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「賢さ」に関する4つの質問
今、全世界が注目しているその事態は
「賢い」ことなのか?まずそれを考え、
結論が出たら、それに基づいて行動してほしい。
What is smart?
Last week, a friend sent me a "smartness Quiz," created by Anderson Consulting Worldwide. It included four questions that are supposed to tell you if you are smart enough to become a qualified "professional."
Question 1: How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator ? The correct answer is: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffeand close the door. This question tests whether you tend to do simple things in an overly complicated way.
Question 2: How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator? Wrong Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the elephant and close the refrigerator. Correct Answer: Open the refrigerator, take out the giraffe, put in the elephant and close the door. This tests your ability to think through the repercussions of your actions.
Question 3: The Lion King is hosting an animal conference; all the animals attend except one. Which animal does not attend? Correct Answer: The elephant. The elephant is in the refrigerator. This question tests your memory.
Even if you did not answer the first three questions correctly, you still have one more chance to show your abilities.
Question 4: There is a river you must cross. But it is inhabited by crocodiles. How do you manage it? Correct Answer: You swim across. All the crocodiles are attending the animal conference! This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.
At the bottom of the test is the following note: According to Anderson Consulting Worldwide, around 90 percent of the professionals they tested managed to get all the questions wrong. But many preschoolers they tested answered the questions correctly. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four-year-old.
This facetious test is intended to make fun of professionals, but I think that while it pokes fun, it also illustrates that deciding who is smart and who is not is extremely arbitrary, and that there is no objective or rational way of assessing a person's smartness or dumbness.
That is to say, smartness is an empty label, and whether a person is smart or not smart is purely a matter of opinion, a judgment made from one's own perspective and experience. In short, smartness is in the eye of the beholder.
Unfortunately, we tend to consider and label people who have great authority and power as smart people. Many would say that a prerequisite for becoming a global leader of a country or a corporation is smartness. This may not always be true. Even if they are smart in some areas, they may be making some not so very smart decisions or choices in other areas.
I would like to ask ST readers to take a few minutes to consider the following: Is war with Iraq smart? Are President George W. Bush's present actions smart? Would peace be smart? What is the smartest thing to do in this situation?
As members of the global community, make your own judgment and act accordingly. Have you ever heard the saying "handsome is as handsome does"? Well, think "smart is as smart does." Judge first whether you think it is smart to go to war and then act accordingly.
Shukan ST: March 14, 2003
(C) All rights reserved
- smart
- 賢い
- Anderson Consulting Worldwide
- コンサルティング会社の名前
- are supposed to 〜
- 〜するのを意図した
- qualified "professional"
- 知的職業人としての条件を満たした人
- giraffe
- キリン
- refrigerator
- 冷蔵庫
- whether you tend to 〜
- 〜しがちかどうか
- in an overly complicated way
- 必要以上に複雑なやり方で
- repercussions
- 影響
- Lion King
- ディズニー映画『ライオン・キング』の主人公
- is hosting 〜
- 〜を主催する
- conference
- 会議
- memory
- 記憶力
- is inhabited by 〜
- 〜が住んでいる
- swim across
- 泳いで渡る
- At the bottom of the test
- テストの最後の部分には
- note
- 解説
- According to 〜
- 〜によれば
- managed to 〜
- 不覚にも〜した
- preschoolers
- 就学前の子供
- conclusively
- 決定的に
- disproves
- 誤りを立証する
- brains
- 知力
- facetious
- お遊びの
- is intended to 〜
- 〜することを意図する
- make fun of 〜
- 〜をからかう
- pokes fun
- からかう
- illustrates
- 例証する
- arbitrary
- 個人の判断に任された
- objective
- 客観的な
- rational
- 合理的な
- assessing
- 評価する
- smartness
- 賢さ
- dumbness
- 愚かさ
- label
- レッテル
- opinion
- 個人の見解
- perspective
- 見方
- In short
- 簡単に言えば
- beholder
- 見る人( ことわざ "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." のもじり)
- power
- 権力
- prerequisite
- 必要条件
- I would like to ask ST readers to 〜
- STの読者に〜してほしい
- global community
- 国際社会
- accordingly
- それに従って
- handsome is as handsome does
- 立派な行ないをする人は美しい。目見より心
- smart is as smart does
- 賢い行ないをする人は賢い