Go get an apartment, or reach for a more challenging job. Dec 09, 2015 book smart is simply describing that the person as generally intelligent, well educated and do well academically. Aug 19, 2017 in reality we should have a mixture of both street smarts and book smarts to be functioning healthy human beings. In the end the book smart harvard debate team was defeated by the street smart prisoners. Its extremely tough to succeed without finding a balance between book smarts and street smarts. Why street smarts always win out over book smarts when it. You can have all the book smarts in the world, but the real world will eat you up and spit you out if you aint able to play the game.
It lets you be able to achieve any dreams and goals that you want. Street smarts can also refer to a persons instincts in regards to highstress situations, such as navigating city streets via car, bicycle, or on foot. Their precision of knowledge can somehow compensate for their lack of experience applying it in the real world. Apr 23, 20 when people discuss street smarts and book smarts, its usually implied that you can only have one or the other. Being street smart means having interest in other activities more than in school work, while being book smart is. Both malcolm x, and gerald graff make very interesting points about street and book smarts. Making honor roll, on the other hand, comes pretty easily.
Street smarts is just as much as knowing something with familiarity gained through experience and intelligence as book smarts. This quiz will determine whos book smart and whos street smart. Tomas chamorropremuzic, editorial advisory board, leadership, learning, talent management, by dr. You get street smarts when people try to take advantage of you, when they try to bully you, or when they try to bamboozle you. In street smarts, rogers takes us through the highlights of his life in the financial markets, from his school days at yale and oxfordwhere despite the fact that he didnt have enough money to afford the appropriate pair of shoes, he coxed the crew and helped to win the oxfordcambridge boat race as well as the thames cup, the first of his. Street smarts vs book smarts, the epic debate continued. I am a person who is most definitely more book smart than common sense smart.
Ill start this article with a confession ive heard that thats better than starting a confession with an article. Know a good few people who are just street smart who do quite well for themselves. This type of intelligence is used to recall or recognize, analyze, evaluate, and. Now living on the street is different than street smarts. Simply put, i am saying that street smarts are as equally as important in the world as book smarts. The authors is very persuasive using real life examples. Jan 24, 2018 i love the opportunity to answer this question, but most people arent going to like the answer. Book smart or street smart who would be your choice. However, to the street smart, the booksmart are commodities and. While intelligence has been defined in many different ways including as ones capacity for logic, understanding, selfawareness, learning, emotional knowledge, planning, creativity, and problemsolving.
Being street smart means having interest in other activities more than in school work, while being book smart is the complete opposite of that. I love the opportunity to answer this question, but most people arent going to like the answer. Essay on street smarts versus book smarts 706 words bartleby. Book smarts and street smarts, both have their advantages in the corporate world and it depends upon what the employer is looking for to determine who gets the upper hand. They discussed that students viewed book smarts as students that would gain an education and go to colleges while street smarts were viewed as being able to maneuver through life, social structures, and. Jan 31, 2014 the truth is, being book smart and street smart has a lot more to do than just your upbringing and personality.
I grew up disliking academics very much but didnt mind the street smarts i had gained. Street smarts over book smarts gerald graff is a professor of english and education in the university of illinois at chicago. Street smart, what are books going to do for you if you have no sense of anything else in life. But, by far, the most common definition of smart is to be very good at learning and understanding things. Street smart and book smart are two different types of. A recent debate at the eastern correctional facility in new york between prison inmates and the harvard debate team had me questioning whether its better to have street smarts or book smarts. There are several problems with the terms street smarts and book smarts. Youll never hit the street smart plateau while under the comfort of mommy and daddy. We will always remember his i have a dream speech for being inspirational without exaggeration. People who have streetsmarts may not have read as many books or earned college degrees.
Im just really bad at putting forth effort toward that area. Theres just too many different kinds of smarts for people to know all the smarts. Book smart is simply describing that the person as generally intelligent, well educated and do well academically. The author claims that people are better off if they are more street smart than book smart. Growing up, i was very street smart but not so book smart. The real difference between book smarts and genuine. Book smarts remains resolute in his knowledge and understanding and refuses to accept the possibility that he is wrong. Intellectualism by gerald graff is street smarts versus book smarts. The prime distinction between street smarts and book smarts is who is at the center of the knowledge.
Here are 10 ways to tell you are more book smart than common sense smart. In the beginning he emphasizes that his knowledge of business comes from street smarts, beginning with the lessons he learned on the street from his father. Street smarts, book smarts by sugato chakravarty author isbn. Jul 06, 2006 unless you write a book that a best seller, then you dont need street smarts all that much. Jun 18, 2014 whether one is more versed in street smarts or book smarts depends on the circumstances one has grown up under. First, there is a common misconception that most people only have one or the other, and if you have both you are going places in the world. Know plenty of people with a ton of book smarts who didnt go to far in life. Maybe for some people, dating is sort of an organic thing where you just dive into it and let it grow whereas studying for economics is something you go to the library, grab a book, and start reading. Oct 14, 2017 people who have streetsmarts may not have read as many books or earned college degrees. Unless you write a book that a best seller, then you dont need street smarts all that much. Street smart the psychology of good and bad judgment on november 10, 2015, in dr. Another huge distinction between book smarts and street smarts is who is in the middle of the knowledge.
I am by far the brightest, out of everyone i know, when it comes to street smarts. And if youre street smart and not book smart, then read a goddamn. Book smart vs street smart essay research paper example. Therefor id choose neither, but if i must id go with street smarts. Being absolutely one or the other with none of the opposite is crippling. If youve got one, getting the other will give you superpowers. But they have something just as valuable the ability to use their experiences in many different situations. Graff debates the common belief that having book smarts gives one an intellectual advantage over other forms of intellectualism.
In short, common sense tasks often pose a greater challenge than those you. Apr 05, 2020 street smarts can also refer to a persons instincts in regards to highstress situations, such as navigating city streets via car, bicycle, or on foot. Malcolm x obviously had the street smarts, but like graff he mixed his new book smarts with his street smarts to be successful in life. My stepsister is book smart but not street smart, she cant. If you are a street smart with knowledge, it works best. Theres money smart, theres movie smart, theres computer smart. Apr 29, 2018 2 thoughts on street smarts vs book smarts scolon april 29, 2018 at 6.
For many people, there is no difference between smart and intelligent, because the. Someone can have their noses deep into all kinds of complex books their entire lives, and still not be able to do even the most basic tasks that everyone knows is just common sense. It has a lot to do with your preferred learning style, and which way you perceive the world. In reality we should have a mixture of both street smarts and book smarts to be functioning healthy human beings.
The stereotype of a streetsmart person is someone who knows how to handle. Simply put, a person who has book smarts is someone who is intelligent and. Oct 20, 2015 a recent debate at the eastern correctional facility in new york between prison inmates and the harvard debate team had me questioning whether its better to have street smarts or book smarts. Sep 10, 2017 the general definition of book smart is someone who is intelligent and very well educated academically. The main distinction between the two is the difference between the sources of their knowledge. The difference between academic intelligence book smarts and practical intelligence street smarts was first define in terms of the tasks involved neisser, 1976. It blends successful entrepreneurs, the brightest students, the coolest new brands.
Apr 18, 2011 book smarts are having an advantage when receiving higher education and excelling academically. For many people, there is no difference between smart and. While many, if not most, people hold book smarts in the highest regard, the truth is. May 23, 20 the street smart superrich credit the book smart for their mastery of a sophisticated topic, which is why they hire these experts. To be street smart, you have to spend time on the streets. It solely is a theoretical understanding of facts or ideas. This distinction is a direct challenge by the youth to the dominant discourse of smartness or book smarts as it operates in schools. A shrewd ability to survive in a dangerous urban environment. The combination of book smarts and street smarts is lethal. Whether one is more versed in street smarts or book smarts depends on the circumstances one has grown up under. In reality there is zero difference between the two. Making a cup of coffee sounds like a potentially difficult task hey, theres a reason they invented the keurig.
Street smarts vs book smarts talking about thinking. Before we look at the ways being street smart is different and in many ways more beneficial. October 18, 2014 introduction this paper will be discussing the debate on whether or not higher education in law enforcement officers should be mandatory and the effect it can have in the correctional. Street smart in the article, hidden intellectualism, gerald graff discusses the topic of book smart versus street smart. Some people are analytically intelligent or book smart. The youth made key distinctions between being book smart vs.
Book smarts are having an advantage when receiving higher education and excelling academically. This includes not only knowledge of the urban center or certain locale, but also a working knowledge of how to move through the area safely and often aggressively. Funny thing is todays world, top positions are extemely competitive, so street smarts is only looked after academics. However, they dont necessarily have a deeper comprehension of the topic. The truth is, being book smart and street smart has a lot more to do than just your upbringing and personality. Academic intelligence is measured by iq and most classroom testing. Ive always wondered in the back of my mind what the actual outcome of this would be, so i was pretty excited when i saw your title. Someone who is intelligent, learns well, and educated very well academically. Theres book smart, there is street smart, theres relationship smart, theres too many different kinds of smarts to know all of them. When people discuss street smarts and book smarts, its usually implied that you can only have one or the other. If you ever need to decide whether someone is truly intelligent or merely book smart, you can refer to these six points. Book smart people have a lot of general knowledge and do well at quizzes, but they might struggle with more complex ideas.
Aug 12, 2007 i am by far the brightest, out of everyone i know, when it comes to street smarts. There is a real difference between book smarts and street smarts, and very few people are blessed with both kinds of intelligence. I respect what graff, and x have to say and agree with them, both book and street smarts are very important. October 18, 2014 introduction this paper will be discussing the debate on whether or not higher education in law enforcement officers should be mandatory and the effect it can have in the correctional facilities. What is the difference between book smart and street smart. Street smarts do win the race against book smarts but it is the combination of two that does the wonder. In my personal opinion, and for the purpose of this article, an individual who is book smart is intellectual and analytical. Finding the balance for me was extremely difficult. In graffs essay, hidden intellectualism, graff compares street smarts to book smarts.
The street smart superrich credit the book smart for their mastery of a sophisticated topic, which is why they hire these experts. If youre book smart and not street smart, then get out in the freaking world. Street smarts is a worthwhile business book, and i do recommend this book to anyone interested in entrepreneurial material, however the author played a bit of a deception in the reader. While which one is more helpful can be a matter of debate and also depends on the context, it is generally seen that street smarts weigh more on the scale when it comes. However, to the street smart, the book smart are commodities and. They looked at how students in an urban school viewed the differences between students that are street smart and those that are book smart. Whereas, street smarts refers to the experiential knowledge on things. Gerald graff is an english professor at the university of illinois and has written many books. That puts you in contact with unsavory characters, the kind that typify the hustler that embodies the negative version of that word. Just to set an example in regardings to the topic, when the economy comes down to a threat where individuals will be drafted to war, street smarts will doubt less and think of strategies in order to survive through the battlefield,while on the other hand book smarts are hesitating about. So which are the differences between book smarts and really intelligent people. Book smarts derive their knowledge from theories and books and street smarts from experiences.
Book smart or street smart from when we were little kids to grown adults it is put in our heads that education is the most important experience to have in our life. The general definition of book smart is someone who is intelligent and very well educated academically. Most people who are street smart arent very book smart and vice versa. Infographic by john cook on november 4, 2011 at 10. However, the underlying idea is that the person deals with situations especially bad or difficult situations from an intellectual d. Street smarts trump book smarts if you want to get seriously rich. Book smarts refer to the education, schooling and other kinds of knowledge that one has acquired.
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