What most of the people i know mean by saying this is i cant read above an eighth grade level, and im often unsure about the multiplication table, but i can parallel park, order a subway sandwich, and i know who. The street smart superrich credit the book smart for their mastery of a sophisticated topic, which is why they hire these experts. Street smart the psychology of good and bad judgment on november 10, 2015, in dr. Book and street smarts are totally reliant on each other. Whats the difference between book smart and street smart. A book smart has only word experience, as he or she is a book worm. It would be foolhardy to say that being book smart isnt a good thing. We all know people who are book smart but clueless in the real world, and those who are street smart but unable to handle any environment other than the one theyre used to. However, the term is usually used to contrast and compare with another term known as street smart. Albert einstein once said intellectuals solve problems. A shrewd ability to survive in a dangerous urban environment. From san francisco to salt lake, charleston to houston, the american city is becoming a better and better place to be. Schwartzs street smart is a dazzling and affectionate history of the struggle for control of american cities, and an inspiring offroad map to a more vibrant, active, and vigorous urban future. To be street smart, you have to spend time on the streets.
This statistic becomes even more startling when you consider that the. To the youth, street smarts are more important because they are connected to being able to maneuver through structures in. This means that they are enabled by computers like a smartphone. Being pragmatic means that you know how to handle any problem quickly and creatively. What is the difference between book smart and street smart. The truth is, being book smart and street smart has a lot more to do than just your upbringing and personality. Because being street smart will get you out of any jam. Being street smart puts you at the centre of the knowledge.
In fact, the online oxford dictionary defines being book smart as having a lot of academic knowledge learned from books and studying, but not. Whenever someone says im not book smart, but im street. Intelligence, on the other hand, is something with which you are born. 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. You are essentially studying what someone else has discovered.
Clearly you are missing a big chunk of your book smarts. Of course people can be both book smart and street smart. Street smart person finds his own interest, and gets his knowledge from experience. This type of intelligence is used to recall or recognize, analyze, evaluate, and judge information. On the other hand, book smart people rely more on tried and tested strategies. 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. Its clear that some people have better judgment than others. Some people are analytically intelligent or book smart. What types of smart are there besides book smart and. I once heard someone utter the phrase, when someone says that they arent street smart, but book smart, what i really hear is, im not real smart, but im imaginary smart.
The combination of book smarts and street smarts is lethal. Learn the five mistakes that you cant afford to make in college. I included common sense smart because not everyone is smart enough to apply common sense to issues of life when necessary. Apr 23, 20 sometimes the people who are book smart are useless when it comes to the actual job. However, when i hear the phrase im not book smart, im street smart, it generally is not referring to this sort of intelligence. The main distinction between the two is the difference between the sources of their knowledge. This distinction is a direct challenge by the youth to the dominant discourse of smartness or book smarts as it operates in schools. A street smart has world experience, as he or she has gone through the university of hard knocks. Your iq is a measurement of your intelligence, and doesnt change because it is a measure of your ability to learn. Street smart people also have a better ability at predicting how certain situations will play out, and this gives them the time they need to prepare themselves. The youth made key distinctions between being book smart vs. Being street smart can lead to book smarts as the street. And lets face it, book smart is something you can bank on, while street smart is more of a flybytheseatofyourpants level of value.
The sample essay on book smart vs street smart essay deals with a framework of researchbased facts, approaches and arguments concerning this theme. Street smart film, a 1987 film with christopher reeve and morgan freeman. If you want more than average out of life then you. Intelligent people are sometimes street smart because. Jun 18, 2014 why street smarts always win out over book smarts when it comes to success. Mullins, street smart disciplines of successful people that put some meat on. Street smart tv series, a 2018 australian television series. Mullins, street smart disciplines of successful people that put some meat on the bones of what it means. Posted on september 8, 2015 by pplscrt79 i once heard someone utter the phrase, when someone says that they arent street smart, but book smart, what i really hear is, im not real smart, but im imaginary smart. If youre book smart and not street smart, then get out in the freaking world.
Theres money smart, theres movie smart, theres computer smart. Street smart in the article, hidden intellectualism, gerald graff discusses the topic of book smart versus street smart. In reality there is zero difference between the two. Go get an apartment, or reach for a more challenging job. When you are street smart, you are able to discern when a situation is going south or when a situation is fine and safe. Thus i was happy to get some help recently from a new book by john a. In real life, its harder to say who comes out on top. The stereotype of a streetsmart person is someone who knows how to handle practical situations in everyday life necessary to get things done. For example, 25% of people on social media have posted something they later regretted, the divorce rate in the us is 50%, and over the past decade the tattoo removal industry has grown 440% although tramp stamps and tasteless tweets are mostly benign mistakes, there are a remarkable number of people whose poor decisionmaking. Someone who is intelligent, learns well, and educated very well academically. However, the underlying idea is that the person deals with situations especially bad or difficult situations from an intellectual d.
The author claims that people are better off if they are more street smart than book smart. Book smart people are frequently educated to a high level. Street smarts meaning in the cambridge english dictionary. Why street smarts always win out over book smarts when it comes to success. Some intelligent people are not educated to a higher level. When looking at two candidates if all things were equal besides one having a mba from harvard and one having a community college mba it would be common to pick to more book smart harvard mba recipient book smarts 2005. In the end, though the street smart folks made an impressive showing, it was a book smart contestant who walked away with the prize. Growing up, i was very street smart but not so book smart. Theres book smart, there is street smart, theres relationship smart, theres too many different kinds of smarts to know all of them. Oct 14, 2017 so, being smart whether booksmart or streetsmart is a great thing to be. What types of smart are there besides book smart and street smart. The distinguishment between street smarts and book smarts is a. If you are book smart someone with street smarts relies on your findings and someone with street smarts relies on a book smart persons formula. Street smarts vs book smarts talking about thinking.
Rather, says veteran companybuilder norm brodsky, theres a mentality that helps street smart entrepreneurs solve problems and pursue opportunities as they arise. Book smart is simply describing that the person as generally intelligent, well educated and do well academically. Why being street smart is better than being book smart. However, there is a difference between the meanings and use of these words. Your ability to express wisdom with common sense automatically qualifies you as a member of this stratum of smartness. But there is a lot to say about the value of being street smart. There is no doubt in my mind street smarts kicks book smarts ass. This type of intelligence is used to recall or recognize, analyze, evaluate, and. To the youth, street smarts are more important because they are connected to being able to maneuver through structures in their lives.
Jan 31, 2014 the truth is, being book smart and street smart has a lot more to do than just your upbringing and personality. Book smarts arent so applicable when you have to think on your feet. Smart can be applied to learned inferences, such as making smart business or emotional decisions. Youll never hit the street smart plateau while under the comfort of mommy and daddy. Sometimes the people who are book smart are useless when it comes to the actual job.
Generally, people who are not book smart ie didnt go to school, arent particularly good at any subject, etc etc try and make themselves feel better by claming that people who actually are smart arent street smart like them. High probability shortterm trading strategies raschke, linda bradford, connors, laurence a. Graff believes that having the personality of a street smart person can benefit society if one knows how to channel their potential correctly. Street smarts rely more on intuition in order to plan their next move.
It is also a myth that you need to excel in school in order to earn a. That puts you in contact with unsavory characters, the kind that typify the hustler that embodies the negative version of that word. Theres just too many different kinds of smarts for people to know all the smarts. Intellectualism by gerald graff is street smarts versus book smarts. Being able to succeed scholastically, and not necessarily in the real world. According to this quote if you can solve a problem then youre an intellectual. Street smarts trump book smarts if you want to get. Street smart, which is the shrewd resourcefulness needed to survive in an urban environment be it people management, project management, or business management, comes from experience. Oct 07, 2012 thus i was happy to get some help recently from a new book by john a. Why you need to be street smart, not book smart better. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. I dont have to tell you which side believes this, but i have one simple question.
Whilst book smart people have a lot of knowledge in traditional educational areas, street smart people have world knowledge, understanding how people think and act in different situations. Street smart, a 1987 film with christopher reeve and morgan freeman. People who possess street smarts have a greater sense of. Sep 24, 2012 this topic of book smart and street smart reminds me so much of the movie straw dogs where a woman amy, that used to live in the south moved, left her town, and later married an intellectual who is a screenwriter.
I think what defines someone as being book smart is pretty obvious, though the definition of what makes someone street smart should be expanded to include not only those with life experience, but those who have other talents and abilities you cannot learn just from reading, i. Another huge distinction between book smarts and street smarts is who is in the middle of the knowledge. Being street smart means having interest in other activities more than in school work, while being book smart is the complete opposite of that. The stereotype of a book smart person is someone who is.
Gerald graff is an english professor at the university of illinois and has written many books. Being smart doesnt always necessarily mean you do well in school. Book smarts derive their knowledge from theories and books and street smarts from experiences. Book smart person is a gobbler of books who is well educated. Youve been tested and have a bank of courage to depend on when you are tested again. It is one thing to know all the technical aspects of a product you are trying to sell but it takes street. 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. Why street smarts always win out over book smarts when it. The a method for hiring by geoff smart, randy street. Book smart or street smart, we have to put effort into becoming smarter.
What types of smart are there besides book smart and street. Relying on theoretical knowledge all the time can lead up to disastrous consequences because a little pragmatism is always necessary to analyze your current. And if youre street smart and not book smart, then read a goddamn book. 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. Many studies support higher education for police officers, encouraging the disciplines beyond what is actually taught. I need this, guys, i know im capable of some type of smart. The two important aspects of smartness when it comes to smartness, it can be divided down into two broad categories. In the real world out there, street smart trumps book smart. Philosophical shtis it better to be book smart or street smart. It is great to read a book and learn about a particular subject, viewpoint or opinion. Last season the apprentice was based on this dichotomy, pitting a team of people with higher education against a team whose members had less formal education. Brodsky shares his hardearned wisdom every month in inc. I love the opportunity to answer this question, but most people arent going to like the answer.
The authors is very persuasive using real life examples. Book smarts refer to the education, schooling and other kinds of knowledge that one has acquired. He might have problem putting his knowledge into real world. Everyone has common sense but not everyone uses it. When we study and learn, we become smarter in the subject matter. If you want more than average out of life then you need to be street smart, you need to get in touch. Apr 18, 2011 book smart person is a gobbler of books who is well educated. As humans we tend to draw a line between these two types of individuals considering them intellectuals or.
It solely is a theoretical understanding of facts or ideas. In this instant new york times bestseller, geoff smart and randy street provide a simple, practical, and effective solution to what the economist calls the single biggest problem in business today. Book smart people have usually studied hard to reach their level of knowledge. Of course amys husband david is well educated but is missing something that her exboyfriend knows how to do. To see the essays introduction, body paragraphs and conclusion, read on. Therefore it doesnt matter if youre a book smart or street smart. He has intelligent common sense, and uses it well in society.
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. Umair zia houghton english june 30th, 20 book smart vs. Tomas chamorropremuzic, editorial advisory board, leadership, learning, talent management, by dr. Most people spend a small fortune on a college education for book smarts but when you get in the real world, you must also have street smarts. In the end the book smart harvard debate team was defeated by the street smart prisoners. On the flip side, being book smart comes from being wellversed with books. So, being smart whether booksmart or streetsmart is a great thing to be. They took the angle looking in on the topic of street smarts vs book smarts on the job market. What do you call people who are book smart, but not street. If youve got one, getting the other will give you superpowers. Street smart video game, a 1989 arcade game by snk. Why being street smart is better than being book smart in. In another use of the word, we add smart to the names of devices and tools. Someone who possesses street smarts can also have book smarts, but usually people who have book smarts only rely on their intelligence.
Aug 09, 2011 book smart youre smart in terms of school type things. Book smart vs street smart essay research paper example. And if youre street smart and not book smart, then read a goddamn. It has a lot to do with your preferred learning style, and which way you perceive the world. Competition, entrepreneurship, and the future of roads, a book about private highways. Whereas, street smarts refers to the experiential knowledge on things.
145 297 296 1063 1570 1415 227 1372 492 1259 899 965 1021 1220 1502 350 396 761 876 117 1459 404 1210 210 152 572 1302 187 923 1222 291 844 939 1351 331 1028 970 208 191