The whole story

This is 7.



Seven is one of those people that you think you know.
But you don't.

It's like when you talk with a firefighter at the scene of a fire. They appear to be big, and brave, and heroic all at the same time. They represent authority. They represent safety. But you never stop to consider that they might be some goofy twenty-two year old kid who can't make his way in the world and so they are living at the voluntary fire department while they work as a security guard at the warehouse.
(Yes, it DOES happen.)

Seven is the same way, but on another level.
You see, when people meet seven, the natural reaction is that they want to be his friend. He is big, outgoing, and highly intelligent.
Pick a topic. He can hang with you on it.

I bet you that he could tell you the difference between Keynesian and supply side economics. Or how to make a White Russian. Or which brand of soda has the most caffeine. Or what the skipper's name is.

You see, Seven is intelligent.
But there is a difference between being intelligent and being a nerd.
Believe it or not, many (if not most) nerds are not intelligent at all. Many of them are simply studious. They made good grades in school because they stuck their nose in the book and stayed with it until they got it. Then their grades are high, and that makes them look intelligent.

Most intelligent people, however, are not nerds. In fact, very few of them are.
The problem though is that there is no definition of intelligence that is universally accepted. I believe that the reason for this is that it is the nerds trying to define the word intelligence so as to include themselves. And therein lies the problem.

Intelligence does not, by the way, mean successful. There are many successful dumb asses in the world. And quite a few intelligent people living hand to mouth.
In fact, it's an old truism that a genious never hits his stride until his 30's.
I find this to be accurate.

Because we are not living in an intelligent world.
Many times it just simply takes the intelligent person a long time to figure out how to deal with all of the dumbassess in a way that is not paternalistic, and yet doesn't detract from the work at hand. It's a balancing act. It's an art.

But 7 has an advantage in the world of smart people. He is big, and he is loud, and he is outgoing. Shyness? Never. He can engage a perfect stranger in a conversation as if he has known the person his whole life. And in fact, it was probably the stranger who initiated the conversation.

That is Seven's wall.
All intelligent people have a wall.
Or at least all of them that I have known.
It's a defense, really.

You see, if a person's IQ is more than thirty points higher than your own, you cannot carry on a meaningful conversation with that person. They will be talking over your head. You will come away with nothing.
Or they can dumb it down for you to be able to understand.
But this does nothing at all for the smart person.
It is a similar concept to the housewife who stays home with the kids all the time. They spend all of their time talking with the kids about colors and potties and Mr. Bear. And inside, they crave meaningful conversation. Interaction.

And the intelligent person is no different.
Except you are not their child, so they have no obligation to talk to you at all.

So many intelligent people appear to be withdrawn. Reclusive. Loners.
In reality, however, they just don't have anything to say to you.
And so they have a computer. Or a book. Or a philosophy. Or Mensa. Or any other defense mechanism that suits them. In short, a wall.

Seven's wall is that he is social. He WILL talk to you. He will interact. He will dumb it down for you. He enjoys the attention.
He can always be the life of the party, because chances are, he is the most intelligent person there. He probably even enjoys your company. On a certain level. And you will never be able to surpass him in a popularity contest because, quite frankly, his name is SEVEN. Top that as an introduction. And he has spent his whole life trying to figure people out. He knows people as well as I do, and that says a lot. When he first starts talking to you, the first several minutes of the conversation will almost invariably be Seven probing in and figuring out your personality. Then he owns you. It's an instinct. It's also a talent. And then you will walk away from the conversation thinking "what a great guy" having spent the whole time talking with him about yourself. You will know nothing about him. And then the natural reaction is to think that he is just like you.

But what does Seven want in the world?
Seven wants meaning.
And he wants to be validated. (No, not his PARKING, for crying out loud)
When a genious (yes, 7 is a genious) reaches the late twenties, it is time to start thinking about what you want to be when you grow up.
What really matters? What are the interests that you have that you want to persue for the rest of your life?
So how about Seven? He is a creative genious and I am quite sure that he will create.
So I built him a computer.

But 7 is an IT guy. Can't he build his own computer?
No. Quite frankly, he cannot. He could build a computer. But then he would talk about the computer he wished he built. That is the computer that I built him.

I know from where Seven comes. I've had a hard life (not a bad life. Just a hard one). I wanted to give Seven a hand up in the world.

So here is your computer, Seven. Go out and conquer the world.



There's people been friendly, but they'd never be your friends
Sometimes this has bent me to the ground
Now that this is all ending
I want to hear some music once again
'Cause it's the finest thing that I have ever found
-mullins