"I can't be a pessimist, because I'm alive. To be a pessimist means that you have agreed that human life is an academic matter." -- James Baldwin

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Maybe You're Smarter Than You Think

     I recently came across a quotation attributed to Elbert Hubbard (1856-1925), an American writer who also founded the Roycroft arts-and-crafts community near Buffalo, NY:

     "One machine," he said, "can do the work of fifty ordinary men. But no machine can do the work of one extraordinary man.” 

     And then a friend of mine posted this on Facebook, and it made me wonder if this is an example of the flexibility and adaptability of the human mind.

     Try it out and see what you think.


13 comments:

June said...

No problem. :-)
I sent something like that to a dyslexic friend of mine and he had absolutely no difficulty reading it. He told me, "Everything looks like that to me!"

stephen Hayes said...

I didn't have trouble reading this, but I'm still not convinced I have an exceptional mind.

Douglas said...

Tweeting is easier to read if you're dyslexic. Obviously. But the opening quote is excellent. And one to think about. We need dreamers. We need people who see opportunities where others see only problems.

schmidleysscribblins.wordpress.com said...

Yes, I can read it. Does this mean my brain is still alive and well? Fun read. Thanks, Dianne

Anonymous said...

Cute! Thanks! Gee...I can't forward it because I can't think of anyone to whom this would present a problem. Drat! I think we've had too much practice with these things.
Cop Car

Kelly@Try New Things said...

Fun to read. It is a great example of adaptability and flexibility of our brains. I always find things that reinforce that, so fascinating.

Kathy @ SMART Living 365.com said...

Ha! I think most of us are SMARTer than we are aware...but the key is to try. Some might look at that and not even begin reading it. Others might offer other excuses. A big part of staying SMART (and yeah I use smart as an acronym a LOT) is staying aware of what we are choosing to see (or not see) in the world all around us. Thanks for the brain tease! ~Kathy

Rosaria Williams said...

It is a most amazing thing!

DJan said...

It was easy if I simply took off my glasses, being pretty darned nearsighted. :-)

Unknown said...

On a similar note try leaving out vowels in a sentence or two. Actually fairly readable. The Hebrew alphabet has no vowels, but in the formal printed version there are symbols under letters to help with the sound (and meaning), while in its cursive form context determines sound (and meaning).

The mind good at sampling and filling in the blanks.

Anonymous said...

Even old brains are more adept at seeing most patterns than we've been able to teach computers to do.
Cop Car

Dick Klade said...

Had better luck with this than trying to determine where you were in the previous post. Thanks for restoring my frayed confidence.

Kay Dennison said...

I read it!!!! I'm with Dick!!!!