Intelligence and Attitude

When you know a secret, what do you do? (Not those secrets….nobody shares those secrets…right)? I'm referring to baffling situations that have solutions not everyone can find easily. Like algebra problems.

I had classmates who could whiz through those assignments like eating cotton candy with no trace of sticky fingers when they finished. No chance they would share their tricks. They had no pity on the two or three of us who might still be trudging through the first one. If I ever had a breakthrough, I wanted to stand and shout and share how-to tips, at least with the other struggling chums.

One particularly tough assignment kept me plodding through paperwad puddles past bedtime so my parents called it. My brain woke me later with a possible solution. With heart pounding and emotions soaring, I tiptoed to the bathroom, used a towel to block the light and settled into the tub with book and paper to try it out. Eureka! I wanted to call my equally baffled buddies to fill them in, but parents frowned on middle-of-the-night calls even about homework. (Pre-texting days…what a handy tool that would’ve been).

My automobile is acting like a smug algebra nerd. It’s truly bewildering because it created the problem. (During motorized relationships, I name my wheels, but this cold, calculating set remains anonymous). This digital monstrosity has stripped the driver door’s power to know if it’s open or closed, so the radio stays on and interior lights can’t make up their minds when to shine. When the door’s window refused to cooperate, I called the experts. Diagnosis made, parts ordered and installed. Didn’t work. The car rebelled by bypassing normal routines and locking all the windows. What will be next?

Intelligence with attitude is annoying. Artificial intelligence with attitude is foreboding.