Who wants to be smart? Not us

Sudhirendar Sharma

Like others of my generation, I offered unsolicited advice to my young niece to be smart enough to shun modern gadgets, as obsession for the mobile handset makes one dumber. Far from taking it kindly, she chided me for my naivety and suggested that I read the Dunning-Kruger effect. Even before I could make any sense of it, she quipped nonchalantly: ‘Why acquire new knowledge when less of it can do the trick!’

I haven’t got the academic credentials to challenge the researcher duo but have been intrigued by their finding: ‘The dumber you are, the more confident you are that you're not actually dumb.’ What’s more, they have identified a human trait that prevents a person from acquiring new knowledge. What it means to me is that the dumb have a non-threatening presence without taxing anyone to undermine their abilities.   

Although it will take time for the DK effect to sink in, I find living evidences in gadget-zombies roaming all around that being ‘smart’ may not be the ‘in thing’. ‘Smart’ has ceased to be what most of us have grown working towards. It is no longer a virtue. 

Whether you doubt it or accept it, this change is right upon us. While most parents remain somewhat circumspect, youngsters are in awe of themselves. Loaded with self-belief, and lots of selfie, they go beyond the natural brashness of being young. They are smart/dumb enough not to carry any baggage of knowledge, as much of it is only a click away. 

Youngsters like her seem to be telling in no certain terms that smart as a goal of life is anything but passé. They would appreciate parents to be less persuasive on their children to be smart. 'If with an average IQ, George Bush Jr. could rule the USA and the world for almost a decade, what is the fuss about being smart!’ she questions.  

 And, the catch is that letting people think a little less of you is always helpful to get away with some silly stuff without it being counted against you. Smart people are known to make stupid mistakes while the stupid escape getting caught for the same. There are any number of examples to prove the point, perhaps the reason for my niece to press home the idea that less is more. She even went to the extent of telling me that humans have lost the evolutionary pressure to be smart.

Having used our intelligence to create artificial intelligence, there doesn’t seem much left for humans to get any further. It is better to be dumb when things around are becoming smart — from smartphones to smart kitchens; from smarts cars to smart cities. Let everything else be smart, we can afford to be dumb. Amen!