Smart, gets things done - what is smart?

Question

I have been thinking about Joel's comments on the podcast - and wondering, am I smart?

I feel I get things done, but the "smart" bit seems to elude me.

What I do seem to be able to do is see ways of using other smart ideas to solve a problem. But that does not seem to be smart, just using someone elses smart idea.

I have been looking at the Programming Pearls book lately and most of the solutions in there seem way over my head.

So - what is smart?

Answer 1

my definition of smart may not agree with Joel's, but I consider "smart" as the ability to learn new things. It is how fast you can absorb new information. I don't mean memorizing, I mean really understanding and seeing how to apply it. This is very important in our technological society where everything is constantly changing.

Answer 2

I think being smart is being able to quickly develop an appropriate response for a given problem.

The response must be both effective and efficient to be appropriate, as well as comparably cheap, otherwise it would be "wise" not "smart".

Answer 3

What I do seem to be able to do is see ways of using other smart ideas to solve a problem. But that does not seem to be smart, just using someone elses smart idea.

IMHO this qualifies as being resourceful and goes under the category of "Gets things done".

The ability to distinguish good solutions from the bad ones I would classify as "Smart".

Answer 4

Smart is understanding underlying theories enough to develop solutions that you can't just find on codeguru. That being said, it's also recognizing when you don't need to reinvent the wheel.

Answer 5

Smart does not only mean you have great prgramming skills. Resourceful is also considered smart.

In my opinion, "Smart" means "Smart enough to truly understand the non-technical problem of the customer". This means being able to communicate, listen and understand.

You will know if a smart person is standing in front of you just by talking to him about interesting topics. The way he/she responds shows that they understand what you are saying. You feel somewhat connected.

Answer 6

The problem with "smart" is generally, you are the last person who can judge how smart you are. You're going to have to take someone else word for it.

Steve Yegge has a rant about this, and I tend to agree with him.

To me its kind of like standing in a forest, you can't tell how big it is while you are standing in the middle of it. It's not until you leave that you can see how far it goes on. Unfortunately, you can't leave you.