Growing up is a trap. We are in big trouble if we start taking ourselves too seriously. Then we stop being happy. And if there is no luck, where is the meaning? One must not forget to play. Only playful, curious minds make inroads. The problem is never in the sky, it’s always in the head. When you do something for a child, you have done something against him.
And yes… Your brain will kill your day if you don’t find an orange Renault Twingo with a giraffe on the roof balancing and trying not to fall…
Practice your luck…
That would be what you hear in your head as an echo of the conversation with Uroš Petrović, the smartest man in our country who planted exactly 1,174 trees.
Uroš Petrović writes books intended for both children and adults. He graduated in technology, but in addition to literature, he is engaged in photography. He was the president of Mensa in Serbia for several years. He is the co-author of the NTC system of learning through play. He has designed several board games, is the author of the Labyrinth quiz and compiled questions for the Potter quiz. The man with the highest IQ in our country still says that he is a “hard loser” for some things.
Last night, Uroš was in Mitrovica, where he spent hours in Aquarius hanging out with children and adults, asking them riddles, moving spirals and forcing them to use the most powerful weapon in the world – their brains.
If you ask Uros what is the biggest puzzle in the world, which troubles even the most intelligent people on the planet, the answer is:
“The biggest puzzle in the world is what is the meaning of life.” The point is to search, because if we found out, I don’t think we would be happy because there would be nothing left to search for, and that is a big problem. I met some very smart people, and I always ask them what they think, what is the meaning of life. I always expect an interesting answer and I always get it. So, for example, Tony Parsons answered me: “More life”, so the meaning of life is more life. Ljuba Ršum said – winning is nonsense. I see that, and this is a consolation to me, no one can discover it. Some things exist in order not to be discovered. It’s just proof that the meaning is in the journey, in reaching a solution. Only when the solution is discovered, it has to go somewhere further, and beyond that solution, there is no further, so that would be a problem.”
Uroš insists that he addresses both children and high school students, students and adults at the same time. Children and young people today spend far more time with digital assets than some older generations, and this can spoil their imagination…
“Here is an example. Earlier, you give a child a shoebox, they make a castle, a ship, anything alive that comes to mind, and then all the lights go on in their brain… They have to imagine, see where things stand, how to make them… A lot more lights go on that way (I call them neurons so I don’t want to use professional expressions) and when he gets a finished toy, and he gets 50 of them, then none of them mean anything to him, he got them all for good and there is absolutely no adventure mind as it would otherwise exist. They are thus handicapped. But I don’t like to accuse children of anything. They are just different, welcome to the new world. They will be more digitally capable, and they will lose out in a long way. Of course, the greatest manuscript of wisdom is measure. The real problem is that they spend too much time with technology. I’m not against it, they need to familiarize themselves with technology, but they need to find the right measure, which is the most difficult thing. For example, we have some Belgrade schools where 80% of the children have some kind of speech disorder. This has never happened in history, but perhaps it is an announcement that speech will be used less and less in the times to come. We liked it – we didn’t like it, it’s there, and we have to see that this measure is found anyway, to help parents, educators, teachers to find it”.
The NTC system implies a more modern system of learning through play. We learn from Uroš that the development of the brain, i.e. illuminating those long unused parts, possible even when childhood is over. One can always improve one’s technique and the way one uses one’s brain, and it is never too late.
“The sooner you start, the better.” You can do something throughout your life, but the earlier the better, while the brain is more plastic, more can be done. At an early age, parents should provide the child with as many sensations as possible – music, sound sensations, playing outside, reading – it is very important, drawing, which is an underestimated skill. Follow what is interesting to him, because what is interesting to the child, there is no problem. If he is bored with something, there is resistance and then things become more difficult. We should develop work habits in them, so that they can learn but through play… Well, that’s what I’ve been doing for a good part of my life, and tonight I’m showing it in action. And the advice to parents is – everything you do for your child is good, except when you do something INSTEAD of him. When you do something for him, you have done something against him.”
A child should have his obligations, and some restrictions, but, our interlocutor notes, within those restrictions, which are precisely set, he must have complete freedom.
“Children understand everything much better than adults.” They solve puzzles better than adults. Over time it comes to some and children who have much more imagination, courage and spirit than adults, in one moment cross a certain limit when everything starts to be restrained, molded, when they gain knowledge, education and experience, but unfortunately many lose the most valuable things from childhood. I see it as my mission – that as many of them as possible grow up but preserve something from their childhood, because then we have people who make inroads in various fields. Otherwise, even those who are engaged in the most serious occupations (and the question is what is the most serious occupation???) even such if he stops playing, he is in big trouble.”
SpongeBob says: I’m all grown up now – I have to have snot, I don’t eat cookies anymore, I have to listen to jazz and be boring. What does it mean to keep a part of childhood in yourself?
“I think it’s curiosity and sense of play. Because it’s a really big problem if you start doing some serious work and stop playing, when you start taking yourself too seriously. I have met many such people and they are not happy anymore. And when you are not happy, the meaning of life comes into question. Many fall into that trap. It’s also dangerous, for example, when people get into a rut, and I see that often, and I even have a program for getting out of the rut, because if your days start to resemble each other, your brain starts to erase those days. It’s as if you haven’t even lived them. When I want to get people to recognize that, I tell them: – You came here to hang out, you saw dozens of cars along the way… Do you remember any of them? Nobody, of course, remembered any of them, even though they looked at them, were careful not to be stepped on… – What if you saw a little orange Renault Twingo with a giraffe on the roof trying to keep its balance? Well, that’s where the story would be different… Everyone would notice it, remember it, photograph it, talk about it… That’s the difference. When you get off track, out of the ordinary, the brain wakes up and we can say that we lived that day. And if it turns out that there aren’t many Renaults with giraffes on the roofs, we can make them ourselves. I really like making them.”
Someone said that the smarter a man is, the sadder he is. Uros says that it is true… Somewhat…
“For several years I was the president of Mensa and I met many people with high logical intelligence (which does not mean that their other intelligences are also at a high level) and there is a slightly higher percentage of depression among them than among other people…”
It seems that a smarter person sees better, notices better, connects things better and has the power to foresee visionarily where everything is leading. Maybe that’s why they are mildly depressed. However, Uroš believes that this is not crucial for the state of mind, because, just imagine, happiness can be practiced.
“You know, happiness isn’t something you’re given.” Luck is practiced. There are people who focus on bad things. I enjoy this city, and I could focus on something that is not good, but I focused on the spirit of the people, the dynamics of the city, and it’s great for me. If someone came with her who views the world negatively, who is constantly in a negative mood, if I don’t use a stronger term, he would focus on something bad, which every city has, and he would be nervous there, unlike me. And it’s great for me. Luck is practiced and it is not easy at all, but it is profitable. Otherwise, nothing makes sense.”
When asked how much intelligence this type has, Uroš answers that these are scientific theories and that they are therefore boring and boring.
“It depends on which author dealt with them.” There are from 7 to 107, it depends on how we nuance the groups… It’s a theory that annoys me… I don’t like it. And when I give lectures at the university four times for an hour and a half, I don’t use any scientific definitions, because I’m BORING! And I don’t like to do to others what I don’t like to be done to me, and then I speak Serbian, a beautiful language. So how many types of intelligence are there? There are as many as you think there are, and you’re right.”
We ask him if this means that it is possible that we are stupid and limited in one area of life, while in another we excel…
“That’s right. I’m a total loser for many things.”
The conclusion is that there is no perfectly intelligent person, and there is no perfectly stupid one either. You can learn something from everyone, says Uroš.
“Of course, there is no one and there is no one from whom at least something cannot be learned, even if it is not the right way to do things. And we tend to quickly judge everything… We tend to see the negative side of everything. I have that among my friends too. For example, I have a friend who is out of his mind as a metropath, who is in a bad mood when there are clouds in the sky, not realizing that the problem is not in the sky, but always in his head. The idea is to make it as nice as possible for you to be alive.”
This event marks the beginning of the Eco Art Fest, organized by “Aquarius” from Mitrovica, and this year the festival is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC.
Text: Ivana Vanovac. Text source: Radio Mitrovica North >>
Photos: Milenija Mitković