Oh, that smarts.

Have you ever noticed that people are kind of warped when it comes to assessing intelligence? I'll cut right to the chase here and say that intelligence seems heavily biased toward mathematical ability. That is, if you can do math, you are smart. If you can't do math...well, sucks for you.

When I was in the fifth grade, I was put into a group with four boys who were widely recognized as the "smart kids." We were all at the same reading level, I guess.

The only thing I remember clearly about our time together is that staged an extra play for the entire fifth grade. And when I say "staged," I mean we assigned roles, learned our parts, directed, did the costumes, everything.

It didn't occur to me that I was also one of the "smart kids" until years later. Thirty-odd years, in fact. The reason it didn't occur to me? Math. Stupid, freaking, hateful math.

When it came time for math, the boys were summoned to the principal's office to do Algebra, and I returned to my desk. I know how this looks: I was a girl, and I didn't get to do math with the boys. Did it bother me? Of course it did. Enough to make me work harder so I could do Algebra? No. I didn't like math, and I wasn't going to do any more of it than I had to do.

We excel at the things we enjoy doing and want to do more. "Smart" is pretty simple, when you look at it like that.