I've never been what'cha call an intellectual. I do think fast - I seldom was that kid who walked out of class in a fuzz, totally bewildered by the content, no matter what the class.
But, I was never the one who dazzled by the poignant insight, the deft explanation of the philosophical underpinnings of a theory, or could back up my thinking with a bewildering maze of mathematical scribblings.
I'm above average. But, not by a dizzying gap.
I'm OK with that. A lot of the world's work gets down by those of us who are close enough to the average to be able to hang with them, connect with their thinking, and translate the mission/activity into terms that the normal person can comprehend.
It's what often made me a better science teacher than those whose understanding far exceeded mine. I could break the concepts into understandable bite-size pieces, and take the kids step-by-step through the math needed to accomplish the analysis.
In short, I was often a rather effective bridge between the gifted, and the regular people.
Stacy McCain's post is about the distinction between the truly gifted, and those who, like me, are a little above average - he calls them "Bright Normals". He explains the success of Trump as a result of his being in that not-genius range of IQ, that is, nonetheless, smart enough to get the job done. And he explains the fact that the press and policymakers are driven CRAZY by Trump as related to that fact.
Naturally, I find this both insightful, and funny as Hell.
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