Smart can be dumb but dumb can't ever be smart.

Oyon's imagination recently got ignited by internet previews of Jurassic World. We allow him those in lieu of the real (PG) movie currently in theaters. Some of this fascination, I imagine, is displaced passion for Harry Potter - since I won't allow him to read book 4 until he's older. The rest of it is undoubtedly an 8 year old's wonder at genetically engineered super-dinosaurs terrorizing and outwitting smug humans, not to mention the explosions and cool chases.

Whatever the reasons, we have been fending off daily pleas for the movie by also letting him watch LEGO Jurassic World clips on YouTube. Hollywood merchandising reaches our home, like many others, not via traditional fast food 'happy meals' but thanks to the unholy alliance of LEGO and gaming systems like PS3. As a result, we seem to have traded in our Hogwarts robes for gyrospheres rolling through safaris in Jurassic World. As a result, I'm swimming in garbled, partial storylines from the movie and LEGO playfigure antics. 

It's interesting sometimes too. One of the more intriguing pieces of trivia that's stuck with me is how scientists in the movie created the terrible but powerful "Indominus Rex". 

According to Oyon: 

"They took a Velociraptor and a T-Rex and scanned them until they disappeared and only the DNA was left. Kind of like having your soul sucked out by Dementors. Then they created a mix of the two and put it into an empty dino eggshell that had already hatched." he explained excitedly, adding  "They glued the top back on, of course."

"Of course" I responded, "Then?"
With a shrug, "Then the Indonitus Rex hatched and tried to kill everyone"

Then, a day ago, he had a friend sleep-over and the only movie they could agree on was from the 3rd Harry Potter book (that Oyon is reading a 2nd time to soothe his withdrawal symptoms while he waits to grow older). The next day, I imagined we'd be immersed in spells and Quidditch again and get a reprieve from monstrous prehistoric creatures. 

But we don't have that kind of luck.

So as we all laze this Sunday afternoon, Oyon's walking around in meditative circles on the rug as he's wont to do when thoughts are brewing. Suddenly...
"You know what? Dumb creatures can't ever be smart but when you're smart you can sometimes be dumb"

Confounded as usual by his wise sounding but invariably unintelligible non-sequiturs, his father and I let out a collective......."Huh?"

"See, if you're SMART, you can sometimes just not think and do something kinda dumb. On accident. But if you're dumb, you can't EVER think ANYWAY so you cant do something smart. Ever!" he explained triumphantly.

"Uh, what?" I asked, demonstrating my usual, brilliant wit and insight.
"Dumb creatures just DO stuff..Chase! fight! Kill! Eat!…there's no thinking. So they're not smart OR dumb. See?"

I vigorously nodded my assent and asked "And the smart creatures?"
"They USUALLY think but can do dumb things. Sometimes."

I'd like to say that it helped me understand the FOX sponsored GOP debate the previous night too, that the candidates were caught in a thought-free cycle of chase-fight-kill-eat.  But that cycle too ably demonstrates everyone chasing the American dream, not just politicians on both sides of the aisle. 

Oyon's little epiphany does however remind me to not falter in countering the Expectations Games subsuming me in so many ways. It would do well to remember that not everyone is capable of the degree of reason or empathy that I expect by default. That expecting what each person is capable of delivering, is still the best way of staving off disappointment. 

Its what a smart creature would do.