Chris Brennan on The Smart Project: Part 1

Approximately one year ago, I decided that my brain had essentially atrophied.

I was just about 4 months into my 40^th year on this planet, and after spending the previous months in some state of denial, I was finally ready to take an account of myself as to how I am doing on this planet. After taking a long look in the mirror, and spending some quality time in deep discussions with my dog Murphy, what I decided was that my brain had become the equivalent of a couch potato. I had become complacent, happy to know the things I know, and not very curious about the things I didn’t know.  Now this article is too short to go into great detail about how my brain became “flabby”, and quite frankly, I can’t afford the therapy sessions to discover the reasons behind it anyway.  What I knew, is that my brain was working behind its potential, and I needed to make a change. (Cue the internal “Rocky Music”). It was time to get my brain into shape, and become smart.

After taking a comprehensive assessment of myself, I decided I needed to make wholesale changes to my life if I were to get my brain to drop its proverbial bag of Doritos, and get off its proverbial couch. From the books and magazines I read, to the TV I watched, to the radio I listened to, it was time for my brain to take a new direction.

At this point, a smart person would have found some sort of smart way of measuring progress, perhaps a before and after IQ test...but, alas, with my brain still in “nap mode”, this thought eluded me.

I decided on tackling the issue of books straight away. I have never been known as a voracious reader, and quite fittingly had earned the nickname “book quitter” by Karen. (Of course I prefer the more sunny moniker “book starter”.) I have also been known to read the same books over and over. This isn’t a big issue, if the book is “War and Peace”, but I found I was reading books over and over that were about less than important subjects like “U2 on Tour”. With all apologies to Bono, I knew this needed to change course.  After thinking through my literary options, I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to have great brain power, I should read about great people. With that in mind, I marched my way down to the Apostrophe Books on 2^nd, and picked out a book on one of the greatest men in history; Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “Team of Rivals”, about President Lincoln and his Cabinet. 

I must admit to succumbing to the deadly sin of pride as I told the nice lady at the bookstore “no bag please”, as I strolled down 2^nd street with a monstrous book about Abe Lincoln tucked under my arm for all of Belmont Shore to see. (My theory being that before I make it as an intellectual, I might as well start faking it as an intellectual.)

Clocking in at over 700 pages, I knew that I was going to test myself right away, for I am usually good for about 3 pages a night, before my eyelids become 50 pound weights. True to form, the first 10 pages took me a week. This was also in part due to the large vocabulary that the author uses, necessitating the download of a “Dictionary.Com” app on my phone, which helped immensely. (Why does she keep writing the word “vituperative”?!!) But even though I was moving at a snail’s pace, the book was riveting, and I knew that completion would be my first big step on the path to “smartsville”.

Thus, on December 31^st, roughly 3 months after starting this wonderful book, I finally finished it. It was a major milestone for me, and gave me the confidence that yes, I could keep this up.  Now, thirsting for more, I went after more “greats”, from civil rights heroes such as Nelson Mandela, Cesar Chavez and Harvey Milk, to music legends like Patti Smith and Bob Marley, to reading the “great” writers such as James Joyce and John Steinbeck. For a guy who averages a book a year, usually about a rock band or written by a stand-up comedian, this was truly progress. My brain was on its way…

Coming soon! Part 2: The battle to stay awake while listening to NPR, and actually finishing articles in The New Yorker!