Book smarts or street smarts - Which is more important?

[Contempt]

Based on those definitions... which I dont necessarily agree with anyway: book smart.

 

[YEET]

Based on those definitions... which I dont necessarily agree with anyway: book smart.

On second review I agree. I’ve met some smart dummies and “uneducated” people who have accomplished a great amount professionally.

 

[Fedorgasm]

Steet smarts is basically a fake thing created so uneducated people could feel better about themselves.

Sure there are a few book nerds that might be lost in the real world but that's the extreme end of the spectrum.

Most people who are book smart also have plenty of street smarts. The inverse is not true.

 

[Hollywood Jack]

If I had to pick street smarts is more essential to survive in this world. But that's just my opinion.

How about you guys?

Based on my personal experience and that of my family members', I'm going to say book smarts. I'll provide you with some examples below.

My parents have two children. My brother and I. I'm the book smart one. My brother is the street smart one.

I lead a pretty comfortable middle class existence in a suburb of Boston. My brother lives with our mother and mooches off of her and our father as well as me. He wastes whatever money he earns or borrows by gambling, drinking, drugging and partying.

Street smarts will generally not make you money, at least not in a legal and sustainable way. Book smarts won't necessarily either, but the odds are higher. It also depends on the extent of one's intelligence and the type of intelligence one has and how to monetize on that.

Personally, I have a high IQ and tested in the 95th percentile in verbal intelligence, however that's not the easiest type of intelligence to make money off of. If I had that type of intelligence in STEM, I'd probably be making $250k+/year. I made low 6 figures but I'll likely never make as much as that, outside of an inheritance.

I have a cousin who's really gifted intellectually and was making $250k right out of college. She's now a multimillionaire and her husband is even wealthier. So type of intelligence is key. But the bottom line is that book smarts are more likely to lead to legal avenues of success than street smarts.

 

[VulcanNervPinch]

The thing about the "Book Smarts vs Street Smarts" question is:

• Almost everyone who doesn't have Book Smarts thinks that means they have Street Smarts
• Most people think that if you have Book Smarts you don't have Street Smarts

In the way that the two are typically (albeit very vaguely) described or understood, neither of those are at all true.

Lots and lots of people are dumbfucks who have no meaningful form of "smarts"

 

[HARRISON_3]

Whichever one lot lizards have.

 

[Morning Star]

Depends on the situation and location.

 

[Hatorade]

I've met more people that have both or neither, than only one.

If we're just talking about financial success, the most visible trait out people I personally know is consistency. Staying on the same path tends to be a road toward financial success. I don't know a single dude that's had the same job for more than 10 years that's not doing well financially.

Even fucktards I grew up with that have been wasting their lives driving a forklift or some equally stupid shit tend to be in a good spot, The next big trait related to finances I've seen is ethics. The more ethical an individual is, the less likely he/she is to acquire extreme wealth.

 

[Greco_Wiz]

The two are tightly associated. Rather than acknowledging the fact that those with advanced degrees are on average more intelligent across the board, they cope by creating a fictional trade off. The plumber is just as smart as the physicist, but in a “different way.” Stems from people watching too many movies. Thinking PhD is synonymous with an autist who can’t talk but does advanced math in their head.

Of course you have the rare exceptions, and they might be more common in mathematics. But overall, the same people who are brilliant scientists/physicians/economists/etc. are also very sharp in everyday life. In nearly all cases, you’re not going to be successful in those types or careers without “common sense/street smarts”

 

[lethalshadow]

both are important, but i'd rather be the preppy young kid who's a college graduate , who gets punked at times in the streets, yet is the boss at work.

 

[Kowboy On Sherdog]

Floyd Mayweather can't read or count but he seems to be doing great in the money department...

 

[Jack Reacheround]

A combination of both is ideal. On its own, each can only take you so far.

But when you say “street smarts” do you simply mean the wisdom from past experience to recognize a scam, or when you’re being hustled? Or is it a catch all term for that, charm, guile, and affability?

 

[My name is]

Depends

 

[SummerStriker]

Depends on how poor you are.