This is a revision of my "Points System" article. I decided it needed to have shorter stories and be more inclusive with a little bit of advice.

I used to consider myself a somewhat educated person; witty and smart and quick to learn. This semester at Dixie however, has proved me wrong.

Last week as the staff of the Dixie Sun were gathering to discuss our upcoming issue, I was asked for a hard copy of my column, which I didn’t have. The only computers in the room were Macs, and at the cost of my popularity I’ll admit right now that my laptop is a PC.

I took out my flash drive, and plugged it into the foreign machine that sat in front of me. That was all he wrote because I couldn’t figure out how to get a document opened, let alone transfer the content from PC compatible to Mac, and then print it. Our advisor looked at me as if I had just stuck my finger in a light socket and then wondered why my hair was smoking. I felt like an idiot.

You can bet that I began thinking of how I was going to review the Mac world. Just when I was about to award Steve Wozniack 9 out of ten McDonald’s French fries wiped across his favorite shirt, I suddenly started wondering if those fries needed to be wiped on me. I had to ask myself: am I textbook stupid?

I recalled the time I was sitting at a stoplight in St. George, waiting for it to turn green, and suddenly the car behind me began honking. I looked back at him, turned back to the road, and realized I was at a stop SIGN. I’d have to award myself 3 out of 5 days of loud gas at school for that one.

And then there’s the ADD moments. I can’t even count the times I’ve left my cell phone in a bathroom on campus. I went to turn my phone off as I was checking in to the testing center, and I actually had to run down to the Red Rock Café when I realized I’d left it in those bathrooms. Maybe I shouldn’t use that “down time” to check my schedule and send text messages. I’d have to give myself 2 hangnails and a day of having to get stuff out of my pocket for that.

I find myself holding back my questions on things for fear of looking and sounding stupid. I have to wonder how many other people do that? Are we as a society becoming dumber and dumber because we are afraid to ask questions for the fear of looking and sounding like idiots?

When I got my first iPod (last year…) I was so afraid to ask exactly how to download songs. Everyone has an iPod, and I felt as if I was the last person on earth to actually own one. So when searching for songs I liked on the internet, I would come across an album that I thought was the one I wanted. I didn’t know you could listen to the songs before you bought them. I think I wasted about 50 bucks downloading albums I realized I didn’t want. For not ASKING how to do it, I award myself a day of Slip-n-Sliding on a lawn with lots of sprinkler heads. Ouch.

The list goes on. I’ve been indoors and turned on lights and wondered why it was so dark. Then I took my sunglasses off. I’ve pressed the AC button in my truck and wondered why the interior was so hot, but people coming towards me were flashing their lights. Then I noticed I turned on my flashers instead of the air conditioning. I’ve even walked to my first class and wondered why my feet hurt so much, before taking off my shoes and switching each one to the correct foot. The reviews I could give myself would fill a book. So I hereby award myself 4 out of 5 books that have to be re-read over and over again because of the constant ADD moments that make me forget what I’ve read RIGHT after I’ve read it.

And here’s my advice to all of you. The next time you think you’re going to sound stupid for asking a question, just ask it. And if the person reacts to your question as if you’re dumb, simply remind them that learning is the only cure for stupidity.