I think the most important point in this article is that we, as a culture, do not regard intelligence as a virtue, that while we revere courage, perseverance, and strength, and we give lip service to faith, humility, and meekness, we consider intelligence to be something we should not acquire too much of. This idea may have been more true in 1915 than it is now (certainly when I was growing up being a geek was NOT cool like it is now), but it still has merit. The American cowboy or pioneer, the hometown boy in the big city, and even the Harry Potters of our literary tradition are depicted to be simple and kind or brave and bold, not men of great intellect. I think, however, we are trending away from this idea. Many modern heroes are smart. Indiana Jones is a professor and archaeologist, Digory grows up to be a professor, and Hermione is the quintessence of intelligence. Now we love our Absent-Minded Professors who are both smart and good. (As an aside, I think female writers more often value smart girls, while male writers often prefer the good, kind, simple girls. Jane Eyre, Elizabeth Bennett, and Jo March are good because they are intelligent, while Lucy Pevensie, Cosette, and Alice in Wonderland are kind and good, but innocent.) The idea of intelligence being anything but positive is probably pretty foreign in our families of homeschoolers and classical educators. Certainly in my own family, we have had many conversations about society striving for mediocrity and young people being careful to not appear too bright. Let's hope that we can be part of a change for the better in this area.
