Comment:

As a person who has frequently been accused of intelligence (I blame my vocabulary and my expressive eyebrows), I find it difficult, at times, to explain to people that no, I'm actually still very stupid... and that, in fact, many of my greatest achievements (such as they are) are due to that stupidity, not due to being smart.

In fact, what little success I have achieved in this life, I can safely ascribe to exactly two things; stubbornness and flippancy, two qualities that are commonly associated (if not synonymous) with stupidity. Smart's fun, but smart's overrated. Smart comes with expectations attached. Smart, like strong or rich, makes people ask you for shit. Stubborness and flippancy, less so.

One of the best fortune cookies I ever opened once told me "cleverness is serviceable for everything, sufficient for nothing", a quote I later found out is ascribed to some dude named Henri Frederic Amiel. Phrased in a more modern way: "being smart is always useful, but never enough".

Of course, Zoa can literally quantify its intelligence, in ways that humans can't (or, at least, not without things like racial bias rearing their ugly heads). It knows, for a fact, exactly how smart it is, and it knows that sometimes stupid is more useful. It's a good skill to have.

(Incidentally, please note that I'm intentionally using the term "stupid" in place of words like "dumb". I don't expect that any persons with vocal difficulties are particularly offended by the term, but it pays to be specific, and as English goes through changes in the coming century, I predict that the inexact usages will fall by the wayside.)

Transcript:

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0327 – 2167/07/07/09:43 - Rosenthal College hex
Zoa (watching PH go): So yes, in answer to your earlier question, Mezzer Paratta, THAT was Patricia Hightower.
CP: N-n-noted.
LC: Zoa, that was… that was incredible! You’re a genius!
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Zoa: Actually, it was incredibly stupid. I’m stupid.
LC: What? No! Zoa, you’re so smart!
Zoa: Lee, I had to partially forget what a shoe is in order for that to work, and I was only able to do that by running a cleanup operation that flushed all information of equivalent relevance or less. I am, literally, stupider now.
Zoa: On the upside, I do have thirty-two yottabytes freed up now, so that’s more room for philosophy and cartoons thereof.
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CP: Th-that m-might explain why you f-felt it was acceptable to squirt… uh… water?
Zoa: Distilled water, yeah. I’d say I can refill my hooters when we get back to the apartment, but with this degree of sag, I don’t want to risk a nip slip out of the rhomboid hole in this…
Zoa: this… wet white thing that I’m wearing.
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LC: My dress?
Zoa: A “dress”, huh? Makes sense, I’m dressed in it.
CP: L-let’s just hope t-t-togas aren’t an important part of t-today’s lesson.
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