Arguing with Edison

Thomas Alva Edison said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”

I'm in no position to argue with a genius, but let me pretend (maybe "presume" is a better word) for a minute to be in a place to offer a comment on this long-famous quote. Let's play a game of word-algebra while we're at it, too, OK?

A very-simplified definition of the word "genius" could be "a measurement of intelligence quotient (IQ)" which--from what I understand--has nothing to do with how smart you are, but how smart you could become... In other words, it's a measure of potential!

So, let's think about energy for a minute... Every chemical reaction has a specific amount of energy called Total Energy (ie all energy in the reaction) that is the sum of Potential Energy (ie energy available) and Kinetic Energy (ie energy in action). The mathematical formula looks like this: TE = PE + KE.

So, what if TI = PI + KI?

In other words, what if Total Intelligence (ie all intelligence or "real" intelligence) is a sum of Potential Intelligence (that's IQ, remember?) & "Kinetic" Intelligence (let's call it "intelligence in action")?

What is "intelligence in action"? Wouldn't it be fair to call it common sense?

Let me rephrase that TI equation... What if REAL Intelligence is the total of IQ & common sense? Hmmm...

Is it fair to say that common sense is intelligence applied over time? If so, that equation would probably look like this: KI = CS = I/t

So... Real Intelligence = IQ + I/t

Here's an interesting thought (it's interesting to me, anyway): What would you call common sense applied for an extended period of time? I'd call that perseverance, & that equation would be: P = CS x t = I/t x t

Wait a minute! I/t x t = I, so P = I!! In other words, perseverance = intelligence!

If that's true, then Real Intelligence = IQ + Perseverance. Since our IQ never really changes, that means that our real intelligence is directly proportionate to our perseverance!

That means the more we Persevere, the more Real Intelligence we have!!

So, while “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration,” Real Intelligence is 100% perseverance!

In other words, y'all: "Don't ever quit or you'll prove yourself to be a total fool, regardless of how smart you may be!"