Do you have smart but dumb parents?

Halogen
Wed, 17 Jul 2013 01:19:23 +0000

kns1444:

I’ve learned to never ask my dad for help with math.

He was a chemical engineer, and whenever I ask him to help me, he quickly solves the problem and gives me the answer. When I ask him to explain it, either he gives me a blank stare and tells me to leave, Or he gives me such a complex answer that I give him a blank stare, then leave.

Bottom line: ask mom.

Another point: if you’re learning from someone, that person’s ability to teach the subject unduly influences your perception of the teacher’s internal understanding of the subject.

I’m honestly disappointed by the sentiment of this thread, not that I expected better. But in a discussion focusing on people who are surprisingly “dumb” as the title says, there is at least the potential to focus on intellectual attributes that truly matter: passion for learning things without obvious application, capacity to understand the inner workings and meanings of systems beyond their consequences, etc. But instead, the focus has been on proficiency in following banal procedures.