The difference between "clever" and "smart"

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

I'm not a scientist, but I DO work at a place which has some of the cleverest people in the country on staff; brilliant engineers who have built everything from satellites and landers to particle accelerators, software developers who helped build the Internet, physicists of every flavour from particle physics to the sort that require more dimensions than the Great old Ones inhabit... Seriously, their combined IQ would be terrifying.. But are they SMART as well as clever? That's a difficult question.

A former Chief Exec used to tell a story about visiting another research establishment, and asking how many scientists were employed there. Their CE told him "We have around two hundred scientists, and one inventor"... when asked to elaborate on what the difference was he was told "The inventor isn't the best scientist we have, but it's his output that allows us to pay for the two hundred scientists!"

And how does this relate to comics, well, this is a case study, as it were, of the difference between the two concepts of clever and smart...

From the shortly Post Zero Hour Legion, the origin of an essential part of any Legion incarnation (And no, I don't mean Lyle/Brainy slash fic)

We encounter Brainiac-5 hard at work in his lab...



I like that expression on Lyle's face, you can HEAR the wheels turning....

We hear no more about it, until three months later (The Legion was running across both the Legion and Legionnaires titles at the same time) Andromeda has just thrown one of her rather... aggressive temper tantrums (She has anger management issues and a rampant case of xenophobia, NOT a good combination in a Legionnaire strong enough to bench press the moon)



Again, love the expressions there, B-5 stunned, shocked and perhaps just a teensy little bit lovestruck (though as with all good setups like this, he'd sooner bathe in goat sweat than admit it), and Lyle wryly amused by the whole thing.

He gathers the whole team (they're not that large a team at this point)



Okay, they do look a little like they're practising their porn faces. C'mon though, someone gives you this tiny little thing and then tells you it gives you one of THE most desired and fantasised about superpowers EVER! (and one which most of those characters wouldn't have otherwise, with the possible exception of Cosmic Boy perhaps who pre-ZH did learn to fly without a flight ring) Tell me YOU wouldn't have a face like that...



Brainy's sad little "That could have been ME" face in the third panel is very sad indeed, but swiftly becomes envy... and it's not like Lyle isn't TRYING to give him the credit...

So you see, no one would argue that Brainiac 5 was infintely more clever than Lyle, even Lyle would cheerfully admit it, but it's Lyle who can see the potential in things even if they are failures in the purely scientific sense.

So who is the SMARTER of the two? :)

Comments

[buttler.insanejournal.com]

Nice Giffen/Maguire homage with the Andromeda page. There were so many moments like that. I was thinking of one with Power Girl, but ran across another one (http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/20491.html) while looking for it.

[adler1013.insanejournal.com]

Aw, don't make me choose, I love them both. <3

[wingsonwater.insanejournal.com]

I love this. Sure, Brainy is a 12th level intellect, but Lyle Norg runs on Pure Awesome.

[freddie_mac.insanejournal.com]

"But are they SMART as well as clever? That's a difficult question."

*snort* I work in scientific publishing (spent a number of years in our oncology division), and our lovely authors *cannot follow simple instructions on how to return their frickin' proofs*. Yeah, absolutely brilliant in the lab, but out in the real world? fuggedaboutit.

[sistermagpie.insanejournal.com]

Heh. I'm a sucker for guys like that. The smart, not the clever (if I'm getting the distinction right.)

[cmdr_zoom.insanejournal.com]

Years ago, when I applied for the role of (this) Lyle in a Legion RP, this is some of what I wrote:

"A relatively well-adjusted boy genius, enjoying the practical fruits of his amazing brain. Where Brainy is the theoretical researcher, Lyle is an inventor - he likes to try his ideas out and see what happens.

Lyle likes surprising people, something his power is well-suited to. He's not exactly a snoop (like he's "not exactly" afraid of heights), but he will sometimes use his powers just to get an amusing reaction from others when he appears out of nowhere or springs a new invention on them.

A good model would be Tom Swift, another young adventurer/scientist; in fact, Lyle may have read those stories when he was younger."

One other note was that he really does respect B5 and would like to collaborate more with him, but Brainy does not work or play well with others.

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

Uh... how does Andromeda have 'a rampant case of xenophobia'? Not that I'm arguing against it, mind you - I don't really know the team well enough for that - but I would like to hear your reasoning, as I've read a few issues with Andromeda in them, and I'VE never seen any particular evidence of xenophobia.

[icon_uk.insanejournal.com]

Post Zero Hour Daxamites were generally xenophoboc, with a deep distrust of any non-Daxamite, amplified by the fact that despite their potential powers, they had to wear transuits to avoid accidental lead exposure.

In the issue I scanned those images from, we see her letting a mugger go free because it was an alien he beat up.

Andromeda grew up (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurel_Gand#Post-Zero_Hour_Reboot) as a member of the deeply racist political/terrorist group, White Triangle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Triangle) at the time of joining the Legion (Which she was assigned to, rather than a volunteer to). She even supplied the serum which protected her from lead to the White Triangle, a group of which then left Daxam and amongst other things, destroyed Element Lad's homeworld of Trom.

She learned to overcome these feelings, in time, completely, becoming Sister Andromeda of a religious order tending aliens and human alike.

[psychop_rex.insanejournal.com]

OK, me am edumacated now. Thanks!

[janegray.insanejournal.com]

The way I see it, a real intelligent person is smart and clever.

Lyle may not be as clever as Brainy, but he is still pretty damn clever. He didn't just think "hey, this floating rock could be used to make people fly", he actually built a ring that specifically exploits the rock's power, distributing it all around the wearer (otherwise they'd be "flying" by being vertically dragged by their finger) and allowing them to turn it on and off at will. At the very least, that requires a very good knowledge of physics.

The real question is not "who is smarter" nor "who is cleverer", but rather "who is smarter and cleverer overall".