Preface: I am in no way fishing for a compliment with this post. I really just want to share this for the sheer entertainment value. Thanks for understanding. :)
Strange things have been happening to me lately. For some reason people seem to be under the false impression that I am smart. First, a nurse in the emergency room has been asking me questions about EKGs for a few weeks now and while I do have a cursory knowledge of EKGs I am not the person you want to ask for help. I answered his question and went to do my test. I came out of the room to find him standing at the door. He turned to the student next to him and said, "This is Jared. He's the EKG guru. If you every need help, he's the man to ask."
I smiled and said, "Nice to meet you," and muttered something about not being a guru. I walked away thinking about how funny it was.
On another occasion a nursed asked for a good reference book on EKGs. I gave a few suggestions and mentioned a book that is frequently used by doctors but goes over my head. After looking for the books on the Internet the nurse asked a doctor about them. When they discussed the difficult book I mentioned the doctor told the nurse, "Jared is just being modest. He probably understands the whole book. He knows EKGs inside and out."
How nice to know that I have two people fooled! That book may as well been written in Swahili! I started to read it a few years ago hoping to get an edge, but gave up after the first page.
At school people in my classes seem to think I have some deep understanding of the material. This one really surprises me considering they have seen my test scores!
I have come up with a few theories. My first theory involves my Asian looking eyes. The stereotype applies to white guys too, I guess. Theory number two is my shiny head. I know that some people think my head is good luck. I know because so many patients ask me if they can rub my head for luck! Maybe some of them think that a bald head means something is going on in there. Lastly, I think it could be because I know when not to say anything. This theory only works if you can believe I ever keep quiet!
Whatever the reason is, I'm just trying to keep these people in the dark about the true inner workings (or inner idleness) of my brain. It's a little like playing dress up; I get to pretend to be someone I'm not.
3 comments:
Haha! I'm sure you do know more than many of the people you're talking about, even if you don't feel like you know as much as you'd like. I was gonna ask you what your secret to making people believe you're smarter than you think you are, but when you shared them, I decided I can't do much about it. My eyes are like they are and I'm not shaving my head! (I can't believe more than one person has asked to rub your head. People are strange!) I say milk your advantage for all it's worth!! :)
That is awesome! Especially the Asian-looking eyes stereotype. You know it's so funny (I was laughing pretty hard), but I bet there's definitely some truth to it. People are hilarious. I'm sure you're amazing though. The next time I need to know which intercostal space to place an EKG lead, I'll call you!
You're just being modest, Jared. Interesting theories, though.
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