To be a smart man, you do not necessarily have to graduate with a Master's degree with a 4.0 GPA, but do not get me wrong that is one type of smart. There is more to smart than being able to study for tests and ace them.

A "smart" man according to my philosophy is one who can think on his feet and use his knowledge is relevant areas to make wise and educated "guesses" in a field that he may not be an expert. I know many people who have graduated from schools with a perfect if not very close to perfect grade. To be honest, in some areas they may not be that knowledgeable.

I, myself have been told many times how "smart" I am, but if you look at my high school transcript or college transcript, those are not 4.0 GPA's, for the reason of I do not test well. So do you think that I person should not be considered "smart" because they may not do well in an academic environment, but are simply stunning in areas that they are amazing in? If you are basing "smartness" on a numerical GPA figure, I think you are missing a large percentage of the equation. Anyone can simply regurgitate answers that are given to them, but how many people can successfully think on their feet when the clock is ticking?

A sincere smart man can take knowledge in an area and use those as a guide to find answered to questions or problems that may arise elsewhere. How do you compare?

-Ken

Labels: A New Man in Town, common sense, education, gpa, knowledge, smart

There are many types of people that rub my fur (if I was a cat) the wrong way. A person that has the know-it-all attitude. Believe me, I believe people can have much knowledge about topics . . . but when you mix arrogance with that knowledge, you are doing something wrong. I know many people that are experts at their craft and I highly respect those individuals. Being arrogant and a bully is no way to gain respect by anyone. You may think people have respect for you, but at the end of the day, things are much different that what you think.

Then, to add on top of that, when that person puts themselves in jokes that they are not a part of, that is just a formula for failure.

Through my experiences and heeding the advice of my father and many other influential people in my life, bullies are fed upon your emotion. The more attention you give them, the more fuel they will have for condemning you. The proper way to deal with bullies is to not. Let them be . . . walk away and be the bigger person. Obviously, they aren't going to because they are the bully! They have chosen the low road, so you as the better person should chose the high road.

What do we do from here?

Step 1 - You do not feed the fire by being abrasive toward the individual.

Step 2 - You do not allow the person to know that he effects you (where applicable)

Step 3 - Be professional and move on. Arrogant people will receive their judgment and will eventually find out the hard way what they have been doing and living is not an appropriate style.

In the heat of the moment, you can not let these people effect you. We should and Christ sets the example that we should be the bigger person. When this person effects you, just move on and continue doing what you know is right. They will learn on their own time. It is not your responsibility to justify anything.

-Ken

Labels: annoying, Bible, christ, different, disciplined, education, example, experiences, God, haters, rant, scripture, stubborn

So what? Someone / something has stumped you. What now?

When I was learning about digital photography, I understood the basics, but still had many questions. "What would this do?" So basically, I tried it. Sometimes it was an interesting result, other times...not so much. I am of the mindset that most learning is done hands on. Individually, you come up with a "real world" scenario...not something that has been planned to trick you. Then, you have to find a solution for that same scenario. You may screw up, but I will guarantee you will never knowingly create that mistake again. Often times with traditional education, there may be some issues applying what you learn in a lecture-based environment. That is why I have come to the conclusion that for me, a hands-on experience is the best way to obtain and apply knowledge.

-Ken

Labels: education, hands on, photography, question