I have a rather grandfather-ly lecturer for Reaction Kinetics and Design.

During tutorial class today, he once again indulged in giving us some advice about life and learning. I usually welcome the digression because his lectures tend to be brain-bombarding, but a point he mentioned today struck a chord with me.

He was telling us that we need not worry about looking stupid when asking questions, because if people around us do think we are, we only have to be anxious if we are indeed inadequate in the brain department. Or else, those who mock us are the ones who should be fretting over the state of their intelligence because they have failed to differentiate between the smarts and the un-smarts.

This is what I will tell my child if he/she comes back wailing about being called "stupid", and I will then explain the Schrödinger's cat paradox to him/her.

If my child understands it at so young an age, he/she is not only smart, he/she is a genius!