By David Simmonds

The concept of measured intelligence has always seemed a  little bogus to me, more so when I’m in Mexico trying to solve a daily life-problem only to have a local who may not have finished high school point out a workable solution as if he was explaining how a wheel works. This was illustrated to me more recently in SoCal at a marina where I was trying to help a buddy retrieve an encrusted rubber hull-protector from the water without killing ourselves. Just when we were about ready to bail on the attempt after an hour of futility, a Mexican guy who cleans boat hulls for a living patiently explained to us, both college educated, a simple logistical solution that worked in a matter of minutes. Who was the smartest guy on the job – the guy with the answer, no doubt about it.

On the other hand, Mexico is also producing some educated kids in their school system as well, as they have just won the eighth annual National Geographic World Championship in San Diego. Take a look here for the full story:

http://www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ci_6592799?nclick_check=1