When I’m staring at nematodes and copepods all day, I start daydreaming about stuff.
If someone–a magical genie or angel or something–said he’d grant you one of two things–unlimited wealth or unlimited brains–which one would you pick?
It really isn’t that an easy a question for me to answer.
Off the bat, I would want to be brilliant. I think it would cool to speak a hundred different languages and be able to play the piano like…like…the best pianist ever (see, I’m not even smart enough to think of a name). I would love to come up with ideas about how to solve the world’s problems and be charismatic enough to convince people that I knew what I was talking about. I would love to be able to look at any problem–like the AIDS crisis–and be able to come up with some practical solutions. I would love to wrap my head around astrophysics and converse intelligently with anthropologists and make political scientists quiver with my wisdom. It would be cool.
But then again, being rich wouldn’t be bad either. Even if I wasn’t able to think of the solutions to all the world’s problems, I could give money to those people who are able. I could afford to fix up all the poor inner-cities in the land and give start-up money to people with big plans. I would still be a dummy, but at least I could be a dummy who’s actions were louder than words. And I would be able to sleep in late and eat all that I wanted.
So I’m not sure which I would want. How about you?
I used to think that I would prefer to be brilliant. However, after being laid off for 9 months and not being able to find a job, I would definitely prefer being very rich.
Come on, that’s a no-brainer (ha-ha! I make funny, you laugh, no?).
I’d take smarts. With a supersized brain you’d be able to figure out a way to get rich anyway, so why take the wealth up front when you can eventually have both?
Im going back for a second undergraduate degree in the fall. I’ve picked out my courses and there is one that, frankly, I’m terrified of. I took the prerequisite 5 years ago and am a little unsure of myself. I’d take the smarts.
I’ll echo a sentiment I’ve seen here already. Brains, all the way. I know I could find a way to get plenty o’ money if I had unrestrained intelligence.
I’m one of those who believes that if you’re super smart, you can find ways to become super rich as well.
But if you’re super rich, you can get away with doing stupid shit all the time that super smart people can’t, so I don’t know.
Maybe if you’re super smart, you can become super rich, then do super stupid things and just call yourself super excentric. Yeah…that’s what I’ll do…now where are those damn encyclopedias?
Money, all the way. Smarts make you question everything, smarts make you sensitive to nuance and find hidden meaning in the most innoculous statements, and smarts make you aware that no matter how much you do, or how much you accomplish, there is always more that you haven’t yet mastered. Smarts make you aware of everything that you are not.
Give me blissful stupidity anytime. A friend of mine says it should hurt to be stupid, as it simply isn’t fair to go through life never having questioned yourself, your worth, your values…
Make me rich. I’ll buy myself a lobotomy, a huge beach house, and happily live out the rest of my life making shell-covered mirror frames and watching moronic daytime soap-operas/video-blooper reruns. To me, stupidity always sounded like the ultimate vacation. Throw in a hottub, a poolside tiki bar, and a few hot men I will have convinced myself want me for my huge personal charm (I’m stupid and rich, what do I care for the truth?), and it pretty much sounds like paradise.
I know several, very happy, not real bright rich people but I know even more, not real happy, pretty poor, smart folks.
Give me rich any day because with money comes power and I could study and get smart at my leisure if I had enough money. Look at history. Most of the great philosophers and wise men were independently wealthy and had time to goof off and think of great things.
And I don’t think that smarts = find way to make money. Certain sorts of smarts (business/entrepreneurial one’s) will help you, but I know lots of VERY BRIGHT people who haven’t got two pennies to rub together.
I have noticed that the more intelligent you are, the less respect you have (and less chance you’ll ever work in management). So, if you want people to listen to you and think you are smart, take the money, but if you want to be smart, be smart.
By the way, don’t we already know how to stop AIDS, but we’re just too horny and addicted to heroine to put it into practice?
Smarts, well at least more smarts.
I wouldn’t want an unlimited supply of money. With too much money you start to make poor spending choices. Not that it really matters if you have infinite amounts…
At least with brains you could earn money so you can see the value in what you buy. I would start by using my new found intelligence to write a collections of childrens stories. I would call them… The Adventures of Captain Sock! Who wants to invest?
Wearia
