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The Smartest Man I Ever Met Didn't Have a Degree

"The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change." It's one of those quotes people like to throw around to make themselves sound intelligent. Personally, I think a quote like that is best understood when it's embodied by a person. The first person I ever saw embody it was Mr. Kali.

He lived just down the street from us — slender frame, strong arms, dark skin, exactly what you'd expect of a mechanic. I never paid much attention to him whenever he worked on my car. But today felt different.

His television let out a loud crackling sound. Then the screen went black. I felt bad for him — where was he going to find the money to repair a television in this economy? Before I'd finished throwing him a pity party in my head, Mr. Kali walked over, pressed a button, adjusted a loose wire, and the screen flickered back to life.

"Now where did you learn how to do that?"

"I always tell you youngsters with your fancy suits and exaggerated English degrees — no be by mouth person suppose get doings. I get doings."

What followed was an hour I hadn't planned for — Mr. Kali, unhurried, taking apart everything I thought I knew about where intelligence lives. "Education gives you structure. Learning gives you freedom. School teaches you what someone else already knows. Learning teaches you what nobody has figured out yet."

By the time I picked up my keys, I wasn't looking at a mechanic's shop anymore — I was looking at a workshop with sections, uniformed apprentices, a wall of sketches, and a stack of worn books beside the bench. The smartest man I had ever met didn't have a degree. He just never stopped reading.