Do you want to be clever or wise?

[technobabel]

The Clever Man Tells, the Wise Man Knows Quietly

You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.

- Naguib Mahfouz, writer (1911- )



A clever man will always tell you answers. He will tell you things you may not even care about. His purpose is to impress. To be more accurate, his purpose is, like that of Narcissus, to see himself reflected in the reaction on your face.



It may be arrogance, hubris or insecurity that causes him to seek a reaction from you. You are the fulfillment of the need of a clever man. You are the audience that satisfies his need.



A wise man will not try to convince you of anything. A wise man is trying to build himself, not to build you. He asks questions because he wants to learn more. He needs to learn more because he is aware of how little he knows about so many things. He is aware less of what he knows than of what he does not yet know.



A wise man will not proselytize you. If you are willing and eager, he may guide you to find your own answers. He will not push you because he is on his own quest.



Then we have those who are neither clever, wanting to convey to us how much they know, nor wise. They do not ask questions. They wish to give the impression that they know as much as they need to know.



They have learned from the ethics of business that they should "never let them see you sweat." Never give the impression that you don't know. When you don't know, fake it. Pretend. Most times the others won't know that you don't know.



While that is the apparent ethic of business, it's not a real one. The person who doesn't ask questions and who doesn't know will never rise against the competition because deep down the others know the truth. The ones who know will reach where they want to go.



The ones who do not ask questions don't try to learn. They remain ignorant. Comfortably ignorant, as they persuade even themselves that they know as much as they need to know.



Yet they are always poor. Poor of spirit because they think of themselves first. Poor of intellect because they close doors of opportunity to learn. Poor of character because they deceive even themselves, thus have no hesitation about deceiving others.



A wise man will share what he knows. But you will have to ask. Otherwise he will be busy.



He has his own quest. He will assume that you have your own.

[technobabel]

Actually, my advice to you is, skip all those nonsense and be a genius instead.

24 Qualities That Geniuses
Have in Common
The worlds greatest geniuses have all had 24 personality characteristics in common and you can develop the same
traits yourself, says an expert.
“Most people have the mistaken idea that geniuses are born, not made”, declared clinical psychologist Dr. Alfred
Barrious, founder and director of the Self-Programmed Control Center of Los Angeles and author of the book,
Towards Greater Freedom and Happiness.
“But if you look at the lives of the worlds greatest geniuses like Edison, Socrates, DaVinci, Shakespeare, Einstein,
you will discover they all had 24 personality characteristics in common.
“These are traits that anyone can develop. It makes no difference how old you are, how much education you have, or
what you have accomplished to date. Adopting these personality characteristics enables you to operate on a genius
level.”
Here are the Characteristics Dr. Barrios lists, which enable geniuses to come up with and develop new and fruitful
ideas:
1. DRIVE. Geniuses have a strong desire to work hard and long. They’re willing to give all they’ve got to a
project. Develop your drive by focusing on your future success, and keep going.
2. COURAGE. It takes courage to do things others consider impossible. Stop worrying about what peoplewill
think if you’re different.
3. DEVOTION TO GOALS. Geniuses know what they want and go after it. Get control of your life and
schedule. Have something specific to accomplish each day.
4. KNOWLEDGE. Geniuses continually accumulate information. Never go to sleep at night without having
learned at least one new thing each day. Read. And question people who know.
5. HONESTY. Geniuses are frank, forthright and honest. Take the responsibility for thins that go wrong. Be
willing to admit, ‘I goofed’ and learned from mymistakes.
6. OPTIMISM. Geniuses never doubt they will succeed. Deliberately focus your mind on something good
coming up.
7. ABILITY TO JUDGE. Try to understand the facts of a situation before you judge. Evaluate things on an
opened minded, unprejudiced basis and be willing to change your mind.
8. ENTHUSIASM. Geniuses are so excited about what they are doing, it encourages others to cooperate with
them. Really believe that things will out well. Don’t hold back.
9. WILLINGNESS TO TAKE CHANcES. Overcome your fear of failure. You won’t be afraid to take
chances once you realize you can learn from your mistakes.
10. DYNAMIC ENERGY. Don’t sit on your butt waiting for something good to happen. Be determined to
make it happen.
11. ENTERPRISE. Geniuses are opportunity seekers. Be willing to take on jobs others won’t touch. Never be
afraid to try the unknown.
12. PERSUASION. Geniuses know how to motivate people to help them get ahead. You’ll find it easy to be
persuasive if you believe in what you’re doing.
13. OUTGOINGNESS. I’ve found geniuses able to make friends easily and be easy on their friends. Be a
‘booster’ not somebody who puts others down. That attitude will win you many valuable friends.
14. ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE. Geniuses are generally able to get their ideas across to others. Take
everyopportunity to explain your ideas to others.
15. PATIENCE. Be patient with others most of the time, but always be impatient with your self. Expect far
more of yourself than others.
16. PERCEPTION. Geniuses have their mental radar working full time. Think more ofothers’ needs and wants
than you do your own.
17. PERFECTIONISM. Geniuses cannot tolerate mediocrity, particularly in themselves. Never be easily
satisfied with your self. Always strive to do better.
18. SENSE OF HUMOR. Be willing to laugh at your own expense. Don’t take offense when the joke is on
you.
19. VERSATILITY. The more things you learn to accomplish, the more confidence you will develop. Don’t
shy away from new endeavors.
20. ADAPTABILITY. Being flexible enables you to adapt to changing circumstances readily. Resist doing
things the same old way. Be willing to consider new options.
21. CURIOSITY. An inquisitive, curious mind will help you seek out new information. Don’t be afraid to
admit you don’t know it all. Always ask questions about things you don’t understand.
22. INDIVIDUALISM. Do things the way you think they should be done, without fearing somebody’s
disapproval.
23. IDEALISM. Keep your feet on the ground— but have your head in the clouds. Strive to achieve great
things, not just for yourself but for the better of mankind.
24. IMAGINATION. Geniuses know how to think in new combinations, see things from a different
perspective, than anyone else. Unclutter your mental environment to develop this type of imagination. Give
yourself time each day to daydream, to fantasize, to drift into a dreamy inner life the way you did as a
child.

[technobabel]

Only great minds can read this......

This is weird, but interesting!
i cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was
rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid, aoccdrnig to a
rscheearch at CmabrigdeUinervtisy, it dseno't mtaetrin waht oerdr
the ltteres in a wrod are, theolny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit
and lsat ltteer be in the rghitpclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and
you can sitll raed it whotuit apboerlm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn
mnid deos not raed ervey lteter byistlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Azanmighuh? yaeh and I awlyas tghuhot slpeling was ipmorantt!
if you can raed tihs forwrad it
Cna yuo raed tihs? Olny 55 plepoe out of 100 can.

[Luis Ko]

haa~
its interesting.
ill forward it.

[Kooper]

I couldn't believe that I could actually understand what I was reading. The phenomenal power of the human mind, according to a research at Cambridge University, it doesn't matter in what order the letters in a word are, the only important hing is that the first and last letter be in the right place. The rest can be a total mess and you can still read it without a problem. This is because the human mind doesn't read every letter by itself, but the word as a whole. Amazing huh? Yeah and I always thought spelling was important!
If you can read this forward it.
Can you read this? Only 55 people out of 100 can.

[Lynnchang]

i am one of the 55, too.!!

[Kooper]

隱藏在類似"成功者的幾項特質"這類文章背後的邏輯謬誤是, 它暗示讀者只要具有這些特質, 便可成為這樣的成功者. 而事實上, 它只能證明它所調查的這些成功者具有這類特質. 其餘的推論均不成立, 例如:

1. 具有這些特質,不代表就會成為成功者. (若A則B,不代表若B則A), 也許更多的失敗者也具有這些特質,但文中通常未提及. 簡單地說, 具有這些特質的人應是個大集合, 而所謂的成功者只是包含其中的一個小集合.

2. 所調查的這些成功者具有這些特質, 不代表所有的成功者都具有這些特質. 這是個抽樣的過程, 而抽樣是否具有代表性呢?這個最基本的統計問題通常未被回答, 如果這個抽樣結果根本不具代表性, 那麼作者歸納出的結論不具任何意義, 因為他們根本不代表"成功者".

3. 對於"何謂成功"缺乏明確的定義, 即文章中所謂的成功者究竟符合哪種成功的定義, 作者通常未提及. 作者認知的成功與你認知的成功或許不同, 若如此, 追尋作者所提的這些特質將永遠不會讓你成功.

[David_Liao]

Those points are not universal and just suitable to specific culture like western world, I think.