Look Away, I'm About to Be Obnoxious

It's rather disappointing when you have the sudden, jarring realization that you're one of the smartest people in the room.

Let me explain. I'm not just trying to be a tool. (That comes naturally.)

By the fourth year of university, I've become accustomed to talking with well-read people in an intelligent manner. So it was pretty jarring to walk in to my class this afternoon, and find that not only were most of the students a) not well-versed on the issues surrounding the WTO and IMF, but more importantly b) there wasn't even a core of well-read people to lead discussions. It was basically me and one other young woman (unfortunately for the debate, we agree on too much) who had any serious grasp of the issues and literature.

I really, really don't mean that to come off as arrogant as it sounds. My experience at University has been a good one, generally speaking. Outside of first year, I've generally been amazed at the level and breadth of debate that is possible in the classes I've had. So when I say I was dissapointed, jarred, and shocked to see that I was one of the smartest people in the room, I mean just that. Especially disappointed.

To be clear, this isn't a matter of other people disagreeing with me either. I've had plenty of well-informed but acrimonious debates. I've usually enjoyed them, except of course when I've been humiliated for my own lack of knowledge.

Fortunately, my second class today was much, much better. The students were largely on the ball, the prof led an excellent discussion, and we got in to a wide-ranging debate on the relative merits of Diefenbaker's Bill of Rights v. The Charter. And this time I was most certainly not one of the smartest people in the room. I was really blown away - once again - at the level of debate that is possible among people in the right setting. Civil, intelligent, well-informed... but now I'm being a giant nerd.

It is in the spirit of informed, civil debate that I'd like to apologize to Andrew Coyne for the crack about his age. I'm still getting used to the idea of people who aren't relatives or close friends reading this blog, so when someone on the teevee says something I disagree with, I don't usually expect them to leave a comment.

Does this mean I'd still make the crack about his age if I didn't think he was reading? Yep.