Dear Editor,
What good is intelligence if it gives you a disease or debilitating stupidity like hubris? Tragic heroes are full of overweening pride. In elementary school I socialized almost exclusively - there were some exceptions - with the top of the class and thought I was too good for everyone else. Thus I missed many good opportunities and friendships, and got to be known in my neighborhood as "stuck up". This, plus severe acne, made socializing an agony. My mother used to say, "I don't know if you have an inferiority complex disguised by a superiority complex, or a superiority complex disguised by an inferiority complex." Certainly I was a social isolate, ill at ease, with few friends.
I finally realized, thank goodness, that the democratic principle made some sense, and that everybody was worthy of my attention. I think other members of Mensa and Intertel may have had similar experiences.
Intelligence is neither a curse nor a bane, but without wisdom it is void. Intelligence is a blessing if we know enough to be grateful for it. It is a gift.
Richard Kovac