Let me tell you, though: being the smartest boy in the world wasnโt easy. I didnโt ask for this. I didnโt want this. On the contrary, it was a huge burden. First, there was the task of keeping my brain perfectly protected. My cerebral cortex was a national treasure, a masterpiece of the Sistine Chapel of brains. This was not something that could be treated frivolously. If I could have locked it in a safe, I would have. Instead, I became obsessed with brain damage.
A. J. JacobsI always thought the name of Utahโs major newspaper was some sort of weird misspelling of the word โdesert.โ But no, Deseret is the โland of the honeybee,โ according to the Book of Mormon. I guess I should have figured they would have caught a typo in the masthead after 154 years.
A. J. JacobsThere's a lot of food restriction in the Bible, but it does say you're allowed to eat crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts. I decided to take advantage of that and eat a cricket. It was chocolate-covered, and I'm not sure that's the way they were served in Moses' time. But this was a rule that seemed crazy on the outside, then actually turned out to be pragmatic and compassionate.
A. J. JacobsLet me tell you, though: being the smartest boy in the world wasnโt easy. I didnโt ask for this. I didnโt want this. On the contrary, it was a huge burden. First, there was the task of keeping my brain perfectly protected. My cerebral cortex was a national treasure, a masterpiece of the Sistine Chapel of brains. This was not something that could be treated frivolously. If I could have locked it in a safe, I would have. Instead, I became obsessed with brain damage.
A. J. JacobsA loud noise will get your fight-or-flight response going. This, over the years, can cause real cardiovascular damage.
A. J. Jacobs