Is it Intelligence,Talent, or Experience?

I've always admired intelligence but I think most of it is heredity. I've always admired a person who could look at blueprints and build a house from the ground up. I respect the person who can speak multiple languages because I can't imagine all the reverse gearing it must take to go from English to Spanish to German etc. but people in Europe do it all the time. That leaves the question; is it talent or experience or intelligence?

My sister and her husband came down to see us last Sunday. My brother –in- law started bragging about a talented young mechanic he found, who was really cheap. I think my brother –in- law was more impressed with the "really cheap" part about the mechanic. He explained how the mechanic tried to fix his power steering fluid problem. To make a long story short, the mechanic was just a part changer and my brother -in -law had to take his car to the dealership where they replaced the pump that was designed for his Chevrolet. The young mechanic may be talented but he will get better with experience.

On the occasions I've had to visit my daughter at her school, her colleagues have always lavished praise on her and told me how smart of a teacher she is. I don't know how smart she is but I do know that she works extra hard and some might say she is a workaholic. She's always been that way, crying when she got her first "B" because she was expecting the usual "A." I think success comes easier for really intelligent people. It might be because of their ability to remember, life experiences, genes, or other factors. I believe we've all met that person(s) who never cracked a book and always made straight "A's." Didn't we just hate them?

My mother always admired handymen because that's the culture she grew up in. My grandfather built their house and did all the repairs. Somehow our extended family broke that chain and the handymen (when there was one) came in as in- laws. She would always jokingly say that she didn't raise any men because my brother and I aren't mechanics, finishers, plumbers, electricians, and don't go past the “plug it in" phase. It didn’t really matter to her if we had good jobs because it had nothing to do with repairing our building things. That's what she associated talent and intelligence with.

In today's world it’s probably the computer geeks who we classify as being talented and intelligent.