Metroskopik

Recently, I have been in intense debate about creativity versus wisdom. It started when my old friend, a programmer asked me, “Which one comes first, creativity or your wisdom?”.

I stacked. This is not easy. And by coincidence, my first post got a respond by some readers and they brought up the important of creativity. Thanks. This post can be considered as an extension.

So, which one? Before that, we need to make our view smaller. Let’s take a famous field today, which used to measure person’s level of IQ, which are mathematic, physic and programming.

Mathematic is part of every field in this world, except art. It is language of physic. Back to the day when we start learning math, we introduced with number and its value. Then we taught about plus, minus and so on. The symbol and operation added as we rise to higher level.

In high school, we taught physic and computer. And if you accepted to university or college after that, maybe you will learn computer programming if your course need you to know programming.

I by myself learn all of these three which have become core of my daily life. So, my answer is, it depends on what level of your life is.

As engineer and based on my life experience, creativity is a king. So, wisdom is not important? Don’t take it a wrong way.

When you learn math in high school, have you ever faced a question that you can’t answered caused by forgotten of formula? Then you will come up with a solution, which is combination of other formula. It always happens to me. And my teacher scolded me because my solution was too long. But she also praised me.

When we look into programming, it needs you to always become creative. Example:

Antivirus A – fast scanning, low system resources

Antivirus B – slow scanning, high system resources

Why antivirus A better than B? Because the programmer take into account for every possibilities that may happen, so that he come up with better solution, better plan of action for antivirus A.

If you know Thomas Edison, a man that only has 3 months of formal education, he is really creative man with limited wisdom (based on his formal education) because he created many useful things for us.

In the world today, everyone are clever and we competing against each other. What differentiates us is not our wisdom anymore. But it doesn’t mean if you are stupid but creative, you will be better than anyone else.

Your wisdom is driver and your creativity is junctions. Creativity without enough wisdom will lead a person to chaos. Wisdom here include etiquette, discipline and etc. A successful person are creative with enough wisdom.

When people call you stupid, how do you feel? You are angry, right? Even you may want to hit them. This is natural human being. Only want to eat something delicious. Only want to have pretty/handsome girlfriend/boyfriend. And when want to listen to what people say, we want to be praised and nice words.

When talking about intelligence, everyone admit that they are clever. Refer to a book of “Conception of Giftedness” by Dr. Stanberg, there are 3 factors of intelligence:

1) Analytic intelligence – ability to analyst
2) Synthetic intelligence – creative ability
3) Practical intelligence – ability to use own intelligence to produce something or use for daily routine

Meanwhile, refer to Howard Gardner (Harvard University), intelligence can be divided to 7 parts:

1) Linguistic
2) Logical mathematical
3) Visual spacial
4) Musical
5) Bodily kinaesthetic
6) Intrapersonal
7) Interpersonal

It was said that the most intelligence person is the one that can use all these 7 in their life.

Have you ever know someone that can be considered genius? Not all people are lucky to know someone like that in their life.

I by myself know two persons that can be considered genius in my life. Both of them are close to me since they are my childhood friend. Now, one working as software engineer while another one as physic professor.

Both of them can’t be categorize to any group of smart, intelligence, clever or either genius. This is a little story about them while in secondary school.

Actuaries:
1) Lazy, never finished his homework
2) Always scolded because sleep in class
3) Working part time at night
4) Smoking
5) Involved in street racing of motorcycle
6) Never failed physic and mathematic
7) Accepted to university for Diploma in Computer Science course(he just pass core subject)
8) Continuing his study in Bachelor’s Degree in same university and then Master in Artificial Intelligence at United Kingdom (scholarship)
9) Now, working at INTEL

Physic professor:
1) Just an average student
2) Silent person
3) Poor, always share books with me
4) Thin, maybe not eat enough caused by his family poorness
5) Accepted to Form 6 in Science
6) Continuing his study at local University in Bachelor’s Degree in Physic
7) Continuing Master and PhD at oversea
8) Now, working as Professor at local University

After reading little description about them, what you thought? Are they genius? Of course not. They told me the hard time they have at university when surrounded by clever students, which have good examination result for university’s entrance exam. Difficulty just arise for them since both of them come from poor and middle-income family.

Day after day, they realize that they need to try to survive although they will fail, so that there is no regret in the future. If their friends sleep 6 hours a day, they just sleep 3 hours. If their friends play football on evening, they are study at library.

At the beginning, there is nothing change. Seem likes they are like who they are in school. They just continue their routine as planned, everyday. And after test by test at university, the graph of their test marks keep increasing. And at the end of first semester, their GPA passed 3.0.

But, they never feel satisfy with their achievement. They continue their routine to study everyday. Book, paper, pen and computer have become their best friends. And at the end of their study, they are among the best student, but still not the best.

When they continuing their study on higher level, they still doing the same thing. But, the end came out differently. They are the top student. Both of them? Yes, both of them. And right now, I believe that they still doing the same in their life.

Are they genius? Still, no. They are not genius but they already achieved a level to become a genius. Einstein, who considered 20th century most genius person and famous for his relativity theory, was gifted with brilliant mind since his born. It was the same for another genius man, Isaac Newton.

But there is a big difference between both of my friends with Einstein and Newton. Both Einstein and Newton has shown their talent in mechanical thing (physic) and mathematic since childhood. While both of my friends are just a regular and average person.

Although they are different in natural born of talent, they are same in hardworking, try and error and never give up. Thomas Edison, who only got 3 months formal education, can be considered a genius too and he is worse when comparing him with both of my friends in education. But, Edison is more genius due to his contribution to the world.

So, to be a genius, you need more effort than your wisdom because a success needs 95 % of effort and only 5 % of wisdom. Overtly, of course a person with gifted mind can achieve more than average person with same effort, but don’t forget luck can be a cause to success, like Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen, a founder of X-ray.

Rome was not build in a day. Better be genius by hardworking, than born genius but the lazy one. One day will come when the genius by hardworking show how truly genius they are than born genius. So, keep trying and study hard because you will loss nothing although you will not become the most genius person.