Book Smarts vs Street Smarts – Why We Need Both

Let’s be realistic. How many times have you heard it said, “He’s book smart but has no common sense,” or “She didn’t go past primary school, but she knows how the real world works?” The battle of egos between street smarts and book smarts has long been ongoing and now we need an armistice because the two are complementary.

Book smart or formal education imbues us with theories, arms us with vocabulary, and helps us make sense of history, science, mathematics, and frameworks of the modern world. On the other hand, street smart is experiential, hands-on. 

So, why are we acting like these two can’t sit at the same table? 

We’re entering an age where technology and artificial intelligence (AI) is changing what it means to 'know' something, and information being everywhere - accessible to all. In the new dispensation, it’s not just about what you know, but how you use it. And this is where street smarts and book smarts meet.

Just because someone makes it without a degree doesn’t mean education is obsolete. Street is smart and book is smart-both deserve respect and dignity. 

Perhaps there's a need to redefine the meaning of either success or education. But we must stop bashing each other on the anvil of comparison as if life is a cutthroat competition of some sort.

Maybe the focus should shift to the kind of skills that sit at the nexus of education and real-world experiences, like the ability to think critically, adapt, collaborate or persevere. Not merely academic concepts or street-level instincts but the contents of one's character. 

As such, we'd be amazed at all the ways that 'useless' degree still comes in handy. Or where the self-taught novice who shows up daily ends up in five years’ time.

At the end of the day, no one should think themselves superior or inferior because of how they learned their craft or make an honest living. The enemy is complacency.

Written by: Eric Karuti