Words of wisdom; Think about it.

Sometimes i feel like i demand and hope too much, and it's tiring me out or i'll ultimately break down cos it's beyond my ability(oh talking about innate stupidity) and i want to give up there and then.

Maybe i should just take things easy and it's proven(umpteen times) that by this way, i'll perform so much better. But what about that inner voice, that perfectionist inside me - wanting to take control and just refuse to shut up.

Then, maybe lowering down my standards would help. Or resign myself to fate or maybe settle for less? ):

Pragmatically speaking, are you better than someone if you're smarter? What makes you worth more as a person? People say a lot about how being nice and possessing un-measurable qualities matter so much more in life than grades or brains, but somehow i think a total dumbass would be worth less than the average human even if he were the nicest person on earth.

I admit with a whole lot of shame that i judge a lot on performance, while i have no idea if that's a shallow and soulless or simply practical and true method of valuation.

But then again, there is no absolute/universal/intrinsic value in anything, ie. there is no true measure of better/worse. It's a relative measure, and when people call something "better" or "worse", it naturally has to be preceded by a criteria or context in which to measure it.

And so, we shouldn't feel stupid/or whatever along those lines cos maybe we're just putting too much pressure on ourselves by comparing with geniuses.

Personally, i think intelligence has many wings. There is the ability to be witty and sharp, the ability to focus for long periods of time, the ability to grasp concepts very quickly, and most importantly (to me), the ability to make moral decisions about what is right and what is wrong. These things require the brain to be functioning and are all at least important.

But as karen said to me, singapore and by extension singaporeans have such a narrow perception of what intelligence is, it's so rigidly delineated and institutionalised, and it's such an easy way out, because it's so definitive: if i get a good score or a grade, then i can be absolutely sure that i am 'good.' But i think it's better to make the choice to view human beings' 'intelligence' as more complex than that.

'Intelligence' as i posited has so many facets to it. You should not let yourself be affected by one minor assessment of it. It's too shallow to measure it independently cos it's the big picture that counts eventually.

All in all, i think the rainbow measure is pretty and v tempting, but its a v v v optimistic outlook. What if your rainbow only had one colour?