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Friday, June 22, 2012

Clever?


Do you remember when it was considered a compliment to be called clever? I remember hearing comments like, “That Johnny is one clever boy.” I wanted to be like Johnny. I thought my parents wanted me to be clever, a term I equated with smart. But somewhere along the way clever became undesirable. My ears are still ringing from the last time my wife said, “You think you’re sooo clever!”


Clever was once used to describe someone who was brilliant, sharp and possessing quick intelligence, but lately it’s come to imply shallowness and superficiality. It is a mystery how “clever” managed to attain positive status in the first place, considering all Aesop did to disparage the idea. Aesop cleverly puts down cleverness with his fables, and cements into our collective consciousness the idea of the “clever fox.” No fewer than twenty-five of his fables deal with the exploits of foxes. Here’s one you might not know, even though you’ve been quoting the ending for as long as you can remember:


The Fox and the Goat


A fox had fallen into a well and had been casting about for a long time how he should get out again. At length a goat came to the place and, wanting to drink, asked the fox whether the water was good and if there was plenty of it. The fox, avoiding the real danger of his case, replied, "Come down, my friend; the water is so good that I cannot drink enough of it, and so abundant that it cannot be exhausted."


Upon this the goat without any more ado leaped in. The fox, taking advantage of his friend's horns, nimbly leaped out and coolly remarked to the poor deluded goat: "If you had half as much brains as you have beard, you would have looked before you leaped."

Look before you leap.


Clever yes, but admirable no. I didn’t read Aesop when I was a kid, but I was raised on another set of fables called Leave It To Beaver. On that TV icon from the ‘50s and ‘60’s, snarky Eddie Haskell serves in many episodes as a fox. There was no doubt in my mind that Eddie was clever, always talking Wally and the Beav into doing things that landed them in hot water. Eddie was morally corrupt, a fact well known by the adults on the program, and it always surprised me that Ward and June never forbade their kids from hanging out with such a corrupting influence. My folks would have booted Eddie out the door and told him to never return, and then they would have booted me in the ass for being gullible, not clever enough to see through his schemes.


Have you ever listened to someone trying to be funny, only to realize they were merely being clever? Do you laugh at clever puns, or do you groan? In fact, we seldom laugh at cleverness, which is why nobody laughs at Aesop’s fables. We despise the clever fox and want him punished for what he’s done, just as we wanted Eddie Haskell torn a new one at the end of those Leave it to Beaver episodes.


I’ve researched cleverness (five minutes on Google) and I’ve come away with the notion that cleverness is slick and temporary, designed to master the moment. Wisdom must be nurtured slowly, like grapes gradually transformed into fine wine. But unlike fine wine, the benefits of wisdom are lasting.


I decided when I began Chubby Chatterbox that this blog would not dispense advice

(I’m not qualified to give any) but here I contradict myself. I advise you to disregard this

post and endeavor to be like Johnny, mentioned at the beginning. It’s okay to be smart and fill your head with wisdom, but be clever about it; don’t broadcast the fact because most of us don’t really like smart people and consider them a pain in the ass. We have little difficulty erasing smart people from our thoughts as quickly as possible, but clever foxes are immortal, as are Eddie Haskells.


Anyone have anything clever to add?


Note:

I created this illustration for an insurance company a few years ago.

36 comments:

  1. I always thought the ancient Greeks valued cleverness, such as in the Iliad when Odysseus comes up with the Trojan Horse scheme.

    Anyway, at least in business cleverness is still valued. Look at all the shenanigans Wall Street gets up to. Clearly they're the fox and we're all the goats to them.

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  2. Speechless, thought I´d play safe .....:) Great post, thoroughly enjoyed it!

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  3. I think being clever is a two-sided coin. If you are clever, you can come off either as being snarky and sarcastic at other people's expense, or you can come off as being clever and quick witted.
    I've been called clever many times - I just hope it was because I was being snarky and sarcastic and not because I was being clever and quick witted like some goodie-goodie... :)

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  4. I'll take the bait, she said cleverly. You are so right about how clever USED to be used..I always thought it meant smart, imaginative...Nobody ever told me I was clever as a child, but afixing clay boobs to make your dime store doll look like a real Barbie...wasn't that clever??? Have a great weekend, Stephen and say hello to the Mrs.

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  5. Growing up, i associated the word with "inventive", as in seeing a new way to do things, or able to see a solution to a problem that no one else could see. Sort of like Laurie's Quill with the the doll.

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  6. I have always valued critical thinking skills which are rarely taught in schools. Clever deals more with morality.

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  7. The meaning of clever has truly morphed over the ages. The enduring picture I get now of clever is from Jurrasic Park, when the Autralian guy comes face to face with the raptor. He recognizes she's got him, with no way out, and he compliments her, saying, "Clever girl."

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  8. Funny how that word has evolved or rather devolved to what it is now. Never seen the show but I can remember friends like that growing up in Scotland and my parents did banish one lad from the castle for his clever and grating sense. Every now and then I try to be clever to the wife and her ususal response in not about me trying to be clever but more of this - "you are such a smart ass."
    Cheers, Sausage...aka smart ass.

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  9. So... from what I gather, clever is a temporary solution to a permanent problem; or the transferring of one persons dilemma to another to the benefit of the first.

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  10. Very nice reflective essay, here. And thank you for the comment on my site.

    I love the way you nailed Ward and June. They were more like the father of the Prodigal Son than like our parents. Just a nice mixture of human and perfect that we wanted to strive for.

    I'm your newest subscriber. Beautiful job!

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  11. I think the secret is to sound terribly clever while appearing as if you are totally unaware of how clever you are. Works every time!

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  12. I can't think of a thing to add, but I'm not very clever. Bwahahahahahaha.

    Have a terrific day and weekend. :)

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  13. I never ever let people how exceptionally clever I am, which is why sadly, most of them think I'm a complete dork! Mind you if I told them how clever I am, they would still think the same. I worked that out. I'm clever like that! Enjoy your weekend.

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  14. Two sides to that clever sword. Just like most things in life, it can be used for good or evil.

    I had never thought of Eddie Haskell as like the fox in Aesop's Fables, but you are SO RIGHT--LOL! Leave It To Beaver was my favorite show at that time. I raced to get home and get my homework done so I could relax and listen to the music and watch them racing down the steps and out the door for school (and work)...and wondered what lesson I would learn that day. I also loved Father Knows Best for the same reason. Ahhh! Great memories! :):)

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  15. haha.. still clever ain't a bad word in my dictionary :)

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  16. I wish I knew how to be clever sometimes. Alas, I usually end up with my foot in my mouth when I try to be clever.

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  17. Clever ever is the Beaver Cleaver, who listened to Wally Cleaver before touching the lever. Then came along Eddie Haskell, the ever rascal, tempting Beaver to lower the lever. Along came June and Ward, who always displayed marital accord, told Beaver not to touch the lever. But Beaver being Beaver, not being a parental wisdom believer, lowered the lever.

    Now Ward being the dad, philosophized how Beaver was bad, sent Beaver the griever to his room for thought and a breather. Beaver with much grimace, opened up his bag of comics of wisdom, from Dennis the Menace.

    Well, that's as close to cleverness as I can come. Usually when I share this wittiness with my wife, she only nods and ask if the lawn needs mowing. Oh, the old days.

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  18. Good food for thought. Love the idea of nurturing wisdom and snorted on your call about what we really think about smart people ;)

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  19. I like your illustration, but I have different feelings toward "clever." I think of it as someone having an inspired, intelligent idea. However, being clever, smart, even intelligent -- all of those aspects of some people's abilities are increasingly disparaged in America. I'm heard all too many times that "people who have book larnin' don't got no common sense" and "she's too smart for her own good." Teachers don't like kids who are brighter than the others because they don't have time for those students. They're too busy with the kids who have ADHD or whose parents don't care if their son learns to read. Yet people bemoan the fact that other countries' students are ahead of American students. It's a sad situation. I think the hatred of intelligence grows out of jealousy. Oh, and I think Ward and June didn't kick out Eddie because Eddie wasn't evil. He was just dopey. But he was clever enough to use good grammar and to compliment June's dress and the way she was able to vacuum while wearing pearls and high heels. I, too, put my heels and dress and pearls on before cleaning the house. There. Was that clever or just silly?

    Love,
    Janie

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  20. I think I'd prefer being "smart" over being "clever." I don't know why but cleverness always had a negative connotation to me. You know, like the "clever and sly fox."

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  21. Oh. I thought "clever" was still a compliment. Now I find out that people have been calling me Eddie Haskell. That's harsh. I'm headed for the hen house.

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  22. I agree with what messymimi said. I never associated anything negative with "clever".

    S

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  23. I lived in Hungary for 18 months in my early 20's. They used the Hungarian word for clever very frequently and always with a positive connotation. Because of this I've always loved the word clever and use it only to be complimentary. I hope I haven't offended anyone. You do raise some good points about the word though, hmmm....I'll probably use it more judiciously now.

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  24. I agree with Kevin Routh, who makes a great point in his comment. Clever is, indeed a two sided coin. Clever people with a quick wit and a comedic tenor are fun to be around. A clever person, trying to counter everyone else with a sacastic, "I am smarter than you" demeanor comes across as a complete jerk.

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  25. So wait...Clever is now like the southern colloquialism "Bless your heart"? #Dammittohell!

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  26. I'm guilty of using the word clever with both implications-a good type of intelligence or cunning. I think it should be positive and cunning should be negative. But you are correct with your points. I always enjoyed Aesop's fables and read them to my classes often.

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  27. I would say that cleverness is probably the last thing you should be worrying about as increasingly we seem, as a society, to champion the cause of ignorance.

    We endlessly allow idiots onto our screens in shows like Big Brother and show them as role models

    But i agree - no one likes a smartass being clever at them, as generally the person doing this is not "clever" at all

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  28. While I have nothing clever to add to the conversation, I will say thanks for the stimulating thought. Clever of you.

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  29. I am not clever, but I aspire to being wily. Already I can stay suspended in mid-air for a very long time, just by not looking down.

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  30. LOL To be clever, or not to be....... that is the question!

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  31. I also used to think cleverness was associated with being smart, but now I'm guessing wit has taken that title. Perhaps wit and cleverness aren't too far apart. Either way, I prefer to be called witty than clever...and now I guess I know why.

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  32. timely post..my son asked me recently what clever really meant? he sensed there was a twist to the word and it wasn't "only" a compliment. he was clever in his deduction...I was too busy and I blew him off., thanks for reminding me...I actually will talk to him about this b/c now I am curious why in the world he asked me that..

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  33. well - this was an interesting , educational and dare I say it "clever" post?
    Nope it's better than clever- it's smart, entertaining and it also made me laugh!
    and I like how your posts meander about - never boring or banal.
    Now clever could also be called sly...sly as a fox for example. and then there is the word "foxy", but that's a totally different subject.

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  35. I love all this talk about cleverness. Very clever. Clever indeed.

    (Thanks for linking this up over at #findingthefunny a couple of weeks ago! Sorry I am just now stopping by to read it!)

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