Party Hardy, You'll Get Smart...y?

This blog begins in a similiar fashion to every other great collegiate tale of adventure.



"So I was at this party..."



And at this point, since the topic of this essay is "events that make you smarter" most people would scoff at this blog and ramble on about the pathetic nature of teens who are naive enough to believe that there is intelligence to be gained from party attendance. Though I will agree with the 'scoffers' that a party holds little hope for an increased intelligence in the academic sense, I would like to propose a counter argument. A couple of years ago, Howard Gardener, a professor at Harvard University, theorized and wrote about a theory of spheres of intelligences. The theory entailed that people have levels of knowledge in several different realms. One of these realms goes hand in hand with the collegiate party scene, social/interpersonal intelligence.

There are several different types of lessons to be learned at a party scene, including a greater insight to modern teen culture, interactive and communicational skills, a better sense of one's own morals and will power, as well as the occasional new dance groove. Take for instance, the first time party goer. As soon as he walks into the party, he will immediately notice gargantuan amounts of "coke zero" (because alcohol would be illegal), freely flowing to people of all ages, religions, and origins. In a sense, 'coke zero' is the great equalizer for these teens, breaking all the traditionally brutal social barriers of judgement and racism. He will notice and observe small groups of people here and there making casual conversation, meeting for the first time, and reuniting for the first time since last weekend. From this, he will learn a lot about not only popular language but also about customary conversations. Be it as trivial as a new pickup line, or as important as world politics it will be knowledge in some sense of the word.

Also at the party, he will learn about himself. Based upon the decisions that he makes prior to, during, and after the party he will be able to figure out where his values lie. Let's say for instance, he didn't want to have any 'coke zero' at the party because he has a poor history of dental health. If he goes to the party and has several 'coke zero's this will let him no that his desire to fit in outweighs his will power. Similarly, the preceptions that he makes at the party will allow him to gain a greater understanding of his morals. If he notices someone who is acting rather rambunctious as a result of a 'coke zero' sugar high, he may or may not make judgements about that person, which in turn, allows him to judge himself. All in all, the first timer will walk away from the party with something new, and this is the essence of knowledge.