Genius or mnemonist?

Whilst having dinner with two close friends yesterday we came to discuss a question which has come to bother me often since commencing (and completing) the study of my A Levels: Is intelligence the ability to apply knowledge or to simply possess it? Unfortunately for me, I believe it to be the former.

From a young age I have, excuse the arrogance, consistently performed academically. As my SATs and GCSEs breezed by with little prospect or fear of failure, I became confident in my ability to pass an exam and be praised for it. However, I then began my A Levels and, whilst still doing well academically, I was having to work much harder. A few hours of a revision became a few days, a few weeks and by the final year, a few months. This wasn't an abnormal for A Level students but it was fairly new to me: academically talented? Yes. Academically lazy? Apparently.

One of the subjects I studied was Chemistry which, I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed. A good friend, S, also took the subject and, although he never achieved a higher grade than me, he was clearly more gifted when it came to actually understanding the content of the course. I could regurgitate textbook explanations, I could even form simple theories from data but S could see the equations and molecules and experiments in a way I couldn't, he could put in a diagram information I need 3 paragraphs to explain: HE was intelligent.

Now both S and I nervously await our A Level Chemistry result: if I do okay, I'll get an A, if he does exceptionally well, he'll get an A: it's hardly fair! It was during my A Levels I realised that, whilst I may be knowledgeable because of a naturally capable memory, I am no more or less intelligent than your average student. This bought me down to Earth with an almighty bump and makes me fear how I will cope in a non-academic environment. My grades mean people expect someone clever but the truth is I can't problem solve, I can't create new solutions.

I am a mnemonist. S is a genius. But are we both 'intelligent'? Well the answer isn't in a textbook so, unfortunately, I don't know.

ITPTSO

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Sharing? It's personal.

Hi all!

I know I haven't blogged in a while but I now have a full time summer job so time (and unfortunately, sleep) is scarce. But hey, I'm back and today I will do something other than moan.

As those of you who already love the play will have guessed from my blog title, I love The History Boys. It is the source of many a favourite and one such quote is one which I have only recently grasped the true meaning of:

"The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - that you'd thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you've never met, maybe even someone long dead. And it's as if a hand has come out, and taken yours." ~ Hector


This initially seems like a quote just for those who read novels or poetry but today I realised that it also applied to reading a newspaper...or a blog. Many of you will be aware of the social site buzzfeed.com which compiles lists of things common to a lot of people e.g. retail workers or residents of Essex. Today I saw one which was "41 things no British person can ever forget from primary school" (http://www.buzzfeed.com/lukebailey/sitting-on-the-benches-is-the-best) and I really felt the powerful 'Hector Effect' that he describes in the quote above. Yes, I laughed at the memories of feeling like a king when, as a mere year 5, you got to sit on the benches in assembly when the year 6's were on a school trip or of pretending to tidy up during 'Tidy Up Time' as to escape being reprimanded by your watchful teacher, but I was also immensely moved that here were my memories from primary school, accurately and completely recorded by someone else, someone who is a complete stranger to me. Even though I was sat in my room alone, I felt a unity and togetherness between me and the hundreds of thousands of people who had read the page and smiled and laughed and remembered. For some people realising those feelings are not special or particular to them may be upsetting but, whilst all British primary school kids can share and joke about those times, the actual memories are extremely personal and it is that which makes, what was no doubt designed to be a lighthearted and slightly mocking piece of social media, overwhelmingly powerful and emotional.

A similar effect was enjoyed when I saw the recent IKEA advert (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t76zZn5xzP8) and recognised the words being spoken but initially couldn't quite place them. I soon found myself joining in, reciting something from some unknown place and suddenly it hit me: The Tempest, Prospero's famous speech about how "we are such stuff as dreams are made on." Having recently completed studying The Tempest for my A Level in English Literature it was suddenly very surreal to be hearing these words being broadcast on national TV: they were being shared with millions but they felt like they were addressed to me. Yes, many people have read Shakespeare, my experience of that is certainly not unique but, by sharing these thoughts and memories with each other, deep and very personal emotions resonate in the individual and it is then that you feel that hand has come out and taken yours. 

And by God, that is a feeling to be cherished.

ITPTSO

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