comment: >
  
  I think you have a solid point about your interest in a topic not determining your ability to learn that topic. And I agree that "book smart" and "street smart" are not very useful descriptors. However, your interest in a topic does impact whether you will pursue or persist in learning that topic. So while your ability/capability is not affected, your willingness/endurance is. 
  Also the term "book smart" can often refer to people who learn best from listening to a lecture or reading a book, while "street smart" can refer to people who learn best from physically doing something or verbally discussing something. Other ways the terms can be used are to describe people who easily understand abstract concepts (book smart) vs. concrete reality (street smart), people who work best with structure and clear instruction (book smart) vs. with less structure and more freedom or flexibility (street smart), and so on.
  Basically, I think you have a good point for one way of thinking about/defining these terms but they're used pretty liberally.
context: Booksmart is getting information from documented   sources ,books , tv  the internet 
  Street smarts is what you learn from your  own experiences >
  
  This take isn't even simplifying things.. It's just wrong. >
  
  Book smarts: Your ability to acquire knowledge while in a safe and optimal learning environment
  Street smarts: Your ability to navigate dangerous situations. >
  
  That's what the fuck I'm talking about you hit the nail right on the fuckin head >
  
  Book smarts: having a good formal education.
  Street smarts: having an understanding of the (often criminal) workings of the world. >
  
  I don’t think street smarts has to do with criminality but more with reading people and having knowledge of the world. >
  
  No that's not what it is which lets me know you are also book smart >
  
  they kind of are though - my cousin and i are decent examples i think
  he is extremely well read and can speak competently on history, geography, world politics, stock market/finances, and can quote entire passages from Tolkien and Tolstoy 
  now i dropped out of highschool and although i've read Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Hemingway and a hundred other books they're all mostly lost to me now
  but i spent a few years on the street a homeless teenager and two decades as a functioning heroin addict & alcoholic, i've been a woodworker/carpenter, bartender, professional musician, and can fix almost anything, drive any vehicle, hunt, shoot, fish and so on - and except for the early basics that i got from my dad, it's all self-taught
  my cousin is a veritable walking search engine but cannot adapt to sudden or unfamiliar situations and cannot really implement much (if any) of what he knows - he can't use tools or build something w/o instructions or drive very well etc, he's just a human knowledge base 
  i on the other hand have a terrible memory for literature, suck at math and have trouble remembering history - but i am just as comfortable in the hood as i am in a small town in the midwest, or just at ease in a crowd of a thousand as i am when i walk alone at night in the woods behind our place   
  i enjoy his company and we compliment each other pretty well i think - because our strengths are so diverse >
  
  *Deep inhale*
  James Sidis aka the most "intelligent" man that has ever existed an IQ of 300. Was effectively a child. Zero social skills, zero problem solving skills and zero common sense but knew massive amounts of information. I equate "street smarts" with common sense and problem-solving skills. Yes they definitely are real things even though they are just theories. That's like saying Harry Potter isn't real because he isn't tangible. However the idea of Harry Potter definitely is. It isn't a "willingness to learn" its more "labeling your strengths."
  In conclusion they are real things and saying they arn't is asinine at best. >
  
  Your “deep inhale” make me read this really fast, and made it humorous. Lol >
  
  glad you enjoyed >
  
  Those terms aren't referencing ability. They're referencing knowledge someone has (or doesn't). >
  
  Most people have some of both. Usually one more than the other. If they have it in equal amounts; it’s a pretty decent recipe for being successful. >
  
  They aren’t implying ability to learn, they are two different types of learning. They are just terms for knowledge gained from studying text versus knowledge gained from social experience. >
  
  No way. I know a lot of folks with a formal education. 
  Can’t even wipe their own ass. >
  
  I highly doubt that — moreover I’d wager most college graduates can wipe their own ass unless they’re physically disabled.
  Unless you’ve been checking a lot of asses. Post history does not suggest you’re a proctologist nor any other type of physician. >
  
  I couldn’t wipe my ass for a few months after I graduated lol >
  
  Y’know preschool teachers make sure their kiddos are toilet trained before they hit kindergarten, so their K-12 experience is with a clean rear. 
  Sorry you missed those lessons. >
  
  You are over analyzing basic terms they describes Strengths >
  
  Nobody said that a book smart can't become street smart or vice versa. >
  
  I’m going to be rude here, and speculate that you feel like you might be lacking in both. Or maybe just lacking recognition in both. This frustration leads to a feeling that neither are relevant. My life experience is that both are very real skill sets. As all skills, having one does not preclude possessing the other. But of the 2 I’d say street smarts are harder to learn. It not something that can be taught per se, and the lessons learned can often be very harsh. There is also an intuition and sensory set that have to be innate, and can only come by years of experience. Someone with street smarts can become book smart with educational opportunity. But it’s somewhat unusual for the book smart to be willing or able to endure the experiences to become street smart. >
  
  Thank you thank you very much you get it >
  
  Not unpopular.  Just pretentious and stupid.  Nobody said you are only able to be one.  It not about focus either.  This is more a lifestyle issue than anything else. >
  
  
  Both imply an ability to learn things
  
  Bro just google the fucking terms before you walk in here spouting nonsense.
  
  
  Street Smarts - the experience and knowledge necessary to deal with the potential difficulties or dangers of life in an urban environment.
  
  
  Book Smarts - Having knowledge obtained by reading and studying, rather than by practical experience.
  
  
  C'mon, now. If you had any street smarts, you'd know you should gain some book smarts about a topic before throwing your opinion about it out there.
  That makes you 0/2.