Intro to Philosophy [Class Time]

It seemed that plenty of the people had their own ideas on the quote that was given by the teacher, Relic seemed like a mix of tough but fair... Though he didn't have to tell everyone how tough he was to start with, anyone who was a teacher at this kind of school had to be pretty strong to survive a single lesson. Though he did make it a point to not have any fighting in the class, Dansen supposed that it was a better idea especially considering the amount of people that had gathered in the ring of tables to philosophize about one thing or the other though he was happy that he had learned something! Though that was only that the quote was from a Salvador Dali... Whoever that was...

Others seemed to make point that he nodded to as they went back and forth on the notion of the lacking the drive to go onward with the smarts that someone had. It seemed that he would have to eventually make some sort of effort in the class as the teacher made a point that everyone would have to answer, seemed like a good as time as any to actually think about it. Standing up after the prior student who had walked in late took a seat the lanky teen would call out to point out his own view of the quote. "Its sounds like whatever skill a person has, whether it be intelligence or strength or even just combat skills will fail to reach their potential if they don't put effort into it... Suppose you have to have a drive to do something if you want to get to the top." 

Noting that he had not actually introduced himself he went back on himself as he was going to finish and slink downwards into his chair. "Oh! Oh Yeah! I'm Dansen by the way, Dansen Moe-gi thanks for having me in the class." A strange show of thanks had the boy slink further into his seat and rest a bit, he wasn't expecting that he wouldn't have to talk again but he was starting to get tired after his earlier training had taken a lot of his energy out of him.
 

Steven would look over at Varus as he spoke, saying that an inability to prove you were intelligent was no better then being stupid. Steven didn't agree, because while Steven put a lot of stock in intelligence, that didn't mean Steven thought that intelligence was the only thing that could make people change the world. 

"Intelligence and ambition are all well and good. However there is more then that can shape what a person does with there life. Being intelligent or smart, isn't the same as being knowledgeable or wise. You can know a lot and use that knowledge and use it. Intelligence is a means of being able to look at any problem and with a correct logic and order of through come to a solution in subjects you don't know. However you could just know a lot. 

I can't remember who said it, but someone said that 80 percent of people are dumb, 80% of the time that is you. Because there are those who just are more experienced or know more, even if your smarter."

Relic would smile a bit more as the classroom began to spin into a debate which was something he was very passionate about. The swaying of someones mindset and making them believe in your ideologies because they agree with your reasoning was such a great feeling. As the students spoke out about the meanings of the quote Relic would step in and say

"Actually Varus and Steven you're both right and wrong. You see, the definition of Intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills. So Varus saying whats the point of someone having all that knowledge and not proving they are smarter to other people than the next guy is a relevant question. But what if you going out and doing all the work to prove you were smarter was all covered up and stolen by someone who did barley to no work at all but they still get the credit. Yes you took the time to come up with the planning, the design, the mathematics, schematics, the learning, and the discipline to study your craft. But what if someone studied another craft that allowed them to be better at something you studied for regardless of how much information they know. Like Thomas Jefferson and Tesla for example. We all know who created the light bulb right? Thomas Jefferson Or Nikolai Tesla?"

Relic would get up and begin to draw the names and some pictures on the board.

"Thomas Jefferson knew that to stay relevant as an inventor he needed to dazzle the people and make them want to invest! Edison would design visually dazzling experiments to display his discoveries with electricity. He would talk of future inventions that seemed fantastic at the time— like robots, and machines that could photograph thought, but he had no intention of wasting his energy on these things, it was only a ploy to get the public to talk about him. He did everything he could to make sure that he received more attention than his great rival Nikola Tesla. Who, may actually have been more brilliant than he was but whose name was far less known. In 1915, it was rumored that Edison and Tesla would be joint recipients of that year's Nobel Prize in physics only later was it discovered that the prize committee had actually approached Edison, but he had turned them down, refusing to share the prize with Tesla. By that time his fame was more secure than Tesla's, and he thought it better to refuse the honor than to allow his rival the attention that would have come even from sharing the prize."

He would turn to face the class and say 

"Because Thomas had all this fame, he didn't need to prove he was smarter than Tesla only make sure he didn't become more famous than he did. But what made Edison better than Tesla even though Tesla did all of the work and knew possibly more than Edison? Thomas Edison was the consummate genius of other people’s efforts. He hired Telsa who toiled day and night to improve Edison’s antiquated invention, dynamos, or as we know them today generators. Telsa was told by Edison that he would receive $50,000 for redesigning this system of electrical current. Within a year Telsa created an improved version of the dynamo and instead of receiving $50,000, he was given a raise by Edison who knew that his company would get credit for the work that was done by Telsa."

He would walk over to Varus and say

"See Varus here you would be Tesla, He was never credited for any of his work. He was the inventor of the alternate current system (AC) which is synonymous with Westinghouse. Financiers divested Telsa from the credit, patents and riches that he would have received which approximates at $12 million instead of the $216,000 that he accepted as payment. He was not even acknowledged for his patent filed in 1897 when another man, Guglielmo Marconi took credit for inventing the radio. Telsa is the true father of the radio.



This is a sad yet true story about a man who was obsessed with his work, yet really never got the accolades, or the money, nor the respect that he deserved. Edison on the other hand saw the requisite to hire the best in the field to do work that he himself would take credit for. This does not beg the question, who would you rather be? Rather it is a cautionary lesson. 

As for you Steven. Intelligence is all situational. You may know more about calculus or baking, cars or clothes, but would you know how to flip an Eight ball of coke into a Kilo of some of the finest cocaine you've ever seen. Would you Miss Perish be able to pull off a jewelry heist in 7 minutes flat in a room with seven guards and 20 civilians? Or you Dansen, would you be able to smuggle six families of illegal immigrants through the US border, give them new identities and not get caught? This is all a means of situation guys. And this quote was a warm up. It's meaning was if you let talent go to waste then it rots away. You can make a car but it can't drive if you don't make it, you can bring a horse to water but you can't force it to drink a lot of shit like that."

Relic would stand up and clap his hands and address the class.

"SOOOOOO I have another task for everyone. but first lets all line up and go outside because I am tired of being in here" Line up against the wall please and we will all head outside"

Macht listened to the back and forth between the students and the teacher, incredibly indifferent. The class was philosophy, and that interested him, but what didn't was the fact that the conversation was going nowhere. He sighed, standing to his feet when asked to get in line, and he did just that. However, he remained silent, simply because he thought everyone in here was a damn idiot.

Shiro would rise and take his place in line. He was excited to have a teacher who wasn't so formal and more abstract. It gave him hope about the class. Shoot who knows he may even stay after school for this class. Shiro leaned to the wall and proceeded to say 

"I've enjoyed myself so far, this is a really cool class. Are we gonna talk about the meaning of life? right and wrong? I figure those are typically debated on constantly"