Sunday, January 21, 2018

On "Street Smartness"

When we were growing up in Pak-land, we frequently heard that; it's not important to be 'book smart', it is important to be 'street smart'. I wondered about that for many years!

Now my take is that: There is no such thing as 'book smart' or 'street smart', but it is important to be 'ethics smart'. It does not matter what you read or what you do in life - it is important, you don't hurt any other human being or do things by unethical means.

I am very afraid that when people try to say, 'be street smart', it means 'JugaaR', '2 number kaam', 'patli gali'  etc etc. I lived, breath and moved in Pakistan, first 25 years of my life - and was known to all these very intimately (see Salahuddin). Unfortunately, 'street smart' is mostly a surrogate to 'unethical means'.

Abovesaid, It's good to be emotionally and intellectually wise to make proper inferences and decisions - and be smart to change/carve once path to have a happy life - but I get very wary when people use the term - 'street smart'. You can call it my psychological knot!

2 comments:

Books and Stilettos said...

https://youtu.be/0qOBK1uD-1A

This video explains it well ! :)

You are 100 percent right on this street smartness mystic !

bsc said...

Amazing. I did not know I had read Salahuddin kahani and commented but it reminded me of my own experience I think I wrote in my blog somewhere I was working in Derby and drove to Nottingham for shopping Parked car and as I returned I found a bump , somebody had produced on my car but fortunately (unfortunately) some observer had noted the car number and posted on my windshield Police office was not far so I decided to report the number to the police
So far so good But I got caught because my own vehicle Insurance company had declared Bankruptsy that very morning and I got the info next day Police charged me for driving without Insurance believe it or not I had to go to c ourt and I spent maybe 7 pounds fee of the lawyer who was so kind to represent me That was just a few months before I left England permanently for USA