Are You Book-Smart Or Street-Smart?
- by Dylan Dembrow
- – on
- in Lifestyle
While we'd all like to fancy yourselves as utter geniuses with impeccable social skills, the fact of the matter is that you probably only have a few areas of expertise, and are somewhere between mildly knowledgeable and totally clueless in every other aspect of life. While it's easy to assume that someone with a doctorate or a law degree must be a borderline genius, the only thing it actually demonstrates is that the individual was determined to be an expert in that particular field. And in fact, spending seven or eight years of your life leaning only about one thing could leave you seriously oblivious to anything else.
This is known as book-smarts, meaning that you prefer to get all of your knowledge from reading or a classroom setting and that you haven't necessarily put any of this intellect to use in the real world. The flip-side of this is street-smarts, which means you've learned through experience. While people with book-smarts may be able to study all week and ace a mid-term, they may lack some serious common sense or the ability to converse and interact with people with ease, which comes naturally to those who have learned through their experiences, rather than classroom instruction.
So let's find out if you're book-smart or street-smart!
What does a pair of sneakers tossed over a telephone wire mean to you?
We’ve all seen it before: A pair of sneakers with their laces tied together flung over some telephone wires. This could be done for any number of reasons. Maybe somebody was marking a special occasion, or maybe somebody was just really, really excited to throw away a pair of old sneakers. But more importantly, what does the image make you think of?
Have you ever owned a fake I.D.?
Though owning a fake I.D. is highly illegal (especially if you get caught with it), having one at a young age can obviously open you up to other opportunities that wouldn’t be available until your 18 or 21 years old -- like buy booze and getting into certain clubs/bars. So were you the go-to person when one of your underage friends wanted to throw a party? Or did getting a fake I.D. never even cross your mind?
Where was your first job?
Though you may have hated it at the time, there’s a good chance that you’ll end up looking back at your first job longingly at some point in your life -- probably in your mid-20s when you find yourself chained to a desk job with a fuzzy recollection of how you ever got there. While first jobs do indeed suck, it's a big moment in your life when you start making your own money to do with as you please.
What age did you have your first kiss?
Much like remembering your first job, thinking back on your first kiss can be a bittersweet memory. Chances are you were extremely nervous seconds before it actually happened, which may blur your recollection of the event. If it went well, then you likely couldn’t wait to do it again. But if things went horribly wrong, then it may still scar you until today.
How much is a dime bag of marijuana?
With marijuana slowly becoming legalized across Canada and the United States, the days of having to buy your pot from a drug dealer may finally be behind you. Therefore, it’s only inevitable that certain drug terminology will be lost on future generations, just like the idea of a “dime bag.” So do you know what one costs? Or if the term has to do with costs at all?
Did you, or do you plan to attend college?
While college used to only be for the brightest of the bunch, these days, it’s becoming commonplace for nearly every high school graduate to attend at least some form of college — be it community college, a trade school, or a four-year university. The only downside to that is the sheer amount of debt that could weigh you down once you graduate. But a better paying career might make it well worth it.
How many locks do you have on the outside door to your house?
If your answer to this question is “0”, then you may seriously want to consider sleeping at a hotel until you can get the local locksmith to pay a visit to your place. While pretty much everyone has a lock on their door, you may not have ever thought about checking the quality of it or having a second one installed. But with your safety and belongings at risk, you may want to consider upping your security.
What’s the best way for you to learn something?
Knowing how you actually retain information means you won’t have to continue learning the same thing over and over again throughout your life. While someone people love a classroom setting — since it’s how we’re condition to learn from a young age anyway — others won’t actually grasp anything until they try it for themselves. So what type of learner are you?
You keep your most valuable possessions locked in a fireproof safe.
Just as you should have a couple of decent locks on your outside doors, it’s never a bad idea to make sure your most valuable possessions are doubly secured in a fireproof safe. And we don’t just mean your cash and expensive jewelry. Birth certificates, social security cards, and firearms are definitely not things that you want to have stolen either.
When did you get your first job?
Going all the way through high school and college without getting a job can be a serious mistake that might end up costing you tens of thousands of dollars in student debt. After all, how can one decide what they want to do with their life if they don’t even know what they do and don’t like?
If someone at a bar asks you to step outside, what are they really saying?
Even some of the nicest bars can turn into a tumultuous environment depending upon how many people are there and how much they’ve had to drink. And while you may want to have a good time yourself, it’s still important to keep your wits about you if you’re surrounded by total strangers. Things can go from zero to ten very quickly when people are under the influence, and it’s important to steer clear of anyone who’s going off the rails.
Without Googling it, what does the word “imperative” mean?
If you don’t read or you never really paid attention in class, then one thing that may seriously be lacking is your vocabulary. People these days seem to use the same words over and over again, which ultimately only limits your ability to express yourself. Even if you only watch TV or enjoy conversing with people, you should continue to look up words you don’t know so you can add them to your lexicon. (Now go look up "lexicon.")
When you go swimming at the beach, where do you put your wallet/ cash?
To be street-smart, you inevitably have to spend some of your time imagining what a criminal would do, and most criminals are interested in your money over anything else. The beach is a prime spot for many thieves, as they know many visitors are on vacation, and that people will likely have to leave their wallets and purses behind if they plan to go in the water. So it’s best to be prepared for the worst.
How many hours do you work/ go to school a week?
Regardless of whether you’re street-smart or book-smart, having a strong work ethic is what will ultimately make you successful in life. You may have never aced a test or read an entire novel, but if you can wake up and make it to work on time, and if you’re not afraid to stay late when everybody else goes home, then you’re probably doing better than most people your age.
When you go walking at night, what do you bring for protection?
Even if you don’t live in a dangerous neighborhood, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t leave the house at night without taking at least a few precautionary measures. Of course, telling someone where you’re off to and when they can expect to see you again is a solid start, but that won’t protect you from an attacker or a number of other potential threats.
What do you usually read?
Reading is by far the fastest way to grow your knowledge base while being on your own. While TV or movies can also transport you to another world just as quickly, they don’t allow you to actually engage with the material like a book does. To put it simply, if you start to zone out during a movie it will keep playing, whereas the book can’t exactly continue to read itself.
You have your weekly/ monthly budget down to a T.
If this whole adulting thing is proving to be a lot harder and a lot less fun than you expected, there’s probably one thing that’s to blame: money. While you are indeed always running out of time, it’s probably your lack of money that's causing you the most stress. Therefore, it’s imperative that you keep track of your spending, even if math was your least favorite subject in school.
Where did you grow up?
While people more often like to group themselves off using their political party or religious beliefs, where you grew up could actually be one of the biggest deciding factors of your personality. Plain and simple, people that grow up in big cities are exposed to much more than people that spend their childhood and adolescents in a small town. While this doesn’t inherently make them smarter, it exposes them to more diversity earlier on in their life.
If you’re lost in a new city, who do you ask for directions?
The oblivious tourist is a sitting duck to a local criminal. Therefore, when you’re on vacation you must resist the total urge to let your guard down and, instead, you must keep aware of your surroundings at all times. Even if you are lost, don’t start walking around with a map in your hands and a frustrated look on your face -- you’ll make yourself look all the more vulnerable to a scam artist.
You always make sure your phone battery is 100% before you leave your house for the day?
The one serious downside to everyone owning smartphones these days is that the batteries barely last anyone more than 12 hours… if that. While flip phones may not have been able to direct us home, they could somehow seem to last for days without dying, meaning you could at least call for a ride or directions. But now, when your smartphone dies, you could be totally S.O.L.
What do you do if someone who’s mentally ill starts taunting you on the bus?
In general, riding public transportation can be an unpleasant experience. Chances are you’re still wishing you were in bed or are exhausted from the work day, yet you’re crammed into a metal tube with a bunch of people who smell and won’t stop yammering. Then there’s always the possibility that someone not quite right in the head could hop on board. So what do you do if they start targeting you?
If you’re in a shady part of town and someone asks you what time it is, what do you do?
There’s a lot that you need to think about before stepping out in a known shady part of town. First of all, wearing extremely expensive clothes could make you look like a giant money clip to any would-be criminals. Though even if you decide to dress down, there may be certain colors that you’d want to avoid if there are gangs in the area. But do you really need to worry if someone just wants to know the time?
You make your bed every morning before you leave the house.
It’s a simple task that takes less than a minute to do. Yet it’s something that many of us will totally avoid doing. Unless you’re a morning person, the first hour of your day is likely the worst. You've hit the snooze a dozen times. Everyone’s rushing around to get to work and school. And the idea of taking the time to make your own bed is borderline laughable.
What was your favorite subject in school?
People with book-smarts inevitably learn through books, as well as a classroom setting. But people with street-smarts learn from a wide array of situations, which almost always have to do with interacting with people. Chances are if you dreaded gym or lunch or study hall — or any other school activity that involved conversing with your fellow classmates over reading a book or listening to the teacher — then you are definitely not street-smart.
Someone offers to buy you a drink at a bar. What do you order?
There’s nothing better than have someone pay for your drinks at the bar. After all, they’re already massively overpriced before you have to fork over a few extra bucks for the bartender’s tip. But you definitely shouldn’t start downing anything someone you’ve just met hands you. Unless that person is the bartender, of course.
If your car breaks down on the road, what is your first resort?
There’s nothing like a flat tire or a mysteriously smoking engine to completely ruin your day. We’re all bound to experience a broken down vehicle at some point in our lives. But whether or not you’re prepared for the potential break down could save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars in the long run.
Which child are you?
If you’ve grown up around families with lots of kids, then there’s a good chance that you’ve come to identify a pattern in the kids’ personalities depending upon when they were born. They say many world leaders are often the oldest child — as they learn to develop a sense of responsibility at an early age. Meanwhile, middle children often end up being the most successful, while the youngest could turn out to be the black sheep of the bunch.
If an unknown number calls you and asks who you are, what is your response?
Before smartphones and the days of caller I.D., every time the phone rang there was a total mystery behind who was going to be on the other end. Now, people are much more hesitant to pick up an unknown number. But if you do, and you don’t know immediately who is talking to you, what do you do?
What is someone implying when they ask “Do you party?”
While this phrase may be a bit outdated today, there’s still a chance that someone will ask you this coded question with a heavy side of sarcasm. But even if you’ve never been asked it directly, if you’ve seen the 1999 Best Picture winner “American Beauty” where the mysterious teenager, Ricky, asks the middle-aged Lester this, then there’s a good chance you know what it means.
Fill in the correct word: “I went over to ___ house.”
Even though you’ve likely learned this back in grade school, for some reason, many adults continue to mix up the words “their,” “there,” and “they’re.” Even if you’re a street-smart person, we’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you definitely know “they’re” is a contraction of “they are.” But what about the other two?
Have you ever started a fire without a lighter or matches?
Being street-smart not only means you already have a few survival skills under your belt, it also means that you know how to adapt when thrown into an unknown situation. Whereas a book-smart person may panic if no one’s ever taught them how to start a fire without a lighter or matches, a street-smart person would at least try and improvise something they may have seen in a movie.
You tend to take someone’s words at face value, rather than questioning their motives.
If you believe everyone always has the best intentions in mind for you, then we have some unfortunate news: people lie — a lot. Therefore, you should be constantly trying to figure out the “angle” of a new person every time you met them. While it’s ok to let your guard down when hanging out with your best friends and close family, be on the look for misinformation when conversing with anyone else.
If your boss tells you the building is on fire, but you should remain seated, what do you do?
While some people have a deep respect for their boss, and the loops they had to jump through to get where they are, other people see them as just another employee who should barely be commanding other people what to do, let alone themselves. So what if your boss tells you to remain seated during a potential emergency? Do you simply believe they know what’s best just because they make more than you?
If you don’t know how to do something, you usually…
Even the most well-rounded individual will be completely clueless at some point. Life is filled with unexpected twists, turns, and unfortunate events, and how you adapt matters a lot more than what you already know. So when faced with a totally new task, how do you prefer to tackle it?
Your ex texts you at 10 PM to see what you’re up to, what do you do?
If you’ve gone through a few serious break-ups, then you know that they are rarely cut and dry occurrences. People’s emotions tend to overrule their logic at a certain point, and you can find yourself making ill-advised decisions when an ex-boyfriend or girlfriend reaches out late at night. So how would you respond?
