JAM: The simple secret to being this smart.

By JAMILA RIZVI

Here in the first world, we spend millions and millions of dollars a year on stuff designed to make us smarter.

We browse the shelves of the self-improvement section of Angus and Robertson, seeking a faster, simpler, easier, lazier way to improve our skills.

We recline on our ergonomic office chairs, Google searching endless questions beginning with the words ‘how to’. We want to enhance our concentration, avoid procrastination and better our memories, both short term and long.

We want our news delivered in record time, we want political policies outlined in summary form and honestly, I don’t have all day, if you can’t tell me quickly, well Wikapedia gives a fairly accurate explanation in less than 300 words, right?

But what would the world be like if we didn’t try to cut corners and instead sought to truly understand what was happening in the political sphere around us? Well, I suspect the world would be home to far more people as educated, enlightened and inspiring as this little boy.

If he doesn’t become President of something, somewhere, someday – then the world has officially lost its marbles.

This video shows a 12-year-old answering questions from a reporter about the Muslim Brotherhood’s campaign to take power in Egypt. If you want to fast forward to the key moments (yes, the irony is not lost on us…) they are:

0.30 – Makes your eyebrows shoot sky-high with the giant brain encased in that tiny head.

0.51 – Reveals the secret to being smart.

1.25 – Talks passionately about gender inequality in the Arab world.

2.00 – Reveals that he has read the new Egyptian constitution draft online, and points out its flaws.

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At Mamamia absolutely everything is up for discussion: from pop culture to politics, body image to motherhood, feminism to fashion. We unashamedly cover what everyone is talking about today: whether that’s stories which will make you laugh out loud, cover your mouth in shock, help you get informed or start you thinking about an issue in a different way and sometimes, we help you to just switch off the brain power from a few sweet minutes and kick back.