by “If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room” — Confucius
We all have heard the above phrase. Now solve the following riddle:
If 10 people enter the room to solve a problem and they all leave because they all think they are smarter than the rest. What happens ?
Pretty simple, an empty room with no solution. I am not sure why this quote gained so much popularity as it suggests a self centered society where no one is willing to pass on the knowledge to others. Further, there is no “smart” person as such. Sure, you could be a bad ass developer but still can learn other skills from others like time management, some tool which is recent and has not yet come in your radar. Further, if everyone is looking upwards to learn from the smarter who would be looking down and passing the information anyways ?
Pass on the knowledge
We as a human species are the smartest species of the planet because our ancestors decided to pass on the knowledge to others. If everyone decided to keep the knowledge to themselves, we would not be here today. Further, it feels good and satisfying to help someone who are willing to learn.
We all like to believe that everything we achieve today is because of our own hard work. However, its a lie because we stand on the shoulders of the knowledge of others before us. Every success a person makes is because they found someone who was willing to provide their time and knowledge for free. Look at the number of open-source projects out there which are free to use and learn from.
The disadvantaged would loose the race if we break the chain of helping hands. Further, we disrespect the people who looked down and found a raw diamond such as you or me instead of constantly looking up and being with smarter people. Further, there have been studies wherein all smart kids were put in one group which resulted in stagnation of growth in folks of other groups which leads to a bad society.
Whats in it for the smart
So if you believe that you are the smartest person in the room then whats in it for me to stay ? Remember that if you have skill in one area, others have the skills in different areas. Once you decide to pass on the knowledge, it would open them up to pass on their knowledge to you. Further, you might end up making friends for life.
The Danger of Humility of the smart
A lot of smart people decide to shut up as they think other might deem them as arrogant. However, this is a bad idea. There is no value in purposefully holding the valuable information. You should always speak up and spread the knowledge when you know its going to add value. Imagine a scenario, if a doctor decides to not raise his hand if someone is having heart attack just because others are going to think, “he knows it all and is arrogant.”
Conclusion
I believe that “Confucius” was wrong and you should not be escaping from the room if you think you are the smartest person in the room. See this as an opportunity of expanding yourself and others. You would find pleasure in inspiring someone earlier in their career to greatness.
