The Bender Continues
Everyday bros talking about how life goes!
The Bender Continues
Beyond The Page
Ever wondered if your sharp wit on the streets could outshine the knowledge from your book collection? Get ready to explore the fascinating world of book smarts versus street smarts in our latest podcast episode. We dive into the crux of academic acumen and juxtapose it with the cunning agility required to navigate life's curveballs. Through colorful examples, such as the craft of map-reading and the trials of starting a business, we peel back the layers on critical thinking and problem-solving, essential skills often missed in school halls.
Our conversations take a turn through personal stories, where real-life applications of these smarts come alive. Whether it's a tale of a car breakdown or building a fence, we reflect on how hands-on experiences can sharpen your intellect in ways textbooks might not. We also chat with Nolan, a Princeton graduate, who brings his own blend of book learning and street wisdom to the discussion. This episode is a treasure trove of insights into how a balance of knowledge types is vital in any endeavor, be it corporate or entrepreneurial.
To wrap it all up, we zoom out to look at the bigger picture – how both street and book smarts are necessary for navigating the complexities of life. We share heartfelt examples from friends who climbed academic ladders through sheer perseverance and invite you to weigh in with your perspectives. This episode isn't just a thinker's paradise; it's an interactive platform for all of us to share and grow from each other's experiences. So, let's embark on this journey of discovery together and redefine what it means to be truly 'smart'.
All right, boys. I need some help Because, as the space cadet of the group right, we're talking about smarts. We're talking about book smarts, street smarts. Can someone help me out? Just what's the difference?
James LaGamma:Which one do you want to take?
Ryan Selimos:I can take book smarts do you want to take both of them all right, um all right, we'll start off with book smarts sure, I don't read much, but when you think book, you think studying.
James LaGamma:You think academia, right, that's kind of it right. There it's academic knowledge, learning from books studying. Where it differs is it's you. You, when you have book smarts, you don't necessarily know much about people and how to live in the real world. Kind of think of sheldon from big bang theory. Ah, okay, yeah have you ever watched that?
Ryan Selimos:I haven't watched it, but I know you know of it. You can, you can correlate, yeah all right.
James LaGamma:So now street smarts is different. It's the ability to survive or succeed in difficult situations, especially in big cities. That's where they get the street from street smarts Makes sense. Okay, it's kind of having the ability to adapt. I can give you some examples. So like knowing how to read a map. Right, that's street smarts, right, apple Okay.
Kenny Massa:Well, I can give you this is good.
James LaGamma:Navigating unfamiliar areas, but like knowing how to navigate them properly. So that way you don't like you you put yourself in a better situation than just walking blissfully into a dark alley. Is not street smarts okay?
Ryan Selimos:oh, I could cut right through here.
James LaGamma:It's gonna it's shorter, it's gonna get me home. That's not street smarts, that's using academia. Oh yes, logically that was us shortest point between two dots is a straight line.
Ryan Selimos:You know like that was us walking back from new york, kenny. Wasn't there a situation like that where it wasn't a dark alley but it was coming back from from the club when people were walking home?
Kenny Massa:oh, I feel like you were there for it.
Ryan Selimos:Yes, I was there for that okay, that's but I thought was more to the story, but that's fine.
James LaGamma:I feel like you can sum up street smarts as no, it was basically exactly how it was.
Kenny Massa:It's fine. Don't walk down a dark alley. Yeah thank you.
James LaGamma:Go ahead. I think you sum up street smarts with just like quick wit, like being able to think on your feet is kind of like street smarts Right. Would Kind of like street smarts right.
Ryan Selimos:Would you disagree?
James LaGamma:I mean, I feel like there's probably different areas of street smarts that you can think about, based on where you grow up and your environment. There's different types of street smarts that you could pick up. I think that's how you pick up street smarts actually is probably a better way to put it too. Is environment, your environment? Okay, I appreciate it.
Kenny Massa:Is that it?
Ryan Selimos:I've given you more definition, insights. Right now we can talk about it a little bit.
Kenny Massa:We we can try yeah, there was a couple of different categories which I help, which I think that helps break down, um, basically life. No, not street smarts, but but how, where? I guess a better use case is street smarts against book smarts. So you looked at practical application. Right, like practical application is, let's just say it's something with work right Using logic.
Kenny Massa:Using logic, using process, using a system or theory to apply it to gather a solution. So anything that you learn that you can then reapply Social competence. I think that's a really great one, right? I don't think reading, you know, having book knowledge, is going to help enhance social competence, critical thinking, creativity and innovation, practical problem solving, versatility and adaptability. And then there's just general career success and there's general life success. So I think that there's a those are different areas in which you could look at life where either one or maybe both of those book smart or street smart applications can be applied, that can be leveraged in a more successful manner.
James LaGamma:so yeah, I mean we can get into the differences and where I'd like to call out specifically critical thinking because, um, from two perspectives one critical thinking although I think street smarts may be the better have the better ability to have better critical thinking but bookmarks you can also think in a different manner. So that way maybe critical thinking still is happening there. It's just probably from like more of a specific niche, like of thought process. But where I want to kind of bring up critical thinking is johnny and I.
James LaGamma:Actually we talked about this, uh, when we were building your fence, if you remember, we mentioned how, like people that don't really work with their hands like to figure out a problem, like us building a fence and having to learn and adapt. We kind of agreed that by not doing that, it makes it harder for you to have the ability to critical think. Well, thank you. There's like prop, like that problem solving aspect that came. Like we were, we were digging his fence, we were close to his house, there's a foundation under there and stuff, and so we had to figure out okay, how are we going to make this work? So the fence is still securing, there's gaps, the dog can't escape, but still get the post to be down far enough to be structurally sound, not pull over from a hurricane. Although those six by six fucking posts that Brea got, I don't think those things are going fucking anywhere.
James LaGamma:So, anyways, we had to adapt and use critical thinking skills to figure out, ok, what's the best way. And use critical thinking skills to figure out, okay, what's the best way. And there was a couple of times where debate happened between you, me, bray's dad and we tried to figure out okay, what's the best thing here, and so I don't know if I would say street smarts kind of drove that process of thinking.
Kenny Massa:To go off that real quick. I think that what initiates your initial thoughts is the analytical thinking for book smarts. But then once you come up with like, okay, here's the way it should be done, but now we're facing the fact that there's a foundation under it Curveball, and that curveball is. Then it kind of conflicts the book smart knowledge there, which then leads you to street smarts, because then you have to create some type of solution to a problem, which then street smarts, I think, leads you to a further point of success, which is why there becomes debate, because off of an experience or off of an event that one of you may have, which may be different, that leads you to solving the problem differently, which is based off of most likely street smarts and events or historical events. So I think that you need both Book smarts maybe helps with the analytical part, but the solution and the changes right, because not everything is very smooth, like just straight to the point, and I think, unless it's straight to the point, you need to have some application of street smarts.
James LaGamma:I kind of come up with two concepts there based off of what you said, and I really like how you articulated it Situational awareness and then analytics is kind of the other thing that I took away from that.
Kenny Massa:Yeah, exactly.
James LaGamma:Because two things came at play. Like, situational awareness was just us having ever done any house projects right, where we've done things in the past or done other things. But then the analytics side was how we analyze distance from the house and, okay, how long is the next post going to have to be away from it? Where should we place the next post? If we do it from this angle, so that's kind of where the analytics side came from. That's an interesting take. If we do it from this angle, so that's kind of where the analytics side came from, that's an interesting take. But I do think the situational awareness is big on your street smarts, because it's just a different way of thinking.
Kenny Massa:I'll give you for instance for me personally, like from my experience. Maybe you guys from the other half of the table can fucking weigh in on this.
Ryan Selimos:I'm just enjoying the james and kenny podcast, but from my personal experience.
Kenny Massa:Um, we all went to, you know, university and had a four-year education that allowed us to have in or enhance our our book smarts along the way. But for me, starting a company, I couldn't leverage that really at all Because the situation aspect of it was not able to be acquired through knowledge of book knowledge. It wasn't something that you could acquire in a course. Building a company is very much situationally driven and I think that there's a couple of things that come into mind where Street Smarts outperforms Book Smarts, which is interpersonal communication and emotional intelligence. I think both of those things come specifically from Street Smarts, not really Book Smarts, because you need to have that interaction and as you have that interaction you become, you get in the reps right, and by just learning in a course, that interaction is generally not there. Strong, I would say, applicable book knowledge in certain case, scenarios that didn't allow me to really build a company because all it was was application. If I have nothing to apply it to and I don't leverage the street smarts to create the application, meaning a client, then I'm fucked. So you have to create some type of way to then leverage both of them fucked. So you have to create some type of way to then you leverage both of them. So going door to door for me was from business to businesses was probably one of the most powerful events in my life.
Kenny Massa:To build street smarts fast because you have to be very quick. You'd have minimal amount of time. You're super uncomfortable, emotions are through the roof and like, if you're not quick, it's going to show you a lack of book knowledge too. Right, so you have to like lean on both, because your emotional intelligence is going to be really important based off of response from the person. But you have to then lean on the book knowledge that you have because they're going to ask you a question that's in depth. Hey, I have this certain circumstance that's happening in my business. You know how would you? How would you go about it? Well, that might be a little bit of leverage. At the forefront of it is street smarts, but really you're leaning on some book smarts too, and in most cases, because it's applicable knowledge. So I think that's uh, that's something that I think about going door to door with something that was like really impactful for me.
James LaGamma:You guys, just keep you guys just keep looking at each other, you just you guys rubbing each other's, looking at me I'm like what I wasn't looking at you just now.
Jonny Strahl:I was um, so I like where you guys are going with this. I rather question, and maybe this can kind of open up for discussion. Right and discussion for right and you answer the question so you guys have both kind of broken down, which did a fabulous job, by the way. Yes, you know, yeah, no, no, seriously, like there's, there's other ways.
James LaGamma:I think you can put street smarts?
Jonny Strahl:yeah, but no, I think the you even said it, like the way you both were able to articulate what the quote-unquote definition but also bring practical relation to it Right. So I think for for me, one thing as far as like a question. It's like could you or can you give a time you kind of did where you had to leverage both? And it was like an eyeopening experience where it was like, hey, if I could go back and look at this, did I leverage more book or did I leverage more street smarts specifically to accomplish whatever? Because a lot of the things I feel like street smarts is comes down to just hustle, grit and being just willing to freaking, try and go for it. And that comes with a lot of things where maybe some people who have book smarts, quote unquote don't always want to do Because you just want to pick up something, look at it, research it, read it and that's it. So for you, like, how do you tie both of those in and some of your decision makings you're gonna go to accomplish?
Jonny Strahl:yeah, first yeah, man, we've been taught, we've been listening. Right, we have. I think there's a perfect example that you have, that I have. Yeah, I don't know um, I do.
Ryan Selimos:I just say I'll probably pivot away. I'm gonna pivot away from your question I think one reason that I struggle with we do well on podcasts.
Ryan Selimos:We do that I struggle with this is because you know kenny mentioned he put yourself in that position right, going door to door, where you were uncomfortable and you had to kind of apply both skill sets. If I'm not comfortable with the situation, normally I move my, I move myself out of it, I find a way around it or someone steps in and I think in my life I haven't had the best training in situations. It's more, people have just done it and then I didn't gain from the experience of going through it myself or kind of having that mentorship. Which is why now and I've said this at work and one of the things I've wanted, I want to work on, is, you know, when I'm in those situations, how to attack it head-on versus hey, finding a way to solve that situation but doing it my way instead of maybe a way that would benefit me more in the future.
Ryan Selimos:I know that did not answer your question.
James LaGamma:No, you're good, but um I like, like where you went with it, though I actually because, again, when we were talking about articulating street smarts, I think you kind of hit the nail on the head. It's acquired through life experiences.
Kenny Massa:Yeah, 100%.
James LaGamma:And so when you say, like you had someone else kind of do it for you, I think that's a lot of the biggest problems that we see in society, where people don't have street smarts because they've been coddled and things have been done for them now it's a separate topic. We can get into that later. Um, did you? Did you want someone to answer?
Jonny Strahl:no, it's fine, but I had, I haven't then go for it if you have an answer, then you have an answer too um I
James LaGamma:might have an answer I think times when I use both almost every time without fail is whenever we travel, because there's just common sense that comes with traveling. But then there's some book smarts that go into play there too, like cost analysis and trying to figure out and understanding how to get from point A to point B, thinking about logistics and all that stuff. But then there's just street smarts of just having that awareness of where am I. I am in a different place. Now I need to understand that I need to act a certain way and other people who have this mindset of like I'm invisible or my world is the same everywhere, act differently in those situations and do not use different types of street smarts to make it so they can survive better off than if they were acting out like as if they were still in the US. They can survive better off than if they were acting out like as if they were still in the US, because not, and even when it comes to cities, in the US too, not every city is going to be the same, but way different when you go out of country, right, and so I think that's when you can have both being leveraged is book smarts on, like the planning process, but then street smarts is when you're actually there, using common sense, understanding your surroundings, blending in so that way you're not just you know.
James LaGamma:It's the simple one of okay, when you go to a big city, you don't put your wallet in your back pocket, you're going to get pickpocketed. Yeah, that's the kind of stuff someone that's not exposed to this will do it. And then they'll be like, oh my god, someone stole my wallet and be like this insane. I can't believe someone would steal from me. And it's that shock that happens. And you're like, well, yeah, you fucking idiot, yeah, like you're in a city of millions, they're going to fucking take your shit. They have the ability to just walk and take it. They're not going to be like some nice guy, like in your nice upscale suburb that you fucking live in I like that.
Jonny Strahl:That's a. That's a very relatable and straightforward way to look at it and I, honestly, would have never thought about that way.
Kenny Massa:But you're exactly right, traveling the more we discuss this, the more I think the ability to have the combination of skills, of these two skills street smarts and book smarts is the difference between an amateur and a professional in any role.
Kenny Massa:For instance, if you're a good salesperson, I think you can be a tremendous salesperson by having street smarts. But I think the difference between a grimy salesperson and an amateur salesperson is the salesperson who says everything and anything to a person to get the job done but has no ability to actually apply that or lean on it in a respectful or professional manner. Right, and I think that the person who has book smarts and street smarts is the person who is an honest salesperson that understands the facts but also has the ability and the interpersonal communication and emotional intelligence to understand the person's needs and then, with education, back it with thorough facts and apply book knowledge behind that. So that's a salesperson role. Entrepreneurship I think that there's a level of entrepreneurship that can bring you to an extent with street smarts or book smarts, but I think and I have seen both I have seen the person who is really good at application and book smarts, but they get to a certain level and they can't pass that because they lack the interpersonal communication ability or the sales ability.
James LaGamma:That's why you don't put a developer on a sales call right.
Kenny Massa:But they're good at getting something done. To an extent they can talk about the product?
Jonny Strahl:Yeah, but if they're able to have the sales aspect. I have been you want those people, but they're not.
Kenny Massa:But that's the person who's the difference between?
Jonny Strahl:an amateur.
Kenny Massa:And maybe amateur and professional is different, but I would say there is a split, whatever you want to call that. There is a split with someone who has one of those skills and the person who has both of those skills. And you have that in anything Like I've been in sales calls with just a salesperson who I'm like dude, why are you saying that? You know, like that's almost impossible to actually apply or get done. Like you're saying that because you just want to say the fucking right thing to make the sale. That's not actually going to happen.
Kenny Massa:And I think the difference between then, the opposite of that, the developer is like well, maybe they're just too factual and straightforward, where it's like listen, you could create a situation where there is a if you use street smarts, there is a way to actually get around that. It's not a very straight line. You might have to bridge the gap somewhere else and create some other connection to get the job done. But we can get the job done and I think that's the person who lacks the street smarts. So in every case scenario, in every role, in every facet of life, I think that there is the point where there's the person with one or both and I think that with more experience and more time in a role, I think you acquire the other skill.
Kenny Massa:I think the key to this all is being open to learn, being open to change and staying with something consistently for long enough. The more you change, the less, the more likelihood you have in acquiring the events to build the street smart element. And you just have to continuously learn, continuously learn and continuously apply.
James LaGamma:I have two quick comments but I want to hear the room. A second comment. My first comment is to think of like someone, like to picture it like someone that has a book smarts. Not that this person does not have street smarts, and I know you viewers probably don't even know who this person is, but Nolan he's kind of has that theoretical mind that, like the, the academia comes with it right. It's just how his mind's wired. I'm not saying he does not own any street smarts, because he definitely does, but I think his mind is wired for the book smarts and that's just a different type of person. Like I talk philosophy with Nolan I do not talk philosophy with most of you. I'll talk. I could talk philosophy, I think, with Johnny a little bit and Kenny some Ryan.
Ryan Selimos:Come on, big dog, we can talk some philosophy. Huh what you think. Ring the bell right, ring the bell. Hey, nolan though let's call it Nolan went to Princeton, so it's no surprise that he's got the book smarts, so it's no surprise that he's got the book smarts right.
James LaGamma:So, like the book smarts is something there. So where I'm kind of going with now. My second comment that I want to hear what you guys think is do you think it's harder to obtain street smarts or book smarts? Because I think there's a level of academia that you just you can't reach if your brain just can't get, I think it's harder to acquire that right. I think you're going with right. That's kind of what I'm thinking.
Kenny Massa:Unless you literally live events and then just literally don't start from scratch every time and don't learn from something. If you're going through these events and they're consistent events you have to be able to then take what you learned and apply it to make the event at least better and more successful from time to time. I don't know. I think I think book smarts I.
James LaGamma:I would almost argue too, you think book smarts is harder to obtain. Harder to obtain, I think you're gonna. I think the general population probably has some level of logic built into their um the general population has okay well I'm gonna, I'm gonna, you're gonna. You might agree with me when I start saying this. So the book that we're reading, you have to be believed to be heard.
James LaGamma:They talk about the first brain, natural impulses, but then you also have the new brain. I think new brain is your logical but also book smart side of it. First brain is literally talking about being able to react to the right situation with the right application. So if, like, the fight or flight comes from this now, uh, quick point, I do think, although book smarts, in my opinion, was probably harder to obtain if you don't have natural intellect, um, but I would also argue that if you do have natural intellect, books for like you have the book smarts it's harder to obtain street smarts because of having book smarts I have one caveat real quick.
Kenny Massa:I think that the only reason that book smarts is harder to obtain is because it takes longer to obtain. You go through school and education for literally, like you know, 12 to drop someone off in a situation 12 to 12 to 16 or more years.
Kenny Massa:Right, like to become a doctor. You're going through all of your grade school, you're going through undergraduate, you're going through medical school, like that's you know. You're looking at 20 years of education. You could literally learn a street smart event in in an hour. So I think it just takes longer to learn and acquire the book smart knowledge in a way or shape dealing with certain circumstances. That's why I think it's harder to obtain, because consistency is less frequent upon individuals in society and with lack of consistency you see a lack of book smarts but you can't control that situation where it might take an hour to learn, but it could take you 30 years to come across that situation to learn street smarts.
Ryan Selimos:That's a point. You can't control that situation where it might take an hour to learn, but it could take you 30 years to come across that situation to learn street smarts.
Ryan Selimos:That's a point you can't control. That's the only thing where the book knowledge is there, available to you. Especially now We've talked about a couple times YouTube is your best tool. If you want to go learn something, it's free, go on YouTube. So I push back on that in a sense because I agree with you. It would on that in a sense because I agree with you, it would be quicker to learn. But you just can't. It's very hard to recreate or just create in general that specific situation to learn the streets for street smarts from. It's just gonna, as it comes up, you either pass or fail, but and if you fail, you learn from it yeah, I don't.
Kenny Massa:I don't know. Consistency is definitely a factor. Yeah, I think 100 time time is a factor in some way. Shape or form Right.
Jonny Strahl:I also think, when you talk about book smarts, though, and being able to really understand what it is that you're learning or trying to learn, when is it and what point in your life is that taking place? Because if you are, let's just say what the average IQ is anywhere from 85 to 110, like over 70%, roughly 70%, I think that's the stat. Could be wrong Fact check it but pretty fair IQ for a genuine consensus, right. But if you look at like the book smart he said it you can, and we have more access to look up something quicker than ever, but is that technology and the ability to do that actually hindering the way we can actually grow and really understand and interpret things and use it real world?
Jonny Strahl:yes, because I think it's leaning on more street smart, because all you're doing is applying a resource because you're getting information quicker and as long as you know how to do that, at the end of the day it's going to be helpful. So I think it's it's. It's really circumstantial how you look at it, because I think right now to learn something. To be very truthful, there's no excuse. Like you should be able to find a way to try to learn something and explore every single avenue. And if you've explored every single avenue and maybe you just weren't able to accomplish or grasp whatever concept or whatever it is, that's fair. But I don't know. I think we could spend an entire episode just on this topic, just because it's very unique how you look at things parenting, how does society, how do your surroundings, how do universities foster the development of both book smart and street smart? And is there a happy medium there and is there a way?
Ryan Selimos:That's a tough question to ask right now in today's world. Tough question.
James LaGamma:It's a valid question, though, because it's like when you come break it down to parenting, you've got to think about what's valuable to teach your kid right. Some things that you don't learn in school is just how to do laundry, right like that technically. In some way shape and form you can call it a fucking street smart. Changing a tire on a car, that one kills me, right like like those are fine because what it is is. You're in a situation and you have to now adapt and overcome this roadblock.
Kenny Massa:You need to know how to handle a tire.
James LaGamma:There's no level of book smarts Now. Granted, I think someone with book smarts can probably figure it out, right, for sure you understand that there's a fucking, you know a wrench. You take the fucking tire, take the tire off, put a fucking whatchamacallit, or you do the simple thing and you fucking call the guy Wait wait, can we stop, can we?
Ryan Selimos:No? No, I got you. I'm going to set you up, I'm going to tee you up. I'm going to piss off Kenny. Real, real good right now with that. I don't know how to change a tire, my God, and probably going to happen on the way home. I've never been put in that situation. I know that when that situation comes up I will figure it out on my own, but I have not gone out of my way in the middle of my driveway to take off my tire to learn how to change it myself.
Kenny Massa:Let's just go through this right now. Who are you calling first? Wait, wait, wait, no, no, no. Who are you calling first?
Ryan Selimos:I am doing this myself.
Kenny Massa:I've already made that agreement with myself. You get to your car from leaving here, you realize you have a flat tire. What do you do next?
Ryan Selimos:I have to go to the back of my trunk and get the fucking wrench out, to pop off the tire and then crank it up.
Kenny Massa:Okay, but what are you going to do If you have to change your tire right now? I'm not asking what's the process of changing the tire? What are you going to do to get the job? Let me go to youtube, okay, but you're see, that's the difference, right there, right, like I have been in case scenarios. This happened a couple months ago. I literally was walking my dog and someone had a flat tire. They were just sitting in the car.
Ryan Selimos:Well, that's stupid, that's fucking by that person. That's just fucking youtube, it's stupid.
James LaGamma:Yeah, that's why I have triple now here wait they didn't have to play it.
Kenny Massa:Here comes common sense.
Ryan Selimos:But I'm just saying that I haven't been in that situation, which is why I have it Now. I could go out and do it myself, for sure, and learn it, but I'm waiting for that opportunity.
James LaGamma:I need to put this in your perspective for you because I don't think calling someone's a bad idea and it doesn't make you less of a man or a person. However, you want to break that, to call someone and get help. Ty Banks to differ, but because here's why you might look it up on YouTube. You might think you know what you're doing because of the YouTube video. But if you have a flat on a fucking hill and you do not put that car on e-brake, you're fucked.
Ryan Selimos:Good thing we live in Florida with no hills. There's a level of risk to everything.
Kenny Massa:That's the same thing as saying, yeah, if I break my fucking arm, I'm not going to go cast myself. What I'm trying to explain is I'm going to go to the hospital.
James LaGamma:What I would say is if Ryan called me and said hey, james, I got a flat. I looked up the YouTube video. This is what I'm doing. Is there anything I'm forgetting car?
James LaGamma:if you have fucking cars barreling forward, right. Those are the types of things and street this would be street smarts. That's that's what true street smarts is and what I think you guys are saying. The youtube stuff yeah, it's a street smart to be able to find and use leverage resources, but where book smarts really is is true academia. We're talking about philosophy. We're talking about the ability to think about what's the purpose in life, not knowledge.
Kenny Massa:I debate that book smart is not a, is not philosophical. I think it's applicable.
James LaGamma:I said academia, like knowledge of the human body that you have from biology, that's book smarts, that's something like yeah, we have general knowledge, but I, I don't know much more about things than the. Mitochondria is the powerhouse cell of the fucking human body.
Ryan Selimos:Good job have you ever heard james say academia? Why can't he just say academics? What's he?
Jonny Strahl:because we're on a podcast dude.
James LaGamma:Yeah, we're trying to sound smart man.
Kenny Massa:I'm trying to sound like I got some andrew a lot dude I to go off of what johnny said I do think that there's like there's just so many resources today. The excuse portion of this is minimal. Again, if you're broken down and you're in the middle of a three-lane road, do you sit in the middle of the road in your car? Let's just think about that. I mean, you're not going to be able to YouTube that, right, you're not going to YouTube it if I'm broken. But let's just think about that. That's street smarts.
Ryan Selimos:That's common sense. Common sense is street smarts. Common, that's street smarts, that's common sense.
James LaGamma:Common sense is common sense, the street smarts that's actually part of the definition.
Ryan Selimos:You say that, but I see it frequently you have to have seen that before.
Kenny Massa:People just sit in their car like broken down yeah, of course I get out and I push the fucking car to the side while they're sitting in it, like that's, that's me, that's what I do well, here's the thing I bet you people don't know.
James LaGamma:Okay, I gotta get this car out of the middle of the fucking street. How do I do that? They don't know to put the car in neutral. Yeah that's true.
Kenny Massa:Like that but that's the street smart.
James LaGamma:That's the street smart of it, though, because they have to understand how to get themselves out of the situation using critical thinking, kind of knowing the vehicle to some degree. I mean, you can YouTube stuff. Granted, look, you guys know I'm the fucking YouTube king out here when it comes to figuring out how to do something with your hands. Specifically, I know you guys YouTube by crazy too to figure out things. You're not learning how to do fucking brakes on your car. That's something I'm doing Now. Granted, my dad's also a mechanic and I've been exposed to this area of my life, so I understand the vehicle, I can make my way around the vehicle, I'm, I know enough to be dangerous, but I still call him when I have hey, I'm just struggling here, I need some help, and so like. For instance, a great example was I was doing Lydia's front brakes. They're different than the back brakes, different process involved. On the front brakes, there's this bolt that moves when you're trying to remove. Sorry nut that moves when you're trying to remove the bolt, and I needed a vice grip in order to hold it steady. I couldn't just use a regular wrench even though a wrench fits on regular bolts hex bolts and I had to call him and he's like you're just not going to be able to do this. But there's this other way. It's just gonna take you longer. You have to do all this stuff. We're gonna remove the entire brake caliper. I'm like I do not want to go through that.
James LaGamma:So I went to Home Depot, got a vice grip and I was able to complete the task. Now took longer because I had to do all this shit. But that was all YouTube. But that's not street smarts. What the street smarts aspect of what I did? Cause when I called my dad, I was like hey, yeah, I'm doing the tires, doing the brakes, blah, blah, blah. He's like oh shit, isn't your driveway sloped? I was like oh yeah, don't worry, the tires are chucked.
Kenny Massa:I put pieces of wood and I also have an and roll away, so I have chucks.
James LaGamma:Yeah, that's street smarts at what point does something have turned from street smarts to book smarts? I don't know. I I mean, I think there's just not, it's just natural, like using logic, and I think that comes into, like the first brain, new brain thing that I was telling you guys about, concept from our book um, where you just have the ability, the human, just human beings have the ability to think logically, where, where the first brain is the most primitive portion of the brain, I believe it's in the front of the actual brain too, and this is, I think, a trademark name encloacher for the most primitive part of your brain, the frontal cortex, yeah something like that, from the more scientific aspect of it.
James LaGamma:This is like the book was talking about. Anyways, irregardless, it's just the more natural. Like primitive part of your mind react, fight or flight. I mentioned that earlier. Like it's, it's reactive stuff, it's your emotion, your um ability to connect with a human.
James LaGamma:Making eye contact comes from first brain. I can make an emotional contact with johnny right now. He's listening to me now. Granted, the more I stare at his eyes, the more I realize that his eyes are fucking drifting away because he can't keep the eye contact. It gets a little uncomfortable after a while Now, granted, then he's past that part, but that was the first brain reacting. His new brain is the one that said this is fine, I'm safe, this isn't a problem, not uncomfortable here.
James LaGamma:But that's where I think the logical part of your mind comes into play, and I don't think that that is book smarts or street smarts. But again, it is all about situational rareness and being able to adapt, and you're learning through those things that happen to you. So maybe street smarts is all of it. All that we're talking about are street smarts. I don't know, they're supposed to be completely opposite of each other. Street smarts and book smarts are supposed to be opposites. So I think we're we're stuck on in the middle, where I guess both are being used so I know the the fully loaded question I asked before we've.
Jonny Strahl:We kind of all have the same mindset around, just like there's a lot that society, those around us, educators, whoever can help. But I think one of the questions I now have is like what are some of the things our education system could be doing in order to make sure that children, kids, teenagers, young adults bring?
Kenny Massa:back woodshop, okay, which I think that they've removed. I think they've removed a lot of the application of like street smarts home mac.
James LaGamma:Home mac is another like these things personal finances these things are all budgeting yeah, but the problem is like dude, even when we don't know how to budget until you're in a situation where you don't have a budget. Yeah, exactly. If you always came up around having a lot of money and you're just like swiping fucking cards left and right and then you realize what do you mean? I don't have money in my bank.
Ryan Selimos:Yeah, or you ask. That's the only other situation. Like you, inquire ahead of time in preparation for it.
James LaGamma:Those are the two situations, you have to be humble and vulnerable and, like you just need to say I don't know this. That's when you ask it's probably a different take.
Jonny Strahl:I just feel like, in an area and a generation we're in where technology is changing and rapidly growing every single day, I think it's just hindering book smarts, or, excuse me street smarts.
James LaGamma:Yeah, so I would agree with you. I think everyone goes through a level of education where the education that's put on them, too, mind you, could influence their way of thinking. And now I think I'm getting into the political space here.
Ryan Selimos:But hear me out. Well, you're going after the colleges and universities. Come on, cook them.
James LaGamma:Cook them, James but hear me out, I think there's also a level of that way of thinking which, to answer your question, something they should add in that people should be required to take, and that's debate. And the reason why I say that and we do this on our hot takes all the time is you have to be able to fight another opinion. If you could imagine people having to fight the other side that they don't believe in in a debate, forcing them to have to think that way would be very difficult, but it might actually teach you a different way of thinking, and I think different ways of thinking is definitely a correlated attribute to street smarts, because you have to think on your feet. You have to think differently. What should I do in this situation?
Kenny Massa:but that's emotional intelligence yeah, yeah, I think I, I do think it's all in line, because I think that the reason you're I, which I really like an emotional intelligence, is like a huge maybe it's a triangle.
James LaGamma:It's not a circle.
Ryan Selimos:It's the last 10 years emotional intelligence and the the value of it has just skyrocketed.
Kenny Massa:Quick question, which I don't want to go around the room what do you think is more at risk at this point in society?
James LaGamma:book smarts or street smarts. I think Johnny just said it. Street smarts is more at risk. Yeah, book smarts is definitely being taught, like academia in any way, and I keep saying that word. Just education, general education, reading books, stuff like that that leads to book smarts. Period Knowledge Knowledge is power. Can. I offer a third answer Street smarts is also different types of knowledge.
Ryan Selimos:I think it's communication, I think just people, street smarts. Like with the reliance on technology, people don't know how to have a conversation anymore, which limits those opportunities for being exposed to those situations of street smarts like people just don't talk anymore. Everyone's down on their phone, right, they don't know how to have a conversation, they don't know how to make connections, it's just well.
Kenny Massa:So, yes, it ties into street smarts just something based off of what you just said. Well, based off of what you've said multiple times today, I think that well, question, I'll rephrase this as a question Do you think that the need or the the ability to not have to face and experience yourself personally, because you can access experiences through the internet and social media today, to basically live through a moment do you think that inhibits your actual ability to enhance street smarts? Meaning, let's say, you break down or whatever. You blow out on your tire, right, you have to change your tire. You then go through YouTube to acquire that knowledge. That's a pretty straightforward case scenario, but do you think that? And then you, in that fact, you actually did live through the experience, but in certain circumstances, do you think that going through that experience and not having the applicable knowledge yourself, but then living it through someone else, inhibits your ability?
Jonny Strahl:I just want to make sure I'm understanding your question correctly. You're saying that you essentially you're going to do something like we'll use do it yourself with your hands. Right, we'll use the tire example. If you don't go through that, you never actually have had to face a challenge of replacing a tire that is going to inhibit you from having street smarts later down the road in a certain area yeah I 100 think so.
Jonny Strahl:Yes, because perfect example james already brought up the fence thing. But like just going through that process and actually physically doing it, putting yourself through labor, understanding certain things, things that you never really even did before and you had a thought process, you kind of understood it. But actually doing it, actually breaking it down step by step, and like going through like hey, this is the process and there's so many other things and variables and factors that could go wrong that you don't very necessary anticipate, like that was an eye opening experience and now future state.
Jonny Strahl:I'm already thinking about things differently when I'm looking at putting stuff in the backyard yeah like digging a, a, a pit for the, for an area like where our flowers and stuff are going like oh shit, is there gonna be a pipe? Is there gonna be this? Is there gonna be that? We only dug what we ran into a fucking pipe.
James LaGamma:yeah, we couldn't remember which. I think it ended up being electrical. I think Ray's dad was right, but we saw a great pipe. We were like, oh fuck, could you imagine if we just went fucking hellblazing which we did that at my house when we put in the fence and we cut our internet line. Thank you, AT&T, for fixing it for free.
James LaGamma:I agree with you, johnny. I think there's a lot of perspective that comes from situational awareness. Um, to kenny's point, though, on I think I understand your question to the, to phrase it as if you're using youtube and stuff, does it inhibit your street smarts? And I think this isn't like full proof answer here. But I've been listening to our friend here, andrew huberman, and I think the thing that happens is it becomes short-term knowledge by using YouTube, and so one of the podcasts I was listening to from him was Working Memory.
James LaGamma:So your working memory. It comes in. It allows you to be able to sit down, talk on the phone and tie your shoes all at the same time. You don't have to remember this stuff, it just happens at a blink of an eye and then you kind of like forget about it. It's not something that's memorable throughout your day. It's it's not um, it doesn't commit to short-term or even long-term memory because it's working. There's three types of memories, what he's trying to explain, and so, um, I I think what ends up happening is when you youtube something, depending on the situation, it might just not actually commit to memory and like actually aid to growth in in street smarts, or even if it's a book smarts application, doing a course online.
Kenny Massa:If you don't apply that consistently, it will just fade away so just to go off what you just said from a very more driven like…. Hip hop, hip hop anonymous From a very driven like physiological perspective. Where you store a short-term memory is your prefrontal cortex. Where you store an experience is your hippocampus Hip.
James LaGamma:Hippocampus, not hypercampus. Hippocampus, it's a hip hop, hip hop anonymous the.
Kenny Massa:The point is yeah, I love that movie. The point is it's literally stored in a different segment of your brain.
James LaGamma:So I and I think that that is yeah, you're the same thing with the working memory. He was explaining the neurological side of it. He mentioned hippocampus.
Kenny Massa:He mentioned the prefrontal cortex From a neuroscience perspective obviously listen to what he's saying in that perspective because he's far more educated on the neuroscience behind that. But it is definitely different from a physiological perspective.
Jonny Strahl:Yeah, it's funny you mention that, though not to use these big terms and big names of Andrew Huberman and where you're going, because it's too scientific for me. I'll give a prime example of what you just said. So in my occupation, when I'm learning technology trends, core application modernization, cloud initiatives, like a lot of complex stuff not coming from a technical background, I'd like to consider myself a lot more technical nowadays in the industry. But watching videos I just couldn't grasp it. Like we have a great training team, like all these great modules, videos, but actually reading, sitting down, down, writing things down yes, the way my mind can actually remember and almost in a way like photographically, remember things that way is astronomical in the difference of if I just watch a freaking video now. Obviously, again, youtube and stuff are great, but like it's short term, you're not going to remember, at least for me and it sounds like for you guys that's the case.
James LaGamma:Um, so that kind of hit home when you brought that up yeah, I, I think there's um, a level of what we're talking about here right now is, yes, we're mentioning differences between sweet smarts or sweet street smarts, sorry and book smarts, um, but we're also talking about the learning capability of a human being, um, because I, I think we kind of all agree here you can learn both attributes, um, where they stand is there's, there's a. The definitions are like this is what street smarts is, this is what book smarts is. Again, we seem to be more in the middle and where we can leverage both, cause that's just, I think that's how we think is strategically, it's all about leveraging and being better, and so it takes book smarts, it takes street smarts, and I think there's just things that you learn that end up converting to more of a book smart situation. But then there's also the street smart stuff, that they are very complementary to each other in real life, real world stuff. But the point of them being so separate is that street smarts are for real world application, where book smarts is actually for just very complex concepts and trying to figure out life's hardest questions that are out there, whether it be scientific, whether it be theoretical philosophy, all those kind of things.
James LaGamma:That's like the very, the very, um wide spectrum, right, and then we just naturally live here because that's that's who we are. We're, we're normal fucking people, right? We don't have this outlier of being a book smart person versus being strictly street smarts. Um, we've, we've been able to gain both things because of our upbringing that we're very fortunate to have, um, and so I think it's it's a little bit to put in perspective, I guess, on like how we're talking about the topic, because a lot of it we're talking about how you can learn shit right, writing things down, visual learning before at the foundation of it.
Ryan Selimos:Right book smarts, street smarts. Is there one you think is more important to have?
James LaGamma:more valuable.
Ryan Selimos:Have as your base, starting point, foundation.
Kenny Massa:Depends on your role, like if you're literally coding for Apple. I mean, you're in a room like Booksmart is definitely probably more important there.
Ryan Selimos:I don't want to go to those siloed roles like doctor or coding like general, I don't know. I think it depends on what you do.
Jonny Strahl:Here's my point.
James LaGamma:I don't know if there's a value. I think you're just a product of your environment.
Kenny Massa:Yeah.
James LaGamma:And so, depending on what you like or dislike, where you want to go in life is where the value is going to come from. I could be someone that was raised up very, very poor and and did not have many opportunities, and I'm going to have street smarts Because, generally speaking, that's what we correlate street smarts to is the ability to learn things that not many people get exposed to, and it's because these harsher environments is what actually really brings about street smarts. Being able to blend in, being able to not get shot on a daily fucking basis is kind of where street smarts come into play. Again, streets coming from the streets right way. Again, streets coming from the streets right.
James LaGamma:Yeah, so I might value book smarts because I can see that as a uh, a means of getting out of the streets, but when I have, I don't know, I I come from middle class, so then, like I, I see value in both um to where I think I I respect people that are very, very smart. I don't think of myself as being a very smart person, but I do think of myself, of having street smarts, but I value both because I see both of them. Now, if I came from a very, very academic-driven household, I think my outlook's going to be different. I have a funny feeling when you're in that specific environment, you still value book smarts more, but then again, at the same time, when you come back to the other spectrum, street smarts are going to keep you fucking alive.
Ryan Selimos:So then there's value there too I'm not, and I think you're looking at it total end of the spectrum here comes the extreme, staying alive and like book smarts academia, I'm breaking it for me to under with understanding this.
Ryan Selimos:I'm going back to when I started at my job and I'm breaking down to that standpoint and I think for a lot of us, when you start a new role, you get the quote unquote book smarts, book smarts. In the beginning, through training you get the black and white situations, you build a knowledge foundation and then, when you get let out of training, you go to street smarts and you start to hear how other people are handing that situation Like. You can't create that situation from jump. So for me, if you just threw someone into that role without any training to the street smarts, hard for them to adapt, versus you give them six weeks of hey, here's the baseline foundation, here's you know, here's how it all breaks, breaks out, and then you kind of let them out of training. Now they're in the quote unquote streets. They have that base foundation to fall back on. That to apply to those different situations. I don't think it applies for you and your entrepreneur going door to door, but I think it applies more to corporate America.
Kenny Massa:I think it goes back to everything that I said earlier, which is, I think one of those things will lead you to a particular point in time, and if you want to be a professional and if you want to enhance your ability in and become an expert in a, in a trade or in a position, I think you are forced to acquire that other side of the skill matter here. I think that you have to have both, yeah, in order to achieve expert level. So I think one will lead you to a particular point, either one but I think you need both and I agree with you.
Ryan Selimos:You need both. I'm just wondering if it's a smoother transition going book to street or going street to book. I can argue differently.
James LaGamma:If you start with street right, you probably have an innate ability to figure something out, and I think we've all heard of the term fake it till you make it in the corporate America. So there's that side of it. Now I think there's also the saying which I said earlier, is knowledge is power. So there's also a respect that gets added to someone who's just intelligent. But if you were to look at it from the other perspective, just because you have training doesn't mean someone's going to get it. Johnny's case in point. He just said we've got all these great designers and learning and development teams that build. These trainings are all video, but he doesn't get it unless he writes it down. He had to learn that himself. He had to figure out how he learns to gain book smarts. I think David Goggins is the exact extreme of that situation. He's got the street smarts. Have you ever talked to him about how he? Or listened to how he?
James LaGamma:talks about how he has listened to how he talks about um, how he has to learn yeah, he has to read a single page a hundred times just to commit it to memory.
James LaGamma:He can't read it once or twice, it has to be like a hundred times he it, but he has to work extremely hard at it. And then it comes into kenny's ideology where it's only going to take you so far, so street smarts can only take him so far. Now he's actually got to apply and learn, but his, his um learning curve is going to be drastically different than someone that has just natural intelligence.
Kenny Massa:But the same thing goes for the person who has natural intelligence, that has a learning curve to acquire a street smart skill A hundred percent.
Kenny Massa:But I think if um, something that a lot of people would probably be familiar with, I think if you look at like the show Shark Tank, I think if you look at Cuban and how he acquired his money, you know he developed a program and you know, basically sold it with partners and he was really smart. He had, like he developed something before its time. I believe Yahoo bought it. I believe Yahoo Someone of the store.
Kenny Massa:Yeah, yeah, someone of the throwback, yeah, yeah someone of you got mail but they literally built something that didn't exist and then they leveraged it. But if you look at like dame and john from fubu, I think that there was a lot of street smarts at the beginning with that where he leveraged street smarts to get into a target market into different markets and like push a product into just the society I love how we always go to business on any, any, any topic.
Kenny Massa:But I think both. Both are super successful people, achieved amazing things, but I think that their entry points were leveraging different skills. Now, today, both of them have both attributes right, like Like. They've acquired so much knowledge. They've acquired so many events and skills, and they have both drastically. But at the beginning I think what led them was probably different. Now might be opinionated there, but I think from knowing their stories a little bit, just from everything that they do, could be a good example of like, seeing both spectrums and how they lead up to expert level.
Jonny Strahl:You got me thinking, and this is kind of a two-part question, but it's based off of how two different entrepreneurs explore different avenues to be successful and essentially create an area of opportunity to go after a different target market. But do you guys think creativity as a strength? Right? So you guys probably done a harrison strength finders, you guys remember all that stuff. Do you think the word or the strength of creativity is a form of intelligence and if so, do you think that falls necessarily within street smarts or book smarts?
Ryan Selimos:necessarily within street smarts or book smarts. I'm going to answer it backwards. I think it falls under street smarts. Okay, because I view it as thinking outside the box with creativity good point.
Kenny Massa:I can argue both sides so can I, so can I. That's a really tough because creativity.
James LaGamma:there is, from a intelligence standpoint, creative. Creative thinking in the world of art, and then you also have creative thinking in the world of philosophy. I think there's two different ways that those things become book smart versus street smart In just those two applications.
James LaGamma:That's a tough one um, in just those two applications. That's a tough one, but I think when you apply it from your perspective, ryan, of thinking outside the box, critical thinking skills, then you're looking more on the street smart side. Um, so I think there's an argument for again, I think it all comes down to a product of your environment. Right, we're all learned. People like it through experience are all learned. People like it through experience. If you never come up reading a fucking book, you're never going to get your streets or your book smarts. But you could have an iq that's fucking through the roof and so you could be like goodwill hunting, right, where he just never really applied himself, but he's just naturally fucking smart. But the dude also has street smarts. He's like that weird fucking person that it's an outlier because he's got both that are great, because he but he's a product of his environment. He grew up in a in a harder environment, and he never went to university and then, fucking, that's all they did.
James LaGamma:The whole movie was talk about how you need to fucking take this gift and use it. Because we don't have it and like we would use it if we could. Because you're a product of your environment. Your environment told you, you have to use this fucking gift. He's like nah, I'm good with chilling with my boys. I've got 18 brothers and sisters, donnie Marco Robbie and he's fucking. His brain is fucking insane, so I don't know how about them apples? What was your solution? What was your solution? What?
Kenny Massa:was your answer. I said I can argue both.
James LaGamma:Yeah, that was my answer. I don't think it's book smart.
Kenny Massa:I think that it's a level of book smarts and here's why I'm just. I think I can argue both. But the reason why I think it's book smarts is because from science I have seen that those who are creative are using different we'll call them compartments of their brain, different areas of the brain that have, uh, strength and activity, more than a person that is not creative. And I think, if you take two people, I have a cousin who's excessively amazing at drawing and art. He's amazing. He has a sister.
Kenny Massa:She is not like that. He is like that. They came from the same nurturing environment, cut from the same crop or the nurturing environment. Right, they came from the same place, the same household, but his ability excessively exceeds many others. So I think that book smarts, there is a level of genetic disposition that comes along with that and because of that I would have to say that it's not acquired through events or like street smarts. He was born with that and when he was born with that, that's what led to stronger activity within a compartment of the brain, which would lead me to believe it's a book smart characteristic, opposed to a street smart characteristic.
James LaGamma:That's far more like physiological than probably thought out and again I would debate that someone you can argue like that, like yeah, gaining a street smart thinking about oh, this is how you need to act in a certain situation, takes creativity sometimes. Yeah, exactly, but it's a different type of creative I'm talking like, I'm referring like legitimate artists yes, like drawing painting like.
Kenny Massa:That's his ability and I think I think the what you're saying from like the, the, the genetic side is.
James LaGamma:That's where I think the intellect and IQ comes in yes, it's genetic, there's just a natural gravitation towards book smart when you have that ability. Yeah, it's. I really don't know if you can argue against that point.
Kenny Massa:But if you look at that person taking a test, do I think that their IQ is to a different level? No test, do I think that their IQ is to a different level? No, but that's a book smart application. That's in a different sense of saying like, oh, he's going to get 100 on every test he takes. That book smart is different too.
James LaGamma:Yeah, you could be book smart by working really hard on the books. I remember a friend of mine that I grew up with and I just remember how much he studied. Now he got straight fucking A's, had a crazy GPA, went to a great college, but I know he worked for it. He wasn't unnaturally gifted but I still think he had the book smarts because he applied himself. So there's so many different ways you can look at it.
Kenny Massa:Yeah, I agree.
Ryan Selimos:Knowledge is key.
Kenny Massa:Awesome. Well, I think that we covered a lot of well.
Jonny Strahl:Yeah, good point there, high five, high five, high five lot.
Kenny Massa:Well, yeah, good good point there, but again, we touched on a lot of really good topics. I think that we would love to know your your thoughts on the differences between book knowledge or book smarts and street smarts, and how you think you can benefit from having one or the other, or both as a combination. So throw it in the comments, let us know your thoughts. There's so many different ways to go about it and probably hours more of conversation on this outside of just what we talked about today. So thanks for watching and we're interested to hear what you say about it. But until then, the bender continues.
