The Smarter Kind

“I checked my answer in the examination hall itself. If you multiply f(x) with its inverse and divide by m(x), you’ll be left with a remainder of 1!” When your girlfriend rattles off sentences like these, what do you feel? What do you feel when you find yourself incapable of even understanding what she said or says. This could get worse. An egoistic fool, defined as one who thinks very highly of himself even when there might be chances of a severe paucity of gray matter, might find himself falling behind in every step that he takes with her! What does he do to keep up? That’s for later… first, what does he do to let go of the emotions that come rushing to him each time this happens? A fundamental (read: tectonic!) shift in the thinking process does present itself as a novel plan. But, of course it is not feasible. Now that Plan A fails, the fool gropes around for an efficient, at least an executable Plan B. Many prophets would suggest “talking”. Believe me, it seldom helps. More often than not, it might subject our subject to an even thicker, purer apple sauce of the highest quality imaginable!

If he looks further for a prospective Plan B, after an initial dose of anticipation and self-belief, our protagonist reaches a point where he loses all hope and resigns to fate. His self-belief metamorphoses to self-pity. He resigns to fate thinking that the Almighty will help him find a way out. Or so he hopes! But God has his ways of dealing with fools! The piteous fool has to live in this hell he created for himself, for some time at least, before some sense is knocked into him. During this time he is tested on a gamut of psychological tests even the best psychoanalysts might find themselves incompetent at! He is presented with situational tests, only this time, the situations are very much real and he is at the centre of each, bearing the brunt, sitting in the eye of the storm. But, the fact of the matter remains that these situations were created by his and his brain alone! Were he a tiny bit realistic and accommodating, he wouldn’t have entered this self-inflicted hell in the first place.
The one person who can help our fool is the representative of the fairer sex in question. She, being the enlightened one, needs to heave him out of the dark pit he is groping around in. She, evidently being intelligent and smart, can be believed to have many a trick up her sleeve. Choosing the right one is necessary since each fool is special! The damage-control to be employed depends on the degree and extent of the damage caused. Sometimes talking alone can do the trick! We had dismissed “talking” as useless before but this time it is SHE doing the talking (Believe me they are GOOD!). On other occasions more coaxing and cajoling may be required for the terminally-ill, damaged-beyond-repair cases. But when there’s a smart, sharp-featured girl at the job, even the worst fools are allowed to be sanguine.
This brings us to the upside of the situation at hand. We have spent enough and more time pondering over the downside of it. It’s time to look at the brighter side, time to change our point of view and of course his point of view. Our protagonist, after the initial faltering and stumbles, should realize that the situation, which at the face of it, seemed hopeless, is actually a blessing in disguise for him. The grapes, which he had dismissed as sour, are, he realizes, in due course of time, indeed sweet and easily forthcoming! Is there anything better than having a sounder mind at work for your good when yours might fail you many a time? Having a spouse who is, in ways, smarter than you, in actuality, may prove advantageous for you! She’s there to help you in taking those tough decisions that life has a knack of throwing in your face. She’s there to help you to your feet each time you fall, groveling in the dust with all hopes lost. And, the best part is, she does this with a bright smile, lighting up her pretty face each time she does it. Here lies the difference between our fool and ‘The Smarter Kind’ who came to his rescue. Unlike him, she’s accommodating and all-embracing and hence smarter!