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When I was 11 years old I designed an electric motor( I did not know they existed strangley and was responding to my farthers claim that perpetual motion was impossible..this motor was my attempt to show him otherwise), I could pass leaving certificate chemistry, manage a miscroscope, taught my self chess using carboard cut outs and could beat everyone including all the teachers, and routinely entered paintings in the local country shows always taking out first second and third as well as designing my own model planes that flew and one took out a first prize for modelling in the show.
AND yet none of this was intelligence...I was a dunce because I found "English" boring and as a result did not give my best...you could think that just one of the teachers thought...now here is a bright young chap..but no..to make it worse my teacher and my fathercwere best friends we would go to dinner at each others houses and all he could say was " he just needs to apply him self"...no recognition of being perhaps a little bright...
He would say to my father "life will be hard for him"...ironically years later when we moved to Cheltenham we find the teacher lives three doors down across the road...and so he was able to witness overcthe years my story of success in law and finally developing owning the most successful Real Estate agency in that suburb ( next suburb actually)... so it just shows even a dumb kid like me can make it.
My point is back then if you did not fit the mold you were no way intelligent.
Alex
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