If you ever want to feel like you’re dumber now than when you were in high school, says Bob Greene, take the SATs again.
During a luncheon speech at the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing’s DM Days Wednesday, Greene said that since there is no age limit on the scholastic achievement tests, he decided to go back again and see how he’d fare.
Since he’s a writer by trade, he felt confident about the verbal portion. But the math had him a bit worried. Sure enough, his score dropped by about 200 points from high school.
It was an interesting experience, he said, noting he was pretty sure he was the only student who stopped by a water fountain to take blood pressure medication during the break.
When the test was over, the teacher stopped him. Greene was positive it was to ask what the heck he was doing there. The educator, however, was more curious why Greene had worn a tie to take the exam.
“If you don’t look sharp, you don’t feel sharp,” was his reply.
Greene shared several anecdotes about people he’s interviewed over the years, from the famous like Muhammad Ali and Richard Nixon, to the lesser known, like a high school boy who years ago asked Greene to ask his readers to each send him a penny to help with college. The boy wasn’t destitute, he just wanted the money.
It was such a silly idea Greene wrote the piece, stressing that readers should in no way feel obligated to send money. The ROI of the initiative turned out to be pretty good: he got $1.9 million pennies, or $19,000.
Chicago DM Days at Navy Pier concluded Wednesday.
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