ test (I don’t really believe them much either but stay with me) it was 75+ questions and I finished it in less than 5 minutes and maxed out on the score (no I won’t say.) I was very very full of myself since the test allots more than hour, and was unable to measure my IQ, even though the average was <120. This made me very puffed up, but the next day when I was scrubbing my bathroom I realized what being that smart got me. It is very hard to be full of yourself when the highest praise you can find for yourself is you are the smartest person to ever clean this toilet. It is amazing how life can remind you of your place, call it karma or whatever if you aren’t so far gone that you believe your own hype, life can always knock you down a few pegs. Yesterday I was again scrubbing my bathroom and while comparatively I wasn’t very full of myself, I was reminded that given my current situation a preventative lesson in humility was in order.
Where am I going with this?
I am really not sure since there are two conflicting messages. My advice: Never hid how smart you are, despite how unpopular it will make you, but never believe you are as smart as you think you are, cause you are probably wrong. I have yet to find that balance since on one side I get Nobel Prize questions, on the other jeers derision and accusations of arrogance. If I was reading this as an outsider I would think the writer was arrogant and pretentious. For what it’s worth, I assure you I am not, or at least not very much. How can I say that without proving the accusation? I am aware of my own ignorance, and admit to it, and life has taught me that what I don’t know is far greater than what I do know.
I will end with a couple of quotes that I think summarize my case very well “It ain’t bragging, if you can back it up.”, and ““I don’t know”, is an acceptable answer.”
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