Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-05-03


ems SUGGEST Has the king Of finance.
the renowned legal hight or the famous
physician reached his exalted position
through combination Of fortuitous cir
eunnstances or by a wise use Of his intellectual
and other powers? Has the major league base
ball player risen from the bush leagues because
he got the breaks" or because he 1ntelIgenCly
applied all his faculties to that one end?
The envious are often heard declaiming that
they could emulate certain successful man OF
woman If they had his or her good luck.
Often their declarations seem plausible. because
the success attained has been so startling, SO
seemingly beyond the reach OF the one VINO
attained it. that we can attribute it to nothing
else but good luck. The very fact that tney
have exceeded expectations. however, indicates
that they have used intelligence. Therefore, TO
what shall be attributed their success?
intelligence is doing better than you know
how That is why it Is so hard to distinguish
it from good luck" says DIR. Lightner Wilmer
head of the psychological clinic OF the Un1ver-
sity Of Pennsylvania, editor OF psychological
journal and author Of a number OF treatises on
intelligence "You cannot devise test Of In
telligence that some persons with good luck
cannot pass. That is why 1t Is essential 70
repeat the tests.
NTNTELLIGENCE Is displayed In perform"
ance that succeeds against adverse odds:
stupidity Is failure despite favoring odds. AT
any moment a future Of some sort confronts US,
and often we have nothing better than gam
bIer's guess for guide. When the odds favor
failure we have only o gamblers chance OF
winning II we plunge and win despite the
adverse odds, we have had gamblers luck. the
success Of an intelligent player who uses all the
resources at his command TO win fortune
whether at cards or in business, has very
different diagnosdc significance from the dumb
avnha tine IN
Rence then Is q successful leap into the DARK
THE achievement Of intelligent Initiative may
be a successful adventure Of pioneer or con-
uueror, the creation Of q work OF art, new
idea an invention: some performance. no mat
ter what, as long as it be original to the per.
former: the product of an imagination that out
runs knowledge. of an ingenuity that outdoes
skill.
'The Declaration Of American Independence
started q long war; it eventuated in form OF
government as new to the Europe Of that day as
the Russian Soviet is now. 1t enthused ana
emboldened the French revolutionists 1T
brought In its train the doctrine OF SELF
determination. It helped to promote the Rus
sian revolution and the success Of the Irish
Sim Fem. It was signed by men who felt the
hangman's moose about their necks, and only
the successful outcome Of the adventure kept
the moose from being drawn tight.
American patriots, those in particular who
would be considered sons or daughters Of the
Revolution, ought TO bear generously IN mlno
that resistance to constituted authority, as well
as intelligence and compromise, went into the
making Of our Constitution.
Intelligence, then plays q lone hand. It
L. individualism rampant and may stake livelt-
hood. happiness life itself against the opinions
and concerted actions Of q public Mortified by
the strangeness Of its creations.
1T is a minor group trying TO outplay the
majority. It Is youth and inexperience trying
to Guido old age and wisdom. It Is eccentricity
successfully opposing the prevailing mode. The
judgments of society. like the verdcts Of iuries.
are not always easy to predict.
S"WHAT, then, is success? 1t is the approba-
w ton Of the many or few, now or at some
future time. In the last analysis, it is what
the individual himself deems worth while. Origi-
nality, therefore, is appreciated nonconformity.
Intelligence Is successful eccentricity. It is